A physical model is established in this paper to describe the heat transfer and two phase flow of a refrigerant in the evaporator and condenser of a vapor compression refrigeration system. The model is then used to determine the refrigerant charge in vapor compression units. The model is used for a sensitivity analysis to determine the effect that varing design parameters on the refrigerant charge. The model is also used to evaluate the effect of refrigerant charge and the thermal physical properties on the refrigeration cycle. The predicted value of the refrigerant charge and experimental data agree well. The model and the method presented in this paper could be used to design vapour compression units such as domestic refrigerators and air conditioners.