Energy Saving in Split Air Conditioner using Evaporative Cooling Pad at the ODU

Abstract

The objective of the study is to investigate the performance improvement in a split air conditioning system using evaporative cooling pads at ODU (outdoor unit) and to determine optimum thickness and material of the cooling pad. For this purpose experiments were conducted on 0.8 TR capacity split air conditioner charged with refrigerant R-22. For comparison experiments were performed with and without evaporative cooling pad. The effect of the different cooling pad material and thickness on the overall performance of split air conditioner is experimentally found by measuring cooling capacity and the power consumption of the system including water circulation pump. From the experimental work it is found that the cellulose cooling pad gives the best results among the selected materials. Split air conditioner coupled with cellulose cooling pad of 100 mm thickness at ODU results in to 13.8% increase in overall COP, 9.5 % reduction in power consumption and 5.1 % increase in cooling capacity at 35°C DBT and 32% relative humidity outdoor air condition.