How Samsung’s Digital Inverter Compressors Help Consumers Save Energy

Six Samsung refrigerator models sold in the U.S. have been awarded the 2020 ENERGY STAR Emerging Technology Award by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). Every year, the EPA, through its ENERGY STAR Program, chooses 1 or 2 innovative technologies for their Emerging Technology Award. This year the Award recognized six Samsung refrigerator models that met three strict performance criteria: (1) super-efficient compressors; (2) low greenhouse gas blowing agents for their insulation; and (3) low greenhouse gas refrigerants.

“This award shows that digital inverter compressor technology can save significant levels of energy in practice,” said Kook-Jeong Seo, Head of the Thermal Energy Lab, Digital Appliances Business at Samsung Electronics. “Going forward, we will continue to develop products that contribute to reducing energy consumption and support sustainability.”

The digital inverter compressor serves as the ‘engine’ for Samsung’s main refrigerator line-up, and is the component responsible for determining how much energy the refrigerator consumes. Currently, nearly all of Samsung’s refrigerator solutions incorporate digital inverter compressors. While traditional compressors operate at a fixed speed, digital inverter compressors are able to automatically adjust their energy use between 1,050 and 4,300RPM according to need, at any given time. Samsung digital inverter compressors use around 30% less energy than ones with single-speed induction motor compressors, and thus also help contribute to the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions. They have also been certified by German institution Verband Deutscher Elektrotechniker (VDE)1 to last up to more than two decades in durability.

The ability of Samsung compressors to intelligently detect changes in temperature and adjust accordingly has additionally allowed for the emergence of other unique features in the company’s full refrigerator lineup. Refrigerators from the Samsung Chef Collection, for instance, feature a unique fixed-temperature technology called Precise Chef Cooling that maintains a temperature variation rate of less than 0.5 degrees Celsius (0.9 degrees Fahrenheit), ensuring that food stays fresher, for longer.

¹ Result based on test conducted by VDE under Samsung-defined test protocol on compressor of selected models only