Towards cooling systems integration in buildings: Experimental analysis of a heat dissipation panel

The amount of energy consumed for cooling purposes is increasing and expected to rise in the following years. The active cooling mechanisms used to meet these requirements can be partially replaced by harnessing environmental conditions and developing passive solutions. Through the multidisciplinary knowledge offered by biomimicry, a bio-inspired solution was developed with the aim of reducing the drawbacks of cooling towers. This experimental study shows the development of a passive cooling panel prototype and attempts to analyse tests carried out in the north of Spain. The results show that with three different inlet temperatures (35, 45 and 55 °C) and a fluid flow rate of 0.5 l/min, the average heat dissipation power per unit area of the panel is 140.4, 284.8 and 309.7 W/m2, respectively. By increasing the flow rate to 1.5 l/min, the heat rejection rate rises to 250.8, 397.5 and 479.6 W/m2, respectively. These outcomes confirm the cooling potential of the passive panel and open the possibility to the development of numerous applications. Further development of this solution would seek the decrease of the peak demand and the reduction of the energy consumption of cooling towers in tertiary buildings or small industry.