Design and operating characteristics of evaporative cooling systems

Evaporative cooling systems are commonly used in countries where the climate is hot and dry, as found in most zones of India and Australia. The potential energy savings envisaged by replacing conventional refrigerated systems by evaporative systems is ≈75%. Indirect systems can achieve comfort conditions similar to refrigerated systems in climatic zones where the wet bulb temperature is usually <25°C. The comfort afforded by indirect evaporative systems is superior to that achieved by direct evaporative systems. An 8.5 ton indirect-direct evaporative cooling system has been fabricated and tested and its performance compared with a computer prediction. The system's scope for use in India and Australia is analysed.