The intermittent nature of solar energy and dynamic environmental conditions pose significant challenges to the performance and reliability of solar-powered refrigeration systems in hot-humid climates. While traditional thermodynamic models offer limited predictive capability under real-world variability, machine learning (ML) presents a promising alternative for addressing these complexities. This study develops and evaluates ML-based models to predict the performance of a 92-liter DC solar-powered domestic refrigerator, focusing on power input (Pin), coefficient of performance (COP), and refrigerating capacity (CR). Experimental data, including solar irradiance, ambient temperature, and system operational parameters, were collected at 10-minute intervals under hot-humid conditions. Three ML algorithms: Artificial Neural Network (ANN), Random Forest Regression (RFR), and Support Vector Regression (SVR) were trained and validated using a dataset of 500 samples. Key findings reveal that ambient temperature strongly influences system performance, exhibiting a negative correlation with COP (-0.65) and CR (-0.56), while solar irradiance shows a non-linear relationship with these metrics. Among the models, SVR demonstrated exceptional accuracy for power input prediction (R2 = 0.99, RMSE = 0.41), whereas ANN achieved the highest performance for COP prediction (R2 = 0.85, RMSE = 1.45). RFR emerged as the most robust for refrigerating capacity estimation (R2 = 0.71), though all models faced challenges due to the parameter's transient dependence. The results highlight the potential of hybrid ML approaches to optimize solar refrigeration systems in climate-specific scenarios. This study contributes a scalable, data-driven framework for performance prediction, offering practical insights for system design, adaptive control strategies, and policy recommendations to enhance the adoption of solar refrigeration in off-grid and energy-insecure regions. The limitations of dataset size and weather variability are acknowledged, suggesting avenues for future research, including long-term real-world validation and ensemble modeling.
| Published in | International Journal of Electrical Components and Energy Conversion (Volume 11, Issue 2) |
| DOI | 10.11648/j.ijecec.20261102.11 |
| Page(s) | 29-40 |
| Creative Commons |
This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, provided the original work is properly cited. |
| Copyright |
Copyright © The Author(s), 2026. Published by Science Publishing Group |
Solar-powered Refrigeration, Machine Learning, Performance Prediction, Hot-humid Climates, Energy Efficiency, Intermittent Energy
Correlation Coefficient | Equation | Description |
|---|---|---|
Person Correlation Coefficient (r) |
| Evaluates the linear association between two continuous variables (Coeff. lies between −1 to +1). Coeff. of −1 represents a perfect negative linear association, +1 denotes a perfect positive linear association, and 0 denotes the absence of a linear association (Schober et al., 2018) |
Spearman Rank Correlation Coefficient (ρ) | ρ = | Evaluates the rank correlation between two variables with a non-linear relationship (monotonic). It ranges from - 1 to +1 where: +1 indicates positive perfect positive monotonic relationship, -1 indicates perfect negative monotonic relationship, and a 0 indicates no monotonic relationship (Schober et al., 2018) |
ML model values for Power input (Pin) | For Coefficient of performance (COP) | For Refrigerating Capacity (CR) | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Metrics | ANN | RFR | SVR | ANN | RFR | SVR | ANN | RFR | SVR |
MSE | 0.1 | 3.16 | 0.17 | 2.1 | 2.46 | 8.95 | 70.4 | 83.79 | 221.85 |
RMSE | 0.32 | 1.77 | 0.41 | 1.45 | 1.57 | 2.99 | 8.39 | 9.15 | 19.89 |
MAE | 0.131 | 0.02 | 0 | 0.0322 | 1.13 | 2.43 | 0.003924 | 6.63 | 11.37 |
MAPE | 0.0068 | 1.19 | 0.26 | 1.446 | 1.13 | 0.37 | 0.00077 | 0.02 | 0.03 |
R-squared | 0.934 | 0.89 | 0.99 | 0.85 | 0.83 | 0.38 | 0.6821 | 0.71 | 0.22 |
Power Input | Coefficient of performance (COP) | Refrigerating Capacity (CR) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Input Variable | r | ρ | r | ρ | R | ρ |
Solar Irradiation (G) | -1 | 0.1 | -1 | 0.995 | -1 | 0.994 |
Current (Icc) | 0.6604 | 0.786 | -0.2883 | -0.354 | -0.3647 | 0.0001 |
Voltage (Vcc) | 0.1142 | 0.0807 | 0.1528 | 0.187 | 0.1613 | 0 |
State of Charge (Soc) | 0.0053 | -0.01843 | 0.1383 | 0.0551 | 0.144 | 0 |
Ambient Temperature (Tamb) | 0.0494 | 0.154 | -0.6558 | -0.48 | -0.4966 | 0 |
ANN | Artificial Neural Network |
COP | Coefficient of Performance |
DC | Direct Current |
IQR | Interquartile Range |
MAE | Mean Absolute Error |
MAPE | Mean Absolute Percentage Error |
ML | Machine Learning |
MSE | Mean Squared Error |
PV | Photovoltaic |
RBF | Radial Basis Function |
RFR | Random Forest Regression |
RMSE | Root Mean Square Error |
SOC | State of Charge |
SPDR | Solar Powered Display Refrigerator |
SVM | Support Vector Machine |
SVR | Support Vector Regression |
TRNSYS | Transient System Simulation Tool |
VCR | Vapor Compression Refrigeration |
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APA Style
Acheampong, J. K., Adu, T. F., Marfo, D. (2026). Performance Prediction of Solar-Powered Domestic Fridge in Hot-Humid Climates Using Machine Learning. International Journal of Electrical Components and Energy Conversion, 11(2), 29-40. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijecec.20261102.11
ACS Style
Acheampong, J. K.; Adu, T. F.; Marfo, D. Performance Prediction of Solar-Powered Domestic Fridge in Hot-Humid Climates Using Machine Learning. Int. J. Electr. Compon. Energy Convers. 2026, 11(2), 29-40. doi: 10.11648/j.ijecec.20261102.11
@article{10.11648/j.ijecec.20261102.11,
author = {Joseph Kwarteng Acheampong and Theophilus Frimpong Adu and Daniel Marfo},
title = {Performance Prediction of Solar-Powered Domestic Fridge in Hot-Humid Climates Using Machine Learning},
journal = {International Journal of Electrical Components and Energy Conversion},
volume = {11},
number = {2},
pages = {29-40},
doi = {10.11648/j.ijecec.20261102.11},
url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijecec.20261102.11},
eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.ijecec.20261102.11},
abstract = {The intermittent nature of solar energy and dynamic environmental conditions pose significant challenges to the performance and reliability of solar-powered refrigeration systems in hot-humid climates. While traditional thermodynamic models offer limited predictive capability under real-world variability, machine learning (ML) presents a promising alternative for addressing these complexities. This study develops and evaluates ML-based models to predict the performance of a 92-liter DC solar-powered domestic refrigerator, focusing on power input (Pin), coefficient of performance (COP), and refrigerating capacity (CR). Experimental data, including solar irradiance, ambient temperature, and system operational parameters, were collected at 10-minute intervals under hot-humid conditions. Three ML algorithms: Artificial Neural Network (ANN), Random Forest Regression (RFR), and Support Vector Regression (SVR) were trained and validated using a dataset of 500 samples. Key findings reveal that ambient temperature strongly influences system performance, exhibiting a negative correlation with COP (-0.65) and CR (-0.56), while solar irradiance shows a non-linear relationship with these metrics. Among the models, SVR demonstrated exceptional accuracy for power input prediction (R2 = 0.99, RMSE = 0.41), whereas ANN achieved the highest performance for COP prediction (R2 = 0.85, RMSE = 1.45). RFR emerged as the most robust for refrigerating capacity estimation (R2 = 0.71), though all models faced challenges due to the parameter's transient dependence. The results highlight the potential of hybrid ML approaches to optimize solar refrigeration systems in climate-specific scenarios. This study contributes a scalable, data-driven framework for performance prediction, offering practical insights for system design, adaptive control strategies, and policy recommendations to enhance the adoption of solar refrigeration in off-grid and energy-insecure regions. The limitations of dataset size and weather variability are acknowledged, suggesting avenues for future research, including long-term real-world validation and ensemble modeling.},
year = {2026}
}
TY - JOUR T1 - Performance Prediction of Solar-Powered Domestic Fridge in Hot-Humid Climates Using Machine Learning AU - Joseph Kwarteng Acheampong AU - Theophilus Frimpong Adu AU - Daniel Marfo Y1 - 2026/09/09 PY - 2026 N1 - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijecec.20261102.11 DO - 10.11648/j.ijecec.20261102.11 T2 - International Journal of Electrical Components and Energy Conversion JF - International Journal of Electrical Components and Energy Conversion JO - International Journal of Electrical Components and Energy Conversion SP - 29 EP - 40 PB - Science Publishing Group SN - 2469-8059 UR - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijecec.20261102.11 AB - The intermittent nature of solar energy and dynamic environmental conditions pose significant challenges to the performance and reliability of solar-powered refrigeration systems in hot-humid climates. While traditional thermodynamic models offer limited predictive capability under real-world variability, machine learning (ML) presents a promising alternative for addressing these complexities. This study develops and evaluates ML-based models to predict the performance of a 92-liter DC solar-powered domestic refrigerator, focusing on power input (Pin), coefficient of performance (COP), and refrigerating capacity (CR). Experimental data, including solar irradiance, ambient temperature, and system operational parameters, were collected at 10-minute intervals under hot-humid conditions. Three ML algorithms: Artificial Neural Network (ANN), Random Forest Regression (RFR), and Support Vector Regression (SVR) were trained and validated using a dataset of 500 samples. Key findings reveal that ambient temperature strongly influences system performance, exhibiting a negative correlation with COP (-0.65) and CR (-0.56), while solar irradiance shows a non-linear relationship with these metrics. Among the models, SVR demonstrated exceptional accuracy for power input prediction (R2 = 0.99, RMSE = 0.41), whereas ANN achieved the highest performance for COP prediction (R2 = 0.85, RMSE = 1.45). RFR emerged as the most robust for refrigerating capacity estimation (R2 = 0.71), though all models faced challenges due to the parameter's transient dependence. The results highlight the potential of hybrid ML approaches to optimize solar refrigeration systems in climate-specific scenarios. This study contributes a scalable, data-driven framework for performance prediction, offering practical insights for system design, adaptive control strategies, and policy recommendations to enhance the adoption of solar refrigeration in off-grid and energy-insecure regions. The limitations of dataset size and weather variability are acknowledged, suggesting avenues for future research, including long-term real-world validation and ensemble modeling. VL - 11 IS - 2 ER -