Long-term energy performance of dew-point indirect evaporative cooler under the climate change world scenario

The progressive increase in the global average outdoor air temperature has caused an increase in the cooling demand in buildings in recent years. Given this climate change scenario, there is a need to develop efficient air-cooling systems that improve the energy efficiency of traditional direct expansion units. In this sense, ventilative cooling technologies should be tested under the climate change world scenario.
In this research study, the main objective was to evaluate the seasonal energy behaviour of a Dew-point Indirect Evaporative Cooler (DIEC) for three different climatic zones under a hostile climate change scenario. An empirical model of a DIEC system was used to obtain Seasonal Energy Efficiency Ratio (SEER) values under different climatic conditions. This DIEC model and variable air flow control of DIEC were adjusted to perform several annual energy simulations in TRNSYS17 software. Three different climatic zones according to the ASHRAE climate classification were considered in this work: 1-Very hot, 2-Hot and 3-Warm. In addition, different weather scenarios were established using a specific tool for the development of meteorological data predictions, CCWorldWeatherGen.
Based on the results, the DIEC system showed high SEER values, between 2.5 and 6.3. The lowest SEER values, between 2.5 and 5.1, were obtained for Bangkok (Thailand) – climatic zone 1 with high outdoor air temperature values and high outdoor air humidity ratio values. However, the highest SEER values, between 5.9 and 6.3, were obtained for Brasilia (Brazil) – climatic zone 2 with low outdoor air humidity ratio values and high outdoor air temperature values. These results showed that the use of a Dew-point Indirect Evaporative Cooler could be interesting under the world climate change scenario, since its SEER value improved with increasing climatic severity.