Investigation of Sensible Cooling Performance in the Case of an Air Handling Unit System with Indirect Evaporative Cooling: Indirect Evaporative Cooling Effects for the Additional Cooling System of Buildings

Abstract

Previous studies have shown that the amount of energy consumed by mechanical cooling can be significantly reduced by the indirect evaporative cooling (IEC) process. By increasing the heat recovery efficiency of air handling units (AHUs), sensible cooling performance can be achieved with the IEC process for a significant part of the cooling season. This study determined the sensible cooling performance under which outdoor air conditions can be achieved. With IEC, the indoor humidity load cannot be adequately managed and must be solved by a supplementary cooling system, which may require additional cooling energy. This study shows the effect of the set indoor humidity on the amount of cooling energy required. The increase in energy consumption of the supplementary cooling system has been determined by simulation and for which indoor air conditions the amount of cooling energy used can be optimized if only IEC cooling is used in the air handling unit.