Indirect Evaporative cooling systems: modelling and performance analysis

Nowadays, there are a lot of ongoing research activities about cooling technologies which can lead to a significant reduction in primary energy consumption of air handling units, in both residential and commercial applications. In this context, one of the most interesting technologies is the indirect evaporative cooling (IEC) system. In this work a phenomenological model of the component, based on a cross flow heat exchanger, has been developed and validated in typical summer operating conditions, at different air streams temperature, humidity ratio and flow rates. Using this tool, performance of the IEC system has been analyzed in different working conditions. Results highlight the advantage of using the IEC unit, which leads to significant energy savings in almost all the investigated conditions.