Performance Evaluation of Native-Kankan Padded Evaporative Space Cooler Using Arduino Mega

Abstract

Performance evaluation of native-kankan padded evaporative space cooler using Arduino Mega is presented. Materials for fabrication were both locally improvised and conventionally sourced for such as the Nigerian Native-Kankan fibre sponge used as the wet and dry filter pads and expanded polystyrene which is used as thermal insulation material. Dry air from the outdoor surrounding is passed through the soaked Kankan fibre pad using a reverse DC fan and cooled by evaporative means where the sensible heat of dry air is converted to latent heat accumulation in the circulating working fluid. 150Watts solar power was supplied to the constructed cooler for a test run and results showed that the peak temperature drop of 27℃ to 24.5℃ was experienced in the indoor space / cooler exit of the test room facility. The average system COP of 1.224, evaporation rate of 0.066GPH and cooling capacity of 95.23W was achieved from the conducted experiment. The native-kankan dry filter pad reduced the humidity level of cooled air entering the indoor test room cubicle by 2%. A comprehensive cooling load analysis of the test room facility was carried out and the results were applied using sensible heat removal method to achieve cooler size rating of 319.02CFM. All experimental results were collected using Arduino Mega, type K thermocouple sensors and DHT11 humidity sensors installed on the constructed evaporative cooling unit.

Keywords: Latent heat; Air conditioning; Relative Humidity, Arduino Mega; Evaporative Cooling; Native-Kankan fibre sponge.