The Design and Performance of an Evaporative Cooling Test Rig for a Maritime Climate

Recent developments have prompted a review of the use of cooling tower based evaporative cooling technology as an effective means of cooling modern buildings. Prominent among these developments is the success of high temperature cooling systems such as radiant ceiling panels and chilled beams. At present, however, there is little published literature which gives a quantitative, in depth analysis of the performance or energy efficiency of cooling towers, used in maritime climates, in conjunction with heat exchangers and run at low approach and low wet bulb temperatures throughout the free cooling season. This lack of knowledge has meant that many current opportunities to benefit from the technology are not availed of by building design teams. To address this issue an automated laboratory test rig has been specifically developed with the aim of optimising the performance and demonstrating the potential of this form of cooling in maritime conditions. This paper, which reports on work in progress, describes the design and development of the rig and presents and analyses the preliminary test results.