Evaporative cooling can be adopted in wet areas by integration into HVAC sy
stems. Processing 'TRY' data for Italy, the economics of three-stage evapor
ative cooling systems were examined. Summertime conventional system operati
ng costs and hybrid system savings were evaluated. The method was based on
a simplified approach that is not intended as a substitute for accurate dyn
amic modelling, but as a simple analysis tool. The results were found to be
strongly dependent on: climatic area, internal set point, initial cost of
extra equipment. The highest savings appeared to be achieved in the middle-
south of Italy. (C) 1999 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.