SANTA ELENA

PENINSULA STATE UNIVERSITY

FACULTY OF ENGINEERING SCIENCES
Petroleum Engineering
Subject:
Thermodynamics
Issue:
Exercises
Group 1:
Arica González Fricson
De la Rosa Liriano Oscar
Franco Gonzabay Kimberly
Hernandez Bravo Kevin
Rivera Luna Joseline
Teacher:
Eng. Tarquino Lopez
Course: 3/1
EXAMPLE 6-3 Heat Rejection by a Refrigerator

The food compartment of a refrigerator, shown in Figure 6-

24, is maintained at 4°C by removing heat from it at a rate
of 370 kJ/min. If the required power input to the
refrigerator is 2 kW, determine a) the coefficient of
performance of the refrigerator and b) the heat rejection
rate to the room housing the refrigerator.

Solution The power consumption of a refrigerator is

known. The COP and heat rejection rate will be
determined.

Assumption There are stationary operating conditions.

Analysis a) The coefficient of performance of the refrigerator is

( )
QL 370 kJ /min 1 kW
COP R= = =3.08
W neto, entrada 2 kW 60 kJ /min

That is, 3.08 kJ of heat is removed from the refrigerated space for each kJ of work
supplied. b) The rate at which heat is rejected into the room where the refrigerator is
located is determined from the energy conservation relationship for cyclic devices

Q H =QL +W neto , entrada=

370 kJ
min (
+ ( 2 kW )
1 kW )
60 kJ /min 490 kJ
=
min

Comment Note that the energy removed from the refrigerated space as heat and the
energy supplied to the refrigerator as electrical work ultimately manifest in the air of the
room and become part of the internal energy of the air. This shows that internal energy
can change from one form to another, move from one place to another, but it is never
destroyed during a process.

EXAMPLE 6-4 Heating a house using a heat pump

 A heat pump is used to meet the heating requirements
of a house and keep it at 20°C. The house is estimated
to lose heat at a rate of 85,000 kJ/min on a day when
the outside air temperature drops to -2°C. If the heat
pump under these conditions has a COP of 2.5,
determine a) the power consumed by the heat pump
and b) the rate at which heat is extracted from the cold
outside air.

Solution The COP of a heat pump is known. The

power consumption and heat absorption rate will be
determined.

Assumption Stationary operating conditions exist.

Analysis a) The power consumption of this heat pump, shown in Figure 6-25, is
determined from the definition of the performance coefficient as

QH 85000 kJ /min 34000 kJ

W neto , entrada= = =
COP HP 2.5 min

b) The house loses heat at a rate of 80,000 kJ/h, but if it is to be maintained at a constant
temperature of 20 °C, the heat pump must deliver heat at the same rate, that is, at 80 000
kJ/h. Then the rate of heat transfer from the outside becomes

kJ 53000 kJ
Q L=Q H −W neto, entrada=( 85000−32000 ) =
min min

Comment Since in reality 53,000 of the 85,000 kJ/h delivered to the house are extracted
from the cold outside air, therefore only the 34,000 kJ/h supplied as electrical work to
the heat pump are paid for. If an electrical resistance heater were used instead, the
85,000 kJ/h would need to be supplied to the resistance heater as electrical energy. This
would mean a 2.5 times higher heating cost, which explains the popularity of heat
pumps as heating systems and why they are preferred over electric resistance heaters
despite their considerably higher initial cost.