The thermal environment inside a building, fitted with a regenerative
evaporative cooler, is influenced by the performance of the cooler. Ho
wever, this performance is again influenced by the indoor air conditio
ns. It means that the thermal performance of the building and the perf
ormance of the cooler cannot be separated This paper proposes an innov
ative model for simulating the integrated thermal performance of build
ings and regenerative evaporative coolers. The cooler model employs a
standard single equation to characterize the performance of a cooler.
Only the coefficients of this equation differs for different coolers.
These coefficients are found from empirical performance data available
from suppliers. The cooler model was integrated with a comprehensive
building thermal analysis program and verified successfully. The appli
cability of the new integrated model is illustrated through a number o
f practical examples. This model now enables the designer to simulate
any regenerative evaporative cooler connected to any building in any c
limatic region. The control strategy best suited for different off-des
ign conditions can now also be investigated.