Design, Construction and Performance Comparison of Indoor and Outdoor Configurations of a Solar Powered Evaporative Air Cooler

Solar powered evaporative cooler using locally available materials such as galvanized iron, thin wooden strips, car radiator fan and submersible water pump of low power types was designed and constructed. Performance comparison of indoor and outdoor configuration of this system was experimentally investigated while cooling a room space of approximately a volume of 43.5m3 and encouraging results in terms of temperature reduction ranging from 4.6 C-7.2 C; relative humidity ranging from 28.0%-54.9% and cooling effectiveness ranging from 35.4%-97.3%were found. In this work humidity and temperature control unit was integrated to control water supply there by regulating the humidity level of the room space while cooling. This technology is cheaper and can efficiently improve indoor air quality and it is suitable for residential application especially for villages, schools and offices where there is a power outage problem or no grid extension.