Performance evaluation of an indirect evaporative cooler under controlled environmental conditions

• Performance of an Indirect Evaporative Cooler under controlled conditions.
• IA-EER varies from 7.1 to 55.1 depending on test conditions and fan speed.
• An average of 58.7% of the water consumed by IEC is evaporated to the atmosphere.
• Investigated IEC is mostly suitable for hot and dry climatic conditions

The study investigated the performance of a 5-ton capacity indirect evaporative cooler under controlled environmental conditions (43.9 °C dry-bulb temperature and 19.9% relative humidity) but for different air flow rates (631 to 2388 m3/h). The experimental results showed that the intake air energy efficiency ratio of the cooler varied from 7.1 to 55.1 depending on test conditions and air flow rate. The power consumption of indirect evaporative cooler was found to vary from 68.3 to 746 watts. Water consumption was found to vary between 0.0160 and 0.0598 m3/h. At full fan speed, an average of 58.7% of the total water consumed by indirect evaporative cooler was evaporated. The results indicated that intake air energy efficiency ratio was directly proportional to the wet-bulb depression. The study also showed that the indirect evaporative cooler is suitable for hot and dry climatic conditions.