本文所述项目的目的是加速节能家用冰箱的设计、开发和商业化。在该项目的早期，人们得出的结论是，开发一种新型高效冰箱设计所带来的全国性节能，只有通过该产品的成功营销才能实现。因此，进行了初步评估，以确定冰箱的市场领域- 冷冻柜的设计应该有针对性。检查的因素包括:除霜特性；大小（食物储存量）；冷冻室与新鲜食品室的容积比；柜体风格:顶部安装、并排安装、底部安装。最近的销售数据清楚地表明，带有自动除霜功能的顶部安装式冷冻柜占据了主要的销售份额，通常，这些冷冻柜与新鲜食品隔间的体积比约为1/3。一项关于食品消费和食品储存趋势、家庭规模和消费者购买习惯的调查显示，冰箱平均年增长率的历史高位有所下降- 冰柜大小出售。针对目标市场，考虑了18种节能方案。使用一个综合了节能、噪音、尺寸和寿命影响的评级系统，对设计方案的可能接受程度进行了评估。在该项目的开发阶段选择了七个选项，并在Amana冷藏有限公司的设施中进行了全面的计算机分析和原型测试。引文:研讨会，ASHRAE交易，第87卷，第2部分，俄亥俄州辛辛那提

The purpose of the project described in this paper was to accelerate the design, development, and commercialization of energy-efficient residential refrigerator-freezers. Early in the project, it was concluded that nationwide energy savings resulting from the development of a new high efficiency refrigerator design would only be realized'through successful marketing of the product. Therefore, a preliminary assessment was made to identify the sector of the marketplace to which the refrigerator-freezer design should be aimed. The factors examined were:defrost features;size (food storage capacity);ratio of freezer to fresh food compartment volumes;cabinet style: top mount, side-by-side, bottom mount.Recent sales data clearly showed that the top mounted freezer unit with automatic defrost holds the major share of sales, and typically, these units have a freezer to fresh food compartment volume ratio of approximately 1/3.A survey of food consumption and food storage trends, family size, and consumer buying habits suggested a decrease in the historically high annual growth rate of the average refrigerator-freezer size sold.Eighteen energy saving options were considered for the target market. An evaluation of the likely acceptance of the design options was made using a rating system combining the impact of energy savings, noise, size and life.Seven options were selected in the development phase of the program and underwent comprehensive computer analysis and prototype testing in facilities at Amana Refrigeration, Inc.