EXPERIMENTAL INVESTIGATION OF PERFORMANCE OF A RESIDENTIAL AIR-CONDITIONING SYSTEM WITH AN EVAPORATIVELY COOLED CONDENSER

This paper presents an experimental investigation of the use of indire ct evaporative cooling process to increase the performance of an air-t o-air vapor compression refrigeration system. The condenser of an exis ting 2.5 ton (8.8 kW) air conditioning system at the University of Flo rida's Energy Park in Gainesville was retrofitted with a media pad typ e evaporative cooler a water source, and a pump. The system performanc e was monitored without and with the evaporative cooler on the condens er The data show that electric energy savings of 20 percent can be ach ieved by using an evaporatively cooled air condenser The energy saving s can pay for the cost associated with retrofitting the condenser in a s little as two years.