Acquiring the best cooling strategy based on thermal comfort and 3E analyses for small scale residential buildings at diverse climatic conditions

A methodology for selecting the best cooling system for small scale residential building was introduced. A benchmark building was assumed to be cooled by various cooling alternatives. The proposed systems were analyzed based on 3E (energy, economic, and environmental) as well as thermal comfort analyses. Finally, based on fuzzy-AHP method, the best cooling alternative in each climatic condition was selected. It was suggested to implement direct evaporative cooling (DEC) in all dry areas. In wet and hot areas, the best option was the vapor compression system; however, in temperate and humid, very hot and semi-humid, and temperate and wet cities, desiccant-enhanced evaporative cooling (DEVap) was the best alternative. It reduced the annual primary energy consumption (PEC) and carbon dioxide emission (CDE) up to 13970 kWh and 3.3 tons of CO2, respectively. Implementing DEC reduced PEC, CDE, and cooling cost of dry area up to 4875 kWh, 5.6 tons of CO2, and 168 $, respectively.