Production Cost–Efficiency Relation for Room Air Conditioners and Its Economic and Environmental Impact

Abstract

A large amount of the operating costs in a building is determined by the energy requirements of its air conditioning system. The demand for more energy efficient units desired by both manufacturers and the consumers results in a dire necessity to have air conditioning units that are more energy efficient than the existing ones. In order to achieve the abovementioned features, a tool must be designed to simulate the thermal behavior of the air conditioners. In this work, a mathematical model is developed for air conditioning units and coded into a computer program to estimate the overall performance, as indicated by the unit energy efficiency ratio (EER). The main objective is to maximize the unit EER by proposing modifications or enhancements in the existing unit and to study the economics of these modifications based on the measured terms such as the energy savings and the operating cost. Finally, the effect of the proposed design modifications on the economy and environment at the national level in Saudi Arabia is estimated and presented as an example.