Skip to main content

Advertisement

Log in

Design and performance analysis of a small solar evaporative cooler

  • Original Article
  • Published:
Energy Efficiency Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

In this paper, the process of design, manufacturing, and performance analysis of a simple yet innovative solar evaporative cooler is illustrated. This investigation aims to evaluate the performance of a very small cooler with minimum energy consumption (10 W). A solar evaporative cooler was made out of various simple electrical and mechanical components. The cooler was tested in a specified room with the volume of 510 × 310 × 320 cm3. In order to evaluate the performance of the cooler, the air temperatures at different locations in the room was measured and compared during five consecutive days. The results showed that the performance of the cooler is relatively reasonable during the summer. However, its performance can be improved using high-performance cooling pads and solar panels. This simple evaporative cooler benefits from the ease of manufacturing process, cost effectiveness, and high portability.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Subscribe and save

Springer+ Basic
$34.99 /Month
  • Get 10 units per month
  • Download Article/Chapter or eBook
  • 1 Unit = 1 Article or 1 Chapter
  • Cancel anytime
Subscribe now

Buy Now

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Fig. 1
Fig. 2
Fig. 3
Fig. 4
Fig. 5
Fig. 6
Fig. 7
Fig. 8
Fig. 9
Fig. 10
Fig. 11
Fig. 12
Fig. 13

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Al-Sulaiman, F. (2002). Evaluation of the performance of local fibers in evaporative cooling. Energy Conversion and Management, 43(16), 2267–2273.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Al-Turki, A. M., & Zaki, G. M. (1991). Energy saving through intermittent evaporative roof cooling. Energy and Buildings, 17, 35–42.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Khandelwal, A., Talukdar, P., & Jain, S. (2011). Energy savings in a building using regenerative evaporative cooling. Energy and Buildings, 43(2011), 581–591.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • ASHRAE. (2003). Evaporative cooling applications (ASHRAE Handbook, HVAC Applications). Atlanta: American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers.

    Google Scholar 

  • Barford, N. C. (1967). Experimental measurements: precision, error and truth. Reading: Addison-Wesley.

    Google Scholar 

  • Costelloe, B., & Finn, D. (2007). Thermal effectiveness characteristics of low approach indirect evaporative cooling systems in buildings. Energy and Buildings, 39, 1235–1243.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Beers, Y. (1953). Introduction to the theory of error. Reading: Addison-Wesley.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bevington, P. R., & Keith, D. (2003). Robinson data reduction and error analysis for the physical sciences (3rd ed.). New York: McGraw-Hill.

    Google Scholar 

  • Dai, Y. J., & Sumathy, K. (2002). Theoretical study on a cross-flow direct evaporative cooler using honeycomb paper as packing material. Applied Thermal Engineering, 22(13), 1417–1430.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Davies, P. A. (2005). A solar cooling system for greenhouse food production in hot climates. Solar Energy, 79(6), 661–668.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Essick B. (1945) U.S. Patent 2391558.

  • Gunhan, T., Demir, V., & Yaciogl, A. (2007). Evaluation of the suitability of some local materials as cooling pad. Biosystems Engineering, 96(3), 369–377.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Karpiscak, M., & Marion, M. H. (1991). Evaporative cooler water use. Tucson: The University of Arizona, College of Agriculture. 85721.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kheirabadi, M. (1991). Iranian cities: formation and development (p. 36). Austin: University of Texas Press. ISBN 978-0-292-72468-6.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kittas, C., Bartzanas, T., & Jaffrin, A. (2001). Greenhouses evaporative cooling: measurement and data analysis. Transactions of ASAE, 44(3), 683–689.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Koca, R. W., Hughes, W. C., & Christianson, L. L. (1991). Evaporative cooling pads: test procedure and evaluation. Applied Engineering in Agriculture, 7(4), 485–490.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Leggett, J. (2009). The solar century: the past, present and world-changing future of solar energy. London: GreenProfile.

    Google Scholar 

  • Maclaine-cross, I. L., & Banks, P. J. (1989). A general theory of wet surface heat exchangers and its application to regenerative evaporative cooling. ASME Journal of Heat Transfer, 103(3), 579–585.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bowman, N., Lomasl, K., Cook, M., Eppel, H., Ford, B., Hewitt’, M., et al. (1997). Application of passive downdraught evaporative cooling (PDEC) to non-domestic buildings. Renewable Energy, 10(2/3), 191–196.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Perlin J. (2004). The silicon solar cell turns 50. The National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL). Report No. BR-520-33947.

  • Belarbi, R., Ghiaus, C., & Allard, F. (2006). Modeling of water spray evaporation: application to passive cooling of buildings. Solar Energy, 80(2006), 1540–1552.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • HerreroMartín, R. (2009). Characterization of a semi-indirect evaporative cooler. Applied Thermal Engineering, 29, 2113–2117.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Jaber, S., & Ajib, S. (2011). Evaporative cooling as an efficient system in Mediterranean region. Applied Thermal Engineering, 31(14–15), 2590–2596.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Santamouris, M., & Asimakopoulos, D. (2001). Passive cooling of buildings. London: James & James.

    Google Scholar 

  • Schulz S. L. (2000). Evaporative cooler solar retrofit kit. U.S. Patent 6101716

  • Sonntag, R. E., Borgnakke, C., & Van Wylen, G. J. (2003). Fundamentals of thermodynamics (6th ed.). New York: Wiley.

    Google Scholar 

  • Zellweger, J. (1906). Air filter and cooler. U.S. Patent 838602.

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Hossein Lotfizadeh.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Lotfizadeh, H., Layeghi, M. Design and performance analysis of a small solar evaporative cooler. Energy Efficiency 7, 55–64 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12053-013-9199-5

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12053-013-9199-5

Keywords

Navigation