Performance of an indirect evaporative cooler in Athens

The performance of an indirect evaporative cooler provided with a flat plate heat exchanger was studied by simulating its operation in a typical building, using the weather conditions of Athens. Simulations were performed with the TRNSYS code. The results were the temperatures at the outlet of the cooler and inside the building, the comfort hours and the hours of cooler operation per day. The sensitivity of the cooler performance to night ventilation rate and the size of the south window glazing were also investigated. Simulation results showed that the cooler increases the number of comfort hours per day inside the building, since the indoor temperature is significantly lower when the system operates than under free-floating conditions. It was found also that night ventilation increases the comfort hours of the building while reducing the hours of operation of the cooler.