Evaporative Cooling

Introduction
• is a process that uses the effect of evaporation as a natural heat sink.
• Sensible heat from the air is absorbed to be used as latent heat necessary
to evaporate water.
• The amount of sensible heat absorbed depends on the amount of water
that can be evaporated.
• Evaporative cooling can be
– direct
• air is in contact with the evaporated water
• the water content of the cooled air increases
• can be applied only in places where relative humidity is very low.
– Indirect
• evaporation occurs inside a heat exchanger
• the water content of the cooled air remains unchanged
 Direct evaporative cooling
• used about a thousand years ago in vernacular architecture in the Middle East
and North Africa during the era of the Islamic Empire.

• Evaporative cooling was used and commercialized in Desert Coolers since

1920.

• Also used in Hot Arid Climates by merely putting a wet cloth in front of the
window to cool the breeze passing through.
– This technique was developed and harnessed further during the Islamic Era.

• Afterwards at 1980’s Evaporative cooling was used in down draught cool

tower by (Bahadori 1985) as an upgrade to the traditional wind catcher, and
was upgraded and used since.

• Porous pottery and clay jars were used for cooling in a system called
Muscatese Evaporative cooling system.
 Various configurations

Air captured by the Malqaf (shaft rising high

above the building with an opening facing the
prevailing wind )was cooled and humidified by
passing over water in the basement or water porous clay and pottery jars filled with
fountain water
 MUSCATESE EVAPORATIVE COOLING WINDOW (2007)

When air passes through the grill it passes by the porous jar, the air gets
cooler and more humid due to Evaporative Cooling.
Passive Downdraught Evaporative Cool (PDEC)Towers
• First the inlet of the
tower was equipped
with gravity shut
dampers to reduce
losses.
• Secondly water
sprinklers to spray
water at the top of the
tower.
• Clay conduits is put
under the sprinklers to
increase the area of
moist surface to
improve cooling
• Evaporative cooling was
optimized to gain
maximum cooling and
humidification.
 Indirect evaporative cooling
• Water left on a surface of a building has a natural tendency to evaporate in
order to achieve phase equilibrium with the water vapour in the surrounding
air.

• As it evaporates, every gram of water extracts about 2550 J of heat from its
environment.

• Indirect evaporative cooling uses this principle to provide cooling, while

keeping the evaporation process outside the building to avoid elevating the
indoor humidity level.

• Indirect evaporative cooling can be achieved notably by

– a roof pond
– a spray of water over a roof surface
– a roof garden.
 Roof Pond

• collects water on the roof of a building and lets it evaporate.

• The evaporation cools the roof which then serves as a heat sink for the interior.
• A roof pond system has been tested in the hot humid climate of Mexico
– has an insulation floating on the water surface to shield it from solar radiation during the day
– circulates the water over the insulation at night to remove heat absorbed in the water by convection,
evaporation and radiation
• The performance of this so-called ‘Coolroof’ is significant: it can cool the interior air by as much as 10-
13๐C below the outside air, depending on the ambient wet bulb temperature.

• To develop the roof pond technique in hot humid climates further, more work is required to test
different types of pond, such as that which has embedded insulation or that which allows ventilation
above the water surface.

• Furthermore, principles should be acquired for optimising the design of the pond’s components, such
as its depth and the roof’s mass, in order to maximise its cooling potential under different climatic and
occupancy conditions.
Roof Spray
• Where collection of water on the roof is not possible, for structural reasons for
instance, water may be sprayed onto the roof surface as an alternative to the roof
pond.
• Case studies show that this technique has some potential in hot humid climates,
with a reduction in the indoor air temperature of about 1-4๐C being possible
• Research opportunity is still open for developing the design and control principles
of this technique, both qualitative and quantitative, that will help maximise its
potential.

Roof Garden
•A roof garden can provide cooling in several ways.
•The plants shade the roof, and together with the substrate layer, act as insulation.
•The substrate layer and roof structure combined serve as thermal mass that delays
heat transfer from the exterior while absorbing heat from internal sources.
•the evapotranspiration process provides cooling.
•Case studies in hot humid climates show that roof gardens have significant cooling
potential, with a reduction in the roof surface
•temperature of about 10-30๐C being achievable, depending on the roof construction,
planting details and surrounding conditions.
•Generic design principles need to be acquired that will maximise the cooling potential
of this technique in hot humid climates.
•Local plants of high cooling potential should also be identified.
Earth cooling tubes
• These are long pipes buried
underground with one end
connected to the house and the
other end to the outside.

• Hot exterior air is drawn through

these pipes where it gives up
some of its heat to the soil,
which is at a much lower
temperature at a depth of 3m to
4m below the surface.

• This cool air is then introduced

into the house.
•
• Special problems associated with
these systems are
– possible condensation of water
within the pipes
– evaporation of accumulated
water
– control of the system.
Earth-sheltered buildings
• During the summer, soil temperatures at certain depths are
considerably lower than ambient air temperature, thus
providing an important source for dissipation of a building’s
excess heat.
• Conduction or convection can achieve heat dissipation to the
ground.
– achieves cooling by conduction where part of the building
envelope is in direct contact with the soil.
• Totally underground buildings offer many additional advantages
including protection from noise, dust, radiation and storms,
limited air infiltration and potentially safety from fires.
• They provide benefits under both cooling and heating
conditions
– less susceptible to the impact of extreme outdoor air temperatures than
a conventional house
– require less outside maintenance, and the earth surrounding the house
provides soundproofing
– earth-sheltered houses can cost less to insure because they offer extra
protection against high winds, hailstorms, and natural disasters such as
tornados and hurricanes.
• potential for large scale application of the technology are
limited;
– high cost and poor day-lighting conditions being frequent
problems.
• On the other hand, building in partial contact with earth offer
interesting cooling possibilities.
• Sod roofs can considerably reduce heat gain from the roof.
• Earth berming (earth acting as a massive heat sink ) can
considerably reduce solar heat gain and also increase heat loss
to the surrounding soil, resulting in increase in comfort.