Case Studies in Thermal Engineering 26 (2021) 101127

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Case Studies in Thermal Engineering

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Performance enhancement of air conditioner in hot climate by

condenser cooling with cool air generated by direct
evaporative cooling
Wichakan Ketwong a, Thoranis Deethayat b, *, Tanongkiat Kiatsiriroat b
a
Energy Engineering Program, Faculty of Engineering and Graduate School, Chiang Mai University, 239 Huay Kaew Road, Muang District, Chiang
Mai, 50200, Thailand
b
Department of Mechanical Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, Chiang Mai University, 239 Huay Kaew Road, Muang District, Chiang Mai, 50200,
Thailand

A R T I C L E I N F O A B S T R A C T

Keywords: This research studied the direct evaporative cooling technique for generating cool air in hot–dry
Evaporative cooling and hot–humid climates. For direct evaporative cooling, three parameters affected the air tem­
Air conditioner performance perature: feedwater temperature, wet-bulb temperature, and mass ratio of feedwater to circu­
Energy efficiency ratio
lating air were investigated. When the feedwater temperature was lower than the wet-bulb
Condenser cooling
temperature, in a hot-humid climate, an increase in the mass ratio of feedwater to the circulating
Hot weather conditions
air decreased the outlet air temperature. Conversely, if the feedwater temperature was higher
than the wet-bulb temperature, in a hot-dry climate, a decrease in the mass ratio was needed to
reduce the air temperature. The cooled air obtained could be used for condenser cooling of air-
conditioner for performance enhancement. According to a 1 TR air conditioner simulation,
lower feedwater temperature resulted in higher energy efficiency ratio. High mass ratio, thus, was
recommended in the hot-humid climate area whereas less mass ratio was preferable for the hot-
dry climate area. The energy efficiency ratios of the unit with direct evaporative cooling for
hot–dry and hot–humid climates ranged from 3.40 to 4.22 and 3.30 to 3.94, respectively,
compared to 3.01 for the normal unit. The payback period for the unit with direct evaporative
cooling in case of Chiang Mai (hot-humid climate) was around 2.87 year.

1. Introduction

Air conditioner is the equipment used for providing the thermal comfort and maintaining the desired temperature in any given
indoor space. Most of the units are mechanical vapor compression type those could be applied in small scale to massive scale such as
commercial buildings. Unfortunately, the vapor compression air conditioner often consumes high electrical power and all the installed
units are responsible for approximately 30% of the worldwide total energy consumption [1]. In hot climate areas, the highest electrical
energy consumption comes from air conditioners of which the ratio might be over 70% [2,3]. Therefore, many techniques have been
developed in an effort to reduce the electrical energy consumption. To date, the use of low-temperature air to cool the condensers is
one of the most efficient methods to increase the air-conditioner performance [4–7].
Direct Evaporative Cooling (DEC) is another method for air conditioning. It is a common technique for decreasing air temperature

* Corresponding author. Tel.: +66 53 944 146; fax: +66 53 8 944 145.
E-mail address: thoranisdee@gmail.com (T. Deethayat).

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.csite.2021.101127
Received 11 January 2021; Received in revised form 31 May 2021; Accepted 1 June 2021
Available online 12 June 2021
2214-157X/© 2021 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license
(http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/).
W. Ketwong et al. Case Studies in Thermal Engineering 26 (2021) 101127

Nomenclature

Cp Specific heat capacity (kJ/kg⋅K)

E Saturation efficiency (%)
EER Energy efficiency ratio (Wth/We)
F Heat exchanger effectiveness (%)
h Specific enthalpy (kJ/kg)
ṁ Mass flow rate (kg/s)
MR Mass flow rate ratio of feed water to circulating air
p Pressure (kPa)
Q̇ Heat rate (kW)
RH Relative humidity(%)
T Temperature (◦ C)
w Specific humidity (kgv/kga)
Ẇ Work rate (kW)

Subscripts
a Air
amb Ambient
cv Control volume
da Dry air
db Dry bulb
e Evaporation
f Saturated liquid
fg Difference between saturated vapor and saturated liquid
g Saturated vapor
i Inlet air condition
o Outlet air condition
r Room condition
sat Saturation
v Water vapor
w Water
wb Wet bulb

by adding humidity of air in a space by water evaporation [8]. The process is environmentally friendly with low operating cost since,
unlike the mechanical vapor compression system, it does not require any refrigerant which is a major cause of negative environmental
impact [9]. This technique is widely used for residential building in hot-dry even in hot-humid climate areas and it is generally applied
in agricultural sectors such as animal houses and plant greenhouses [10].
As water normally evaporates well when the temperature is high and the relative humidity is low, the DEC is, therefore, suitable for
air cooling in hot-dry climate area. A. Laknizi et al. [11] studied the DEC performance in Morocco, a city in a hot-dry climate, where the
highest temperature each year exceeded 45 ◦ C. The simulation result showed that the DEC could reduce the feed-in air temperature
from 44 ◦ C to be 26.7 ◦ C. Alaa Ruhma Al-Badri [12] studied the effect of the feedwater temperature on the DEC performance by
controlling the inlet water temperature to be lower than the wet-bulb temperature of the inlet air (Tw,i < Twb,i ) and found that the
cooling performance significantly increased with the lower inlet water temperature and that the system performed more effectively
when the ambient temperature was high and the relative humidity was really low. I.M.A. Aljubury and H.D. Ridha [13] used a
combination of two techniques, DEC and Indirect Evaporative Cooling (IDEC), to reduce the temperature inside a greenhouse in Iraq.
In their study, the feedwater for both the DEC and IDEC came from the 25 ◦ C groundwater which led to the air temperature inside the
greenhouse being kept lower than 24 ◦ C. H.E. Dessouky et al. [14] studied the performance of a DEC unit in Kuwait’s environment
(another hot-humid climate) in comparison with a combined unit of a DEC with an IDEC one. The result showed that the stand-alone
DEC unit gave an average saturation efficiency of 70%, while that of the combined unit was over 90%. In case of a hot-humid climate
like Thailand, N. Dussadee [15] investigated performance of a DEC unit with chilled water feeding. This chilled water was generated by
radiative cooling during night-time by feeding the water through a cooling coil. It could be concluded, based on the result, with lower
feedwater temperature not only lower the air temperature but also the rate of water consumption and the pump electrical power input.
For DEC, since the cooling pad performance needed high saturation efficiency and low pressure drop, therefore, different materials
and designs of the cooling media were considered. A.K. Dhamneya et al. [16] determined different configurations of DEC using Aspen
fiber cooling pad. Triangular cross-sectioned unit was found to give highest saturation efficiency in all testing conditions. P. Martinez
et al. [17] introduced an evaporative pad made of a high-density polyethylene mesh which was a low-cost material. From the tests in a
wind tunnel, it was found that the maximum pressure drop was rather low which was less than 17 Pa at air velocity of 1.95 m/s when
the pad thickness was 250 mm. At low air velocity, the saturation efficiency of this thickness was 80.5%. A. Franco-Salas et al. [18]

2
W. Ketwong et al. Case Studies in Thermal Engineering 26 (2021) 101127

investigated air temperature reduction capacity and water consumption of 3-year used cellulose evaporating pad in a greenhouse
compared with those of a new pad of the same model. The used pad gave a greater pressure drop than the new one due to the decrease
of the pad porosity. For the air speed range of 1–1.5 m/s, the pressure drop increased between 8.59 and 18.36 Pa, but the air saturation
efficiency was slightly increased. Recently, X. Cui et al. [19] proposed a membrane-based semidirect evaporative cooler in a form of
hollow fiber tubes housing air stream and water stream flowing outside and inside the hollow tubes, respectively. The membrane
allowed water vapor to permeate but prevented the penetration of bacteria and fungi then the air temperature could be reduced
without water carryover and the air quality could be controlled.
Cool air generated by the DEC could be used to cool air-conditioner condenser, thereby improving the whole unit performance. A.A.
Eidan et al. [4] used a DEC to enhance performance of an air conditioner in a hot-dry climate. The air-conditioner coefficient of
performance (COP) increased in a range of 17.8%–33.24% with 0.12 A–0.16 A electrical current reducing in each temperature degree
drop. T. Borirak and P. Kotchapoom [20] tested a 1 TR air-conditioner with condenser cooling by the DEC technique for a hot-humid
climate area in Thailand. The COP could be boosted from around 4.3 to 5.2. P. Martinez et al. [21] also experimental studied the energy
efficiency improvement of a R408C air conditioner having a nominal cooling capacity of 2500 W by condenser air precooling with DEC
and find out the suitable cooling pad thickness that gave highest overall COP. In the experiment, a commercial porous cellulosic paper
having a thickness of 100 mm gave the best overall COP which was increased by 10.6% compared with the unit without DEC. M.
Ramzan et al. [22] experimental tested a 1.5 TR R410A split-type air conditioner by taking condensate water from the evaporator coil
to assist the DEC pad for air cooling at the condenser. The modification showed 19% and 36% increases in cooling capacity and EER,
respectively, compared with the unit without the wet pad. T. Ongthanasuk and R. Chirakalwasan [23] also tested a 1 TR
air-conditioner with an evaporative condenser by varying the feedwater mass flow rate and relative humidity. They found that the
evaporative condenser air conditioner performed effectively when the relative humidity was low.
Recently, R. Zhao et al. [24] developed DEC for controlling heat dissipation in Li-ion battery pack and the DEC could gave better
cooling effect that of the normal air cooling.
It could be seen that DEC could be used to generate cooling air effectively in hot-dry climate area. For tropical area having hot-
humid climate, there is also a potential of the DEC technique on space cooling. However, most of the study did not consider the ef­
fect of different inlet feedwater temperature with wet bulb air temperature (higher or lower than wet bulb air temperature) and the
water-air mass ratio on the generated cool air temperature thus the DEC design sometimes could not generate low outlet air tem­
perature as needed, especially in hot-humid climate area where the relative humidity was rather high. In this study, study of the DEC
performance, at various inlet feedwater temperatures including the water air-mass ratios on the generated cool air temperature was
carried out for hot weather conditions with low to high relative humidities. In addition, a study on the condenser cooling of an air-
conditioner by the cool air generated by DEC for improving air-conditioner performance was also investigated. The information
data could be used to select the suitable water-air mass ratio related to the feedwater temperature for controlling cool air temperature
for space cooling or even for air-conditioner condenser cooling in hot-dry and hot-humid climate areas.

2. DEC physical model

Direct Evaporative Cooling (DEC) is a method to cool non-saturated air by contracting with water which causes evaporation. Fig. 1a
illustrates the mechanisms of the DEC unit which comprises of a cooling pad, a water basin, a circulation pump, and water spray
nozzles. Non-saturated air at high temperature is fed through the cooling pad which is uniformly impregnated with water. The water
evaporates as it absorbs the heat from the air, leading to a lower temperature of the outlet air. This cool air could be transferred to the
desired place. The mathematical model of the evaporative cooling process considering the heat and mass balance (water-air) under the

Fig. 1. (A.) A schematic sketch and (b.) the control volume with the mass balance of a cooling pad.

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W. Ketwong et al. Case Studies in Thermal Engineering 26 (2021) 101127

steady condition of the control volume as shown in Fig. 1b are carried out with the following assumptions:

a. The heat loss transfer to the surrounding is negligible.

b. The air and water properties are constants.
c. The pad is uniformly wetted.

The energy balance at the cooling pad could be

∑ ∑
Q̇CV − ẆCV + ṁi hi = ṁo ho . (1)

Assuming that there is no transfer of heat and work at the control volume, then
ṁa,i ha,i + ṁw,i hf,w,i = ṁa,o ha,o + ṁw,o hf,w,o (2)

where hf,w is the enthalpy of water, ha is the enthalpy of moist air. The subscripts i and o represent the inlet and outlet conditions,
respectively.
The enthalpy of water could be calculated by
hf,w = Cp,w Tw (3)

while the enthalpy of moist air could be calculated by

ha = Cp,da Tdb + wa hg,w (4)

where Tw and Tdb are the water and dry-bulb temperatures and hg,w is the enthalpy of vaporization of water which is

hg,w = hfg,w + Tdb Cp,v (5)

where wa is the specific humidity, hfg,w is the latent heat of water Cp,w , Cp,da and Cp,v are the specific heat capacities of water, dry air,
and water vapor respectively. The simulation employs fixed values of hfg,w = 2501 kJ/kg⋅K, Cp,w = 4.186 kJ/kg⋅K, Cp,da = 1.012 kJ/
kg⋅K, and Cp,v = 1.863 kJ/kg⋅K [25]. wa could be taken as a function of dry-bulb temperature (Tdb ) and relative humidity (%RH) as

pv (Tdb , %RH)
wa = 0.622 (6)
101.325 − pv (Ta , %RH)

where pv is the vapor pressure of the air, through the relation [26].
( ) %RH
pv = 5.73 × 10− 7 T4db + 1.5068 × 10− 5 T3db + 1.641656 × 10− 3 T2db + 4.2747855 × 10− 2 Tdb + 0.61553999 . (7)
100
While the air passes through the cooling pad, some water evaporates and since ṁa,i = ṁa,o , the amount of condensed moisture
(ṁw,e ) could be calculated by

ṁw,e = ṁa wa,o − ṁa wa,i . (8)

Substitute Eqs. (3)–(8) in Eq. (2)

[ ( ) ( ) ( )]
wa,i hf,w,o − hg,w,i + MR hf,w,o − hf,w,i + wa,o hg,w,o − hf,w,o
Tdb,o = Tdb,i − (9)
CP,da

ṁw,i
where MR refers to ṁa and Tdb,o is the outlet dry-bulb temperature. In case of 100% saturation efficiency at the outlet air (saturated
outlet air), hg,w,o and wa,o , then, become h∗g,w,o , or the specific enthalpy, and w∗a,o , or the specific humidity at T∗db,o , the outlet air
temperature at saturated condition, respectively. Assuming that the leaving water temperature equals to the outlet air temperature,
then, T∗db,o could be calculated by
( )
[w ( h ) ( ) ∗ ∗ ]
a,i f,w,o − hg,w,i + MR hf,w,o − hf,w,i + wa,o hg,w,o − hf,w,o
T∗db,o = Tdb,i − . (10)
CP,da

According to the model above, once the condition of the inlet air condition (temperature and relative humidity), the mass flow rate
ratio of water to air (MR) and the inlet water temperature are defined, the outlet air temperature at the cooling pad for 100% saturation
efficiency (T∗db,o ) could be evaluated. However, in actual operation, the saturation efficiency of the cooling pad would be not 100% but
in a range of 70–90%. The outlet temperature for non-saturated air (Tdb,o ) can be calculated from
Tdb,i − Tdb,o
E= x100%. (11)
Tdb,i − T∗db,o

where E is the saturation efficiency.

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W. Ketwong et al. Case Studies in Thermal Engineering 26 (2021) 101127

Fig. 2 shows the outlet air temperature when the feedwater temperature, Tw,i differs from the wet-bulb temperature of the air inlet
(Tw,i < Twb,i ). If the wet-bulb temperature of the outlet air (Twb,o ) is not the same as that of the inlet air. With the cooling pad saturation
efficiency, the outlet air temperature (Tdb,o ) could be indicated as depicted in the diagram.
At the cooling pad, there is heat and mass exchange between the flowing air and the feedwater. The heat exchanger performance
could be considered in terms of heat exchanger effectiveness, F, as
ha,i − ha,o
F= , (12)
ha,i − hw,i

where ha,i and ha,o are the air enthalpies at the inlet and outlet, respectively and hw,i is the saturated air enthalpy at the temperature
equals to the entering water temperature. F equals 1 when the outlet air temperature is similar to the entering water temperature.
Fig. 3 shows the calculation steps of the outlet air temperature at the cooling pad. Initial mass flow rate and temperatures of fluid
(ṁw , ṁa , ​ Tdb,i , Twb,i ​ and ​ Tw,i ) are known and the saturation efficiency (E) is provided by manufacturer. This means the outlet air
temperature of the DEC system could be simulated. Firstly, the value of the outlet air temperature at saturated condition (T∗∗ db,o ) is
required. If Tw,i ≤ ​ Twb,i , the initial value of T∗∗ db,o would set to be equal to Tw,i because the possible minimum temperature could be Tw,i .
On the contrary, if Tw,i > Twb,i , the value of T∗∗ db,o would set to be equal to Twb,i due to the possible minimum temperature is Twb,i . At
saturated condition (RHo = 100%) and the leaving water temperature is assumed to be equal to the outlet air temperature (Tw,i =
T∗∗
db,o ), with a given mass ratio, then the air properties could be calculated and the new saturated outlet air temperature (Tdb,o ) could be
∗

calculated from Eq. (10). The loop calculation would be complete when the difference between the calculated (T∗db,o ) and the assumed
db,o ) outlet air temperature is less than 1%. With the given saturation efficiency, the outlet air temperature could be evaluated from
(T∗∗
Eq. (11).

3. Result and discussion

3.1. Model verification

To verify the described model, the experimental data [12] were taken and compared with the simulated results as shown in Table 1
in terms of the outlet dry-bulb and wet-bulb temperatures. The maximum deviations of both dry-bulb and wet-bulb temperatures were
found to be less than 3.42% and 2.55%, respectively.

Fig. 2. The outlet air temperature Tdb,o and theboutlet air temperature at 100% saturation, Tdb,o with the inlet water temperature that differs from
the wet-bulb temperature of the air inlet (Tw,i < Twb,i) at saturation efficiency (E) = 80%.

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W. Ketwong et al. Case Studies in Thermal Engineering 26 (2021) 101127

Fig. 3. Flow chart detailing the calculation of the outlet air temperature of the evaporative pad cooling.

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W. Ketwong et al. Case Studies in Thermal Engineering 26 (2021) 101127

3.2. Prediction of DEC performance

The model was used to predict the outlet air temperature and the heat exchanger effectiveness, F, of the DEC under various
operating conditions. In this simulation, a commercial cooling pad (CeLpad0760) was selected and the airspeed was fixed at 1 m/s. The
saturation efficiency could be taken at 80% (based on the data from the manufacturer [27]).
The simulation ran three different scenarios of the feedwater: Tw,i = Twb,i + 5 ◦ C (Tw,i > Twb,i), Tw,i = Twb,i and Tw,i = Twb,i - 5 ◦ C (Tw,
i < Twb,i). In addition, other conditions for the calculation were.
Ambient temperature (Tdb,i ): 30 ◦ C–40 ◦ C.
Ambient relative humidity (%RH): 30%–80%
Mass ratio (ṁw /ṁa ): 0.2–2.

3.2.1. Effects of ambient air temperature and humidity

Fig. 4a shows the variation of the cool outlet air temperature with the ambient temperature (25 ◦ C–40 ◦ C) and the relative humidity
(30%–80%). The feedwater temperature was equal to the inlet wet-bulb temperature, while the mass ratio of feedwater to circulating
air (MR) was 1. At any given relative humidity, the higher the ambient air temperature, the higher the outlet air temperature was
found. When the relative humidity was higher as presented in the psychrometric chart (Fig. 4b), less water could vaporize, resulting in
less heat being absorbed by the water and the higher outlet air temperature. This confirms that the DEC was more effective for cooling
in a hot–dry climate (low relative humidity) than in a hot-humid climate (high relative humidity).

3.2.2. Effects of mass ratio and feed water temperature

The effect of water-air mass flow rate ratio (MR) and the feedwater temperature on the outlet air temperature is studied. The results
are illustrated in Fig. 5 with three different scenarios of the feedwater temperature: Tw,i = Twb,i + 5 ◦ C (Tw,i > Twb,i), Tw,i = Twb,i, and
Tw,i = Twb,i - 5 ◦ C (Tw,i < Twb,i).
In the first case where Tw,i = Twb,i + 5 ◦ C: the inlet feedwater temperature was higher than the wet-bulb temperature (Tw,i > Twb,i),
water, then, could easily vaporize into the air, causing the temperature of the saturated outlet air temperature (T × db,o) and the outlet
air temperature (Tdb,o) to be higher than the wet-bulb temperature of the entering air. The results were displayed in Fig. 5a. In this case,
less MR produced a lower air outlet temperature. However, there is a limit to the MR reduction, i.e., if the MR is too low, the cooling
pad might not be thoroughly wetted. In the second case where Tw,i = Twb,i: this scenario would be a normal design of the evaporative
cooling. From Fig. 5b, the outlet wet-bulb air temperature (Twb,i) was similar to that of the inlet wet-bulb (Tw,i). It is worth noting that
the MR did not affect the outlet air temperature (Tdb,o) and that the outlet air temperature was almost unchanged when MR increased.
In the third case where Tw,i = Twb,i - 5 ◦ C: when the inlet water temperature was lower than the inlet wet-bulb temperature, less water
would evaporate. As a result, the saturated outlet air temperature and the outlet air temperature could be reduced. If the mass flow rate
ratio increased, the outlet air temperature would be lower than the inlet wet-bulb air temperature, and closer to that of the inlet water
as shown in Fig. 5c. However, an increase in the MR led to a higher flow rate and cost of water circulation. Again, in all cases, lower
relative humidity resulted in lower the outlet air temperature which meant that the DEC was better suited to the hot-dry climate than
the hot-humid climate.

3.2.3. Effect of mass ratio on heat exchanger effectiveness

Fig. 6a depicts the effect of the mass ratio on the heat exchanger effectiveness, F, during the exchange of heat between water and air
at the evaporative pad. Higher heat exchanger effectiveness meant that the enthalpy of the outlet air was closer to that of the saturated
air enthalpy at the same temperature as the entering water temperature. It could be seen that higher the mass ratio, higher the amount
of water could vaporize into the air, and the outlet air temperature is also closer to the inlet feedwater temperature. In case of a hot-dry
condition (Fig. 6b), at Tw,i = 30 ◦ C where Tw,i > Twb,i, it could be observed that the outlet air temperature and F value tended to
increase as the mass ratio rose, which meant that lower mass ratio was more appropriate for reducing the air temperature. On the
contrary, in case of a hot-humid condition (Fig. 6c), or Tw,i = 30 ◦ C where Tw,i < Twb,i, it could be viewed that as the mass ratio
increased, the outlet air temperature would decrease, while the F value tended to increase. Therefore, in this case, it was recommended

Table 1
Experimental and predicted data.
Inlet condition Outlet condition Outlet condition (Predicted)
(Experimental)

Tdb,i Twb,i Tw,i ṁa (kg/ ṁw (kg/ MR Tdb,o Twb,o E (%) Tdb,o Twb,o Tdb,o different Twb,o different
(◦ C) (◦ C) (◦ C) h) h) (◦ C) (◦ C) (◦ C) (◦ C) (%) (%)

30.2 20.1 17.4 480.2 113.1 0.23 21.9 19.6 76.14 22.7 19.10 3.42 2.55
30.3 19.6 17.6 315.0 101.9 0.32 22.2 19.0 71.68 22.4 18.60 0.72 2.11
30.8 20.2 17.6 562.7 113.0 0.21 22.6 19.7 72.56 22.3 19.20 1.62 2.54
31.5 20.6 19.3 398.9 113.4 0.28 23.8 20.3 68.75 23.4 19.80 0.88 2.46
32.9 22.9 20.3 362.5 103.7 0.36 24.8 22.3 73.77 25.4 21.90 2.48 1.79
32.5 20.8 18.7 505.8 100.9 1.99 23.8 20.3 71.31 24.0 19.90 0.70 1.97
33.1 21.5 20.3 1031.4 113.4 0.11 25.6 21.3 63.55 24.8 20.80 3.04 2.35
33.6 22.9 21.0 580.3 107.6 1.86 25.7 22.5 70.66 25.8 22.10 0.51 1.78

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Fig. 4. The outlet air temperature vs. the ambient temperature and the relative humidity when the feedwater temperature is equal to the inlet wet-
bulb temperature and the mass ratio (MR) is 1.

Fig. 5. The outlet air temperature as a function of mass flow rate ratio with various relative humidities. The dry-bulb temperature is 40 ◦ C.

to have a higher mass ratio in order to reduce the air temperature.

3.2.4. Air-conditioner EER improvement by DEC

Nattaporn Chaiyat [28] tested thermal performance of a 1 TR R-134a air conditioner. From the experimental results, it was
observed that the energy efficiency ratio (EER) of the air conditioner could be defined as a function of the temperature difference
between the ambient temperature (Ta ) which was the heat sink of the unit condenser and the room temperature (Tr ) as

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W. Ketwong et al. Case Studies in Thermal Engineering 26 (2021) 101127

Fig. 6. Effect of the mass ratio (MR) on the heat exchanger effectiveness at the inlet air at 40 ◦ C and the feedwater temperature at 30 ◦ C (a.) Inlet air
at 30%RH and 70%RH (b.) Inlet air at 30%RH (hot-dry condition), Tw,i > Twb,i and (c.) Inlet air at 70%RH (hot - humid condition), Tw,i < Twb,i. (o1,
o2, …, o5 are outlet air conditions).

EER = − 0.0880(Ta − Tr ) + 4.3392, (13)

where EER is the ratio of the cooling capacity (in W) to electrical energy input (in W), Ta is the ambient temperature (heat sink
temperature) and Tr is the room temperature.
According to the equation, if the heat sink temperature of the air conditioner (Ta ) is reduced, the air conditioner EER could be
improved. In this study, DEC has been introduced to generate low-temperature air for condenser cooling and the design is illustrated in
Fig. 7.
A simulation of the above 1 TR air-conditioner performance was carried out with a unit with DEC. The operating conditions of the
DEC for air conditioner condenser cooling are stated in Table 2.
Fig. 8 shows the EER of the air conditioner having cooling air from the DEC at the condenser. It could be seen that the EER at low air
relative humidity (30%RH – a hot and dry climate) is higher than the EER at high relative humidity (70%RH – a hot and humid
climate). The EER of the air conditioner with DEC (around 3.90–4.35 for 30%RH, and 3.35–3.75 for 70%RH) was higher than the unit
without DEC (EER = 3.01) as displayed in Fig. 8 when the feedwater temperature was 25–35 ◦ C. In Fig. 8a where Tw,i = 35 ◦ C, this
value (Tw,i) was higher than the wet-bulb air temperature for a hot-dry condition (40 ◦ C, 30%RH), which meant that higher the mass
ratio, higher the outlet air temperature at the DEC was obtained, resulting in a lower EER. For a hot-humid condition (40 ◦ C, 70%RH),
the value of Tw,i was closer to the wet-bulb temperature, thereby an increase in the mass ratio did not affect the EER. According to
Fig. 8b, where Tw,i = 30 ◦ C, for the hot-dry condition (40 ◦ C, 30%RH), the feedwater temperature was higher than the wet-bulb

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W. Ketwong et al. Case Studies in Thermal Engineering 26 (2021) 101127

Fig. 7. The use of DEC to generate low-temperature air for condenser cooling.

temperature, i.e., the EER would continue to decrease as the mass ratio increased. For the hot-humid condition (40 ◦ C, 70%RH), the
water temperature was lower than the wet-bulb temperature. This meant an increase of the mass ratio could lower the air temperature
and, subsequently, improved the EER. In Fig. 8c, at Tw,i = 25 ◦ C, the feedwater temperature was closer to the wet-bulb temperature for
the hot-dry condition (40 ◦ C, 30%RH), then, the mass ratio did not affect the generated cool air temperature and also the air-
conditioner EER. But for the hot-humid climate (40 ◦ C, 70%RH), the feedwater temperature was still lower than the wet-bulb tem­
perature then the results were similar to those in Fig. 8b.
It could be concluded from Fig. 8 that in any condition (Fig. 8a, b, and 8c) the unit with DEC gains more EER than the stand-alone
unit in both hot–dry and hot–humid climates (with EERs in ranges of 3.64–4.20 and 3.34–3.78 for hot–dry and hot–humid climates,
respectively, compared to 3.01 of the unit without DEC). Moreover, higher the saturation efficiency (E) of the cooling pad, the outlet
air temperature could be lower and closer to the saturation temperature then higher the air-conditioner EER could be obtained. It could
also be noted that for hot-dry weather condition, the feedwater temperature was generally higher than the wet-bulb temperature then
less mass ratio was suitable to improve the air-conditioner EER. For hot-humid weather condition, the feedwater temperature was
normally lower than the wet-bulb temperature thus higher mass ratio was recommended.
From the weather data (the ambient temperature and the relative humidity) of Chiang Mai (hot-humid climate) [29], the EERs in
each month of the air-conditioner with and without DEC running between 8 a.m. and 4 p.m. could be calculated from Eqn. (13). In case
of the unit with DEC, Ta in Eqn. (13) was replaced by Tdb,o calculated by the method as described before. With the assumption of the
cooling load being at 3.5 kW (1 TR), the feedwater temperature at 30 ◦ C and the DEC saturation efficiency at 80% then the electrical
power consumption and the daily electrical energy consumption could be evaluated. Assuming that the running period of the
air-conditioner compressor was 60% of the air-conditioning duration, then, the annually electrical energy saving for the unit with DEC
should be 285.61 kW h/year or 34.84 USD/year (the electric charge was 0.122 USD/kWh [30]). The estimated cost of the DEC for air
cooling was around 100 USD. The payback period should, then, be approximately 2.87 year.

4. Conclusion

Direct Evaporative Cooling (DEC) could be used to generate cool air for space cooling and for condenser cooling of air conditioner,
thereby improving the energy efficiency ratio (EER). The key findings of this study are as follows:

● The DEC technique is more effective for air cooling in a hot–dry climate than in a hot–humid climate.
● When the feedwater temperature was higher than the wet-bulb air temperature, lowering the mass ratio of feedwater to the
circulating air caused the ambient air temperature to reduce. On the contrary, to decrease the ambient air temperature when the
feedwater temperature was lower, increasing the water-air mass ratio was recommended. For hot-dry weather condition (low
relative humidity), the generated air temperature was rather low compared with that for hot-humid weather condition (high
humidity ratio).
● The cool air generated by DEC could be used to cool the air conditioner condenser. Based on the simulation model of a 1 TR air
conditioner for a hot–dry climate, the feedwater temperature was generally higher than the ambient wet-bulb temperature,
meaning that lowering the water-air mass ratio would result in higher the air conditioner EER. Conversely, the feedwater tem­
perature in a hot-humid climate was generally lower than the ambient wet-bulb temperature, therefore higher the water-air mass
ratio was recommended to improve the air-conditioner EER.

10
W. Ketwong et al. Case Studies in Thermal Engineering 26 (2021) 101127

Table 2
The operating conditions of the DEC for the air-conditioner
in Fig. 7.
Parameters Operation conditoins

%RHi 30, 70
MR 0.2–1.0
Tw,i 25, 30, 35 ◦ C
Tdb,i 40 ◦ C
E 70, 80, 90%

Fig. 8. The Effect of water-mass flow rate ratio on the EER of the air-cooled condenser air-conditioner for the dry-bulb temperature at 40 ◦ C, inlet
water temperature at 25–35 ◦ C and E value at (a.) 70% (b.) 80% (c.) 90%.

● The EERs of a 1 TR air conditioner unit with DEC in this study ranged from 3.64 to 4.20 and 3.34–3.78 for hot–dry and hot–humid
climates, respectively, compared to 3.01 of the unit without DEC. Furthermore, the payback period was approximately 2.87 years.

5. Authorship statement

All persons who meet authorship criteria are listed as authors, and all authors certify that they have participated sufficiently in the
work to take public responsibility for the content, including participation in the concept, design, analysis, writing, or revision of the
manuscript. Furthermore, each author certifies that this material or similar material has not been and will not be submitted to or
published in any other publication before its appearance in the journal of Case Studies in Thermal Engineering.
Authorship contributions.
K. Wichakan: Conception and design of study, analysis and/or interpretation of data, acquisition of data, Drafting the manuscript,
revising the manuscript critically for important intellectual content, Approval of the version of the manuscript to be published; A.
Asanakham: Conception and design of study, analysis and/or interpretation of data, Drafting the manuscript, revising the manuscript
critically for important intellectual content, Approval of the version of the manuscript to be published; T. Deethayat: Conception and
design of study, analysis and/or interpretation of data, Drafting the manuscript, revising the manuscript critically for important in­
tellectual content, Approval of the version of the manuscript to be published; T. Kiatsiriroat: Conception and design of study, analysis
and/or interpretation of data, Drafting the manuscript, revising the manuscript critically for important intellectual content, Approval
of the version of the manuscript to be published.

Declaration of competing interest

The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to
influence the work reported in this paper.

Acknowledgement

This research project is supported by the Faculty of Engineering (Research Assistant Program), Graduate School CMU (Teaching
Assistant and Research Assistant) and Research Group for Renewable Energy, Chiang Mai University.

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