Pilot-scale experimental study of an innovative low-energy and low-cost cooling system for buildings

Abstract An experimental study of an innovative low-energy and low-cost cooling system for buildings is presented. To achieve low-energy use, this cooling system simultaneously makes use of three available heat sinks: the ground, evaporation of water and radiation to the sky. This simple, inexpensive and energy-saving system was installed on a single-family 100-m 2 house in Bordeaux (South-West of France) and tested during summer 2015. On the test sequence presented (10–25 August), this system dissipated an average of 8.5 kWh day −1 of heat from the building, with a maximum of 19.3 kWh. This energy was dissipated mainly into the ground and crawl space (4.5 kWh day −1 ) and by evaporation and radiative cooling (4.7 kWh day −1 ). The system COP over the period was 19 and it maintained an inside air temperature under 27 °C even during warm summer days, with approximately 42 L day −1 water consumption.