Non-CFC vacuum alternatives for the energy-efficient insulation of household refrigerators: Design and use

Energy efficiency, environmental issues, and market incentives all encourage government and industry to continue work on thin-profile vacuum insulations for domestic refrigerators and freezers (R/Fs). Vacuum insulations promise significant improvement in thermal savings over current insulations; the technical objective of one design is an R-value of better than 10 (hr-ft{sup 2}-F/Btu) in 0.1 in. thickness. If performance is improved by a factor of 10 over that of CFC-blown insulating foams, the new insulations (made without CFCs or other potentially troublesome fill gases) will change the design and improve the efficiency of refrigerators. Such changes will meet the conservation, regulatory, and market drivers now strong in developed countries and likely to increase in developing countries. Prototypes of various designs have been tested in the laboratory and in factories, and results to date confirm the good thermal performance of these thin-profile alternatives. The next step is to resolve issues of reliability and cost effectiveness. 34 refs., 4 figs.