English

This is the first of a series of four papers that describe a 3-year EU-funded research project into the application of passive downdraught evaporative cooling to nondomestic buildings. In this paper various evaporative cooling techniques are reviewed. By spraying fine droplets of water at the top of atria, a downdraught of air cooled by evaporation can be produced. Such direct evaporative cooling using an evaporation tower appears to be a suitable approach for partly displacing the need for air-conditioning in hot, dry climates.

It is the aim of this article to explain the testing procedures developed at the University of Technology, Sydney (UTS) and to evaluate the potential natural ventilation and daylighting applications that have arisen from this research. The objectives for research into this field were to reduce energy costs and increase the sustainability of building stock. From the results of these experiments actual and potential designs are illustrated and discussed in this article.