See discussions, stats, and author profiles for this publication at: https://www.researchgate.

net/publication/270470695

Review of nocturnal cooling systems

Article  in  International Journal of Energy for a Clean Environment · January 2010

DOI: 10.1615/InterJEnerCleanEnv.2011003225

CITATIONS READS
21 4,636

4 authors:

Kevin N. Nwaigwe Okoronkwo Chukwunenye Anthony

University of Botswana Federal University of Technology Owerri
72 PUBLICATIONS   316 CITATIONS    69 PUBLICATIONS   128 CITATIONS   

SEE PROFILE SEE PROFILE

Nnamdi Ogueke Emmanuel E. Anyanwu

Federal University of Technology Owerri Federal University of Technology Owerri
48 PUBLICATIONS   389 CITATIONS    70 PUBLICATIONS   858 CITATIONS   

SEE PROFILE SEE PROFILE

Some of the authors of this publication are also working on these related projects:

Flow optimization and performance evaluation of bioreactors for municipal solid waste treatment View project

Mechanical design View project

All content following this page was uploaded by Kevin N. Nwaigwe on 11 April 2015.

The user has requested enhancement of the downloaded file.

 International Journal of Energy for a Clean Environment, 11(1–4), 117–143 (2010)

REVIEW OF NOCTURNAL COOLING

SYSTEMS

K. N. Nwaigwe, C. A. Okoronkwo, N. V. Ogueke,*

& E. E. Anyanwu

School of Engineering and Engineering Technology, Federal University

of Technology, P.M.B. 1526, Owerri Imo State, Nigeria
*
Address all correspondence to: N. V. Ogueke, E-mail: nvogueke@futo.edu.ng

A review of nocturnal cooling systems for space cooling is presented. The cooling systems are
grouped into two broad categories, namely, the air cooling system and the water cooling system.
Their performance, uses and applications, and the factors considered for their selection are re-
ported. Also, studies aimed at determining the quantities of net night sky radiation in different
locations are reviewed. Generally, most locations can provide net night sky radiation above
40 W/m2, while the nocturnal coolers have the potential for reducing space temperatures by be-
tween 2 and 4oC and can yield 14–48% savings in the energy demand of a building. Actual
field testing experience, together with the prospects and problems that affect popularization of
the systems, are also presented. Possible solutions are suggested.

KEYWORDS: nocturnal cooling, emissivity, transmittance, sky radiation

I. INTRODUCTION

Night sky cooling is a concept based on the fact that at night the sky becomes
colder than our immediate environment; thus, surfaces in the immediate environ-
ment radiate heat back to the sky and become colder. This method of cooling is
an age long practice used mostly in arid regions to maintain comfortable tempera-
tures within living rooms. It is also used to keep fruits and vegetables fresh over-
night. The application of night sky radiation in cooling can be achieved using two
basic methods, i.e., air cooling systems and water cooling systems. In air cooling
systems, the thermal radiator is usually mounted on the roof of the building in
such a way that it makes direct contact with the space air requiring cooling,
whereas in the water cooling system, the thermal radiator is mounted, not neces-
sarily on the roof of a building, in a place where the radiating surface has a clear
view of the sky. Water is circulated through it with the aid of a water pump. The
water is cooled on passing through the thermal radiator and it is subsequently used
to cool a space by convection through a heat exchanger. With advances in technol-

2150-3621/10/$35.00 © 2010 by Begell House, Inc. 117

118 Nwaigwe et al.

ogy, the use of night sky radiation was abandoned in favor of the now more con-
ventional means of cold production, e.g., vapor compression and vapor absorption
systems. However, with the increasing cost of energy for running these systems
and concerns about our environment, there appears to be a renaissance. This is
seen from efforts directed at studies toward improving the performance and use of
the nighttime cooling concept. Some of these attempts are seen in the incorpora-
tion of selective coatings such as polyethylene films, movable insulating panels,
etc., in the cooling device.
Night sky cooling (also known as nocturnal cooling) is a cooling method that
has the potential for reducing energy bills arising from space cooling as well as
greenhouse gas emission. This is especially so now that energy consumption re-
lated to cooling of buildings all over the world is steadily increasing as a conse-
quence of worldwide industrialization and an increasing improved living standard.
Nocturnal cooling is independent of grid-connected electricity, and the fluid for en-
ergy transport (where and when necessary) is environmentally friendly. At present,
this technology can be effectively used in hot and arid regions to reduce the cool-
ing load of most residential buildings. Interestingly, much has been carried out on
the extension of the use of nocturnal cooling for space cooling to regions other
than the hot and arid climates as well as measurements to determine the nocturnal
cooling potential of different locations. Its use in agriculture has also been investi-
gated. This work therefore aims at reviewing these reported works on nocturnal
cooling and measurement of night sky radiation with a view to concisely detailing
the progress made so far, field experience, prospects, and the major technical con-
straints, as well as possible solutions for some of the identified problems.

II. NOCTURNAL RADIATION MEASUREMENTS

Several works have been reported on efforts to determine the levels or availability
of nocturnal radiation in some locations as well as factors that affect the nocturnal
cooling intensity. Ezekwe (1986) carried out a nocturnal radiation measurement in
Nsukka, Nigeria, and evaluated the net thermal radiation from a flat plate at ambi-
ent temperature to the night sky. The experimental radiator consisted of a flat mild
steel plate coated with high-emissivity black enamel paint. Data were obtained for
the months of February through May, being a seasonal period in Nigeria free from
the harmattan haze that characterizes part of the dry season (late November to
early February). The effective sky temperatures obtained were on the average
12.2oC lower than the surface air temperatures. The net flux obtained was between
60 and 70 W/m2. In a similar vein, authors at the National Institute for Rural En-
gineering in Japan (NIRE, 2000) identified the cooling effects when fresh vegeta-
bles were cooled by exposing them to an environment in which nocturnal radiative
cooling is active. In this way, energy is saved since cooling is achieved using an
entirely passive cooling technique that does not necessarily depend on grid-con-
nected electricity. Figure 1 shows the experimental rig used for their work. It con-

International Journal of Energy for a Clean Environment

Review of Nocturnal Cooling Systems 119

FIG. 1: Experimetal rig used by scientists at the National Institute for Rural Engineering,
Japan

sists of a double pipe–structured house (4.0 × 5.0 m and 5.0 × 7.0 m) with an in-
terior lined with a 0.1-mm-thick transparent polyethylene film while the exterior is
lined with a 0.15-mm-thick opaque film with one side coated with an aluminum
layer. Each covering was designed to be rolled up by a manual winder. Their re-
sults showed that a net radiation flux density of about 40–60 W/m2 was obtained
during the clear night sky in autumn, and by the following morning, lettuce ex-
posed to the atmosphere had cooled to a temperature almost the same as that
achieved by ordinary precooling. They further observed that in a simple facility
that provides shelter from wind or sunlight, this nocturnal radiative cooling effect
was enhanced.
Ito and Miura (1989) studied radiative cooling systems for storing thermal en-
ergy. The net radiative power of a black painted surface at ambient air temperature
was measured using heat flux plates at night in order to use the results for predict-
ing temperatures of the radiator surface and the fluid in the cooling system on the
same night. The net radiative power obtained by measurements was between 40
and 60 W/m2 on clear nights in the summer and 60 and 80 W/m2 in the fall and
winter. When the sky was clear, the actual measurements of cooling power agreed
well with the estimates. The average temperature of the energy storage tank on
clear nights was 2–5oC below the ambient temperature. The calculated results of
the temperature of the panel and fluid in the storage tank agreed well with the ex-
perimental results.
Golaka and Exell (2007) studied the effect of obstacles that hinder airflow,
thereby minimizing the convective heat flux using computational fluid dynamics
(CFD) calculations and wind tunnel experiments, under conditions appropriate for
the climate under study. The test unit was a rectangular plate 312 × 250 mm, with

Volume 11, Numbers 1–4, 2010

120 Nwaigwe et al.

FIG. 2: Test rig showing the radiative surface with wind shield and an enlarged view of
a study unit as used by Golaka and Exell (2007) [1–4 are the wind shields, 5 (top) is the
radiative surface]

vertical metal strips for the wind shield having heights up to 100 mm along the
edges of the plate. This is shown as Fig. 2. It was found that a wind shield of
height 25 mm slightly increased the convective heat transfer due to increased tur-
bulence over the surface, while wind shields of heights 50 and 100 mm reduced
the convection due to a separation of the main airflow from the surface. Radiative
cooling was reduced by the wind shields. The net cooling of the surface was best
with no wind shield at wind velocities less than about 1 m/s, and with the wind
shield of height 100 mm at wind velocities greater than about 2 m/s.
De Wekker and Whiteman (2006) studied the time scale of nocturnal boundary
layer cooling in valleys, in basins, and over plains. Sequences of vertical tempera-
ture soundings over flat plains and in a variety of valleys and basins of different
sizes and shapes were used to determine cooling time scale characteristics in the
nocturnal stable boundary layer under clear, undisturbed weather conditions. The
volumetric cumulative cooling in nighttime stable boundary layers that formed in
valleys, in basins, and over flat terrain increased with time following an exponen-
tial pattern rather than a square root pattern. It was also discovered that the cool-
ing time constants for point locations are altitude dependent and vary within a
range of 1–6 h. The shortest time constants were found on the upper sidewalls of
the basin and at the basin floor.
Similarly, Iijima and Shinoda (2002) evaluated seasonal differences in the long-
wave radiation balance, diurnal cycles of humidity and cloudiness, and ambient
winds during the warm season in order to determine their effect on the nocturnal
cooling processes of a high mountain hollow in central Japan. The hollow is lo-
cated at an elevation of 2230 m at the bottom, having a depth of 50–200 m, with
a diameter of ~1 km. From their work, they observed that one of the most re-

International Journal of Energy for a Clean Environment

Review of Nocturnal Cooling Systems 121

markable seasonal changes in the atmosphere is a reduction in the downward long-

wave radiation from summer to autumn due to reduced water vapor concentration.
The reduction is larger than that of the upward longwave radiation due to a reduced
surface temperature, thus resulting in a larger potential intensity of radiative cooling
during autumn than summer. Furthermore, their analysis of diurnal variation for
days in summer and autumn showed that the humidity and cloud conditions, differ-
ing between the seasons, determined the initial timing and development of nocturnal
cooling. The summer season (July and August) was found to experience delayed
cooling due to increased downward longwave radiation in the evening caused by a
combination of increased water vapor and cloud cover over the mountains. During
autumn (September and October), dry and fair weather conditions caused strong
and continuous cooling. However, despite the high potential for radiative cooling
during late autumn (after mid-October), nocturnal cooling was frequently disturbed
by strong ambient winds exceeding 3.6 m/s. The weak winds during summer and
early autumn have a minor effect on the actual cooling intensity.
Berdahl and Fromberg (1984) presented experimental results for the global sky
radiation during clear sky conditions and found an equation for predicting the sky
emissivity from the dew point. Similarly, McCathren and Akridge (1982) devel-
oped a practical cooling system for evaluating nocturnal radiant cooling potential.
The temperatures measured by a horizontal test square were used for predicting
the performance of the cooling system. However, it was found that actual cooling
could not be predicted by the simple test square model.
Yamada (2004) studied the numerical simulation of nocturnal cooling during
frost damage of Hemerocallis esculenta in the Sarobetsu Mire, Hokkaido, Japan.
This was achieved by developing a numerical simulation model to examine the
amount of cooling and the air temperature profile during frost damage in the
Sarobetsu Mire on 4 and 5 June, 2002. The main characteristic of the model is to
predict the lowest air temperature at sunrise using meteorological and hydrological
data for the previous sunset, and formulating multilayers of vegetation height. It
was found that the nocturnal air temperature decreased by lowering the groundwa-
ter level, and the amount of nocturnal cooling was affected by desiccation hyster-
esis. In conclusion, the air temperature in the Sarobetsu Mire was mainly affected
by the groundwater level.
Armenta-Déu et al. (2003) reported their work on the operation and thermal
analysis of a new prototype to determine the thermal balance of radiative cooling.
The aim of their study was to establish a simple, effective procedure to calculate
the radiative heat exchange between two bodies to be used in the determination of
sky temperature, clear sky index, or plate emissivity. The radiative transfer calcu-
lation was based on the power required to maintain a constant temperature at the
radiative plate of the prototype, provided that the convection and conduction terms
are well known. The methodology adopted is applicable to an advanced system,
which avoids convection and reduces conduction to maximize radiative effects,

Volume 11, Numbers 1–4, 2010

122 Nwaigwe et al.

FIG. 3: Schematic diagram of the experimental test rig used in (Armenta-Déu, et al.
(2003)

thus minimizing errors and providing more accurate results. Figure 3 shows the
experimental rig. Results obtained showed that minimization of conduction and
convection is essential for obtaining accurate results of radiative heat transfer and
that the operating plate temperature should not be higher than 40oC; higher tem-
peratures increase significantly the conduction term, if convection is neglected, and
decrease the ratio of radiation to conduction. On the other hand, lower operating
temperatures may produce a higher radiation-to-conduction ratio but force the sys-
tem to operate at low power supply, which requires a very precise temperature
control unit that complicates the system design and increases the cost of the unit.
In all, however, the results showed good agreement between total heat transfer and
supplied power, with an error of <5%. This means that high-precision determina-
tion of sky temperature, clear sky index, or plate emissivity using the proposed
methodology is possible.
Apart from these efforts to directly determine the intensity of net sky radiation
in different locations, various authors have reported results on certain climatic vari-
ations related to nocturnal cooling. Feng and Chen (2001) performed numerical ex-
periments with the fifth-generation Mesoscale Model to study the evolution of
island airflow, thermodynamic fields, and clouds over the island of Hawaii at
night. In the early evening, the nocturnal cooling provided the land-sea thermal
contrast required for the development of the downslope flow on the windward
slopes. In the model, the nocturnal cooling not only affected the near-surface air-
flow over the slope surface and coastal areas, but also the airflow aloft and up-
stream of the slope.
In a study of the influences of trade wind inversion and nocturnal cooling in
Hawaii by Feng (1998), observational analysis based on the data set gathered dur-

International Journal of Energy for a Clean Environment

Review of Nocturnal Cooling Systems 123

ing the Hawaii Rainband Project (HaRP, 1990) and numerical experiments using
MM5 (Pennsylvania State University — PSU/NCAR mesoscale model version 5)
were performed. The daily rainfall on the windward side was correlated with the
0200 HST inversion height at Hilo with a maximum correlation of >0.7. For the
low-inversion days, the median daily rainfall on the windward side was about half
(more than twice) of the HaRP median daily rainfall. Slightly more air was forced
to move around the island when the inversion was low. The model control experi-
ment successfully simulated the mean orographic clouds over the windward slopes,
the Kohala mountains, and southeast of Mauna Loa. However, the clouds over
Kona were not related to the inversion height. In addition, on the higher-inversion
days, the deeper moist layer yielded increased latent heat release, which resulted in
weaker island blocking. The effects of the changes in the altitude of the thermal
lid were secondary. The model experiment with nocturnal cooling successfully
simulated the nocturnal inversion, katabatic flow, and seaward movement of night-
time clouds. With the deepening of the cold air dome at the coast, the drainage of
the cold air produced a density current. Individual clouds moved onshore with the
trade wind flow.
One of the most important areas in the field of applied meteorology and agricul-
tural applications is the prediction of frost (i.e., temperatures of <3oC). There are
essentially two main frost categories: the first relates to advection of cold air
masses and the second to air cooling due to thermal radiation, usually during the
night or during early hours of the morning (Emmanouil et al., 2006). On the basis
of this observation, Emmanouil et al. (2006) used four different models for the
prediction of frost events caused by air cooling by thermal radiation. Three of
them were based on polynomial functions that simulate different types of tempera-
ture variations in comparison with an exponential one. The fourth, a postprocessing
method, was proposed for cases where a systematic bias has emerged. They con-
cluded that during summer, the fourth-order polynomial method as well as the ex-
ponential method gave more accurate results. Similarly, during winter, the
prevalence of the fourth-order polynomial was further sustained since it was the
only one able to simulate alternations of temperature variation during night as well
as a possible fall after sunrise. The second-degree method gave low-quality fore-
casts in all cases, especially during the winter period. The postprocessing method
led to significant improvement of the final results, which were comparable to those
obtained by the (optimal) fourth-degree polynomial.

III. NOCTURNAL COOLING SYSTEMS

In the last three decades, special attention has been directed toward energy man-
agement in buildings for both heating and cooling purposes. The latter is an im-
portant issue for countries with hot climates. Several techniques have been
employed for this purpose, one of which is evaporative cooling. Nocturnal cooling
is another method that can complement some of the already-tested methods. This

Volume 11, Numbers 1–4, 2010

124 Nwaigwe et al.

is because experiments reveal significant values of net sky radiation in many of

such locations. Nocturnal cooling therefore depends on how effectively the net sky
radiation is harnessed. The major component for this purpose is the thermal radia-
tor, which could be used in two modes, i.e., to directly cool air in the space (air
cooling system) or to cool water that is subsequently used to cool the space via a
heat exchanger (water cooling system). These two approaches have been adopted
in space cooling by different investigators with varying results. These studies are
reviewed here.
A. Air Cooling Systems
The design and construction of the roof of a building plays an important role on
the heating and cooling needs of the building. The roof protects the building from
outdoor climatic conditions. On the other hand, the roof can be used as an inte-
grated component of a building that uses the environment as an energy sink at
night. In hot climates, the roof becomes an integrated building design component
for cooling using either evaporation or with radiation. Using a building’s roof to
take advantage of longwave radiation to the night sky has long been identified as
a potentially productive means to reduce space cooling in buildings (Givoni, 1982;
Santamouris and Asimakopoulos, 1996). The night sky cooling resource is large
and enticing for residential energy-efficiency applications. On a clear desert night,
a typical sky-facing surface at 27oC will cool at a rate of about 75 W/m2. In a
humid climate with greater atmospheric moisture content, the rate drops to about
60 W/m2 (Martin and Berdahl, 1984).
The air cooling systems consist basically of a thermal radiator. The cooled air is
either circulated artificially by a fan or by a natural process due to the buoyancy
effect. Bagiorgas and Mihalakakou (2008) reported results obtained from the ex-
perimental and theoretical investigation of a nocturnal radiator for space cooling.
Their air cooling system consists of an aluminum nocturnal radiator, painted white
and mounted on the roof of the Department of Environmental and Natural Re-
sources Management Building, University of Ioannina, Agrinio, Greece. Results
obtained revealed a reduction in space temperature in the range of 2.5–4oC with
the nocturnal radiator. Apart from the experimental work conducted, the dynamic
thermal performance of the system during the summer months was calculated
using a mathematical model, based on the heat transferred from the air circulating
inside the radiator to the ambient air. Validation of the numerical solution obtained
with the experimental results revealed good agreement. Based on that, the model
was used to investigate the influence of radiator surface emissivity on its perform-
ance. For the different emissivity values considered, it was found that the radiator
with a surface coating emissivity of 0.93 performed better than that with an emis-
sivity of 0.71.
Khedari et al. (2000) carried out the field investigation of night radiation cooling
under tropical climate conditions. Their system consisted of four types of roof ra-
diators made from common construction materials. Figure 4 shows a sectional

International Journal of Energy for a Clean Environment

Review of Nocturnal Cooling Systems 125

FIG. 4: Sectional drawing of the four configurations of the roof radiator used by Khedari
et al. (2000) in their work

Volume 11, Numbers 1–4, 2010

126 Nwaigwe et al.

drawing of the four configurations of the roof radiators and the position of ther-
mocouples for temperature measurement. The investigation, which was based
mainly on the temperatures of different surfaces of a roof radiator, was carried out
for different sky conditions, namely, clear, cloudy, and rainy. The experimental re-
sults showed that the depression of different surface temperatures was in the range
of 1–6oC below ambient temperature under clear and cloudy skies. Under rainy
skies, the temperatures of various roof radiators and ambient air were fairly close.
Measurement of temperature of the air below the radiator surface revealed that for
"type A" it was in the range of 1–3oC. In general, their work showed that cooling
using night sky radiation is mainly feasible during the tropical winter season and
also that sky condition affects night radiation cooling. Apart from the sky condi-
tion, however, other factors that could affect night radiation cooling are material
emissivity and condensation on the radiator surface (Khedari et al., 2000).
Apart from the influences of meteorological conditions on night sky radiation
cooling systems, the major problem with many night sky radiation cooling con-
cepts have been their typically exotic building configurations [such as Hay (1978)
and Fairey et al. (1990)], which often includes very expensive roof ponds, desic-
cant cycles, or, at the very least, movable roof insulation with massive roofs so
that heat is gained during daytime hours. The net effect of these is very expensive
and complex systems that oftentimes are unreliable. Parker (2005) developed an
innovative night sky building cooling system to overcome these setbacks (Fig. 5).
A key element in this system is that rather than using movable insulation with a
massive roof or roof ponds, the insulation was installed conventionally on the ceil-
ing using structurally insulated panels of RSI 5.3 m2 K/W. The system utilized a
highly conductive metal roof on metal battens over a sealed, unventilated attic
with an integrated dehumidification system.
Adopting an entirely novel approach, Hall and Schertz (1985) worked on a new
type of radiative cooling system that uses nonimaging optics and evacuated-tube
technology to radiate heat to the 3 K environment of outer space. The nonimag-
ing optics are used to direct the radiation overhead, through the most transparent
part of the 8–13 μm atmospheric window. The required optical concentration is
small, allowing for relatively simple mirror geometries. Results obtained revealed
that evacuated-tube technology is capable of producing storage temperatures at or
below the freezing point, even when dew point temperatures are well above the
freezing point.
Simonetti et al. (2008) applied the night cooling strategy to school buildings in
Italy. A three-story building under construction was used as a case study. The
building has a central atrium, enclosing the staircase, designed to foster natural
ventilation. Rooms were connected to the atrium by a ventilation grille. On the top
of the atrium, exhaust vents were provided. Rooms have all-year mechanical air-
conditioning, with radiant heating/cooling and ventilation. Free cooling was pro-
vided through earth-air heat exchangers. A night cooling system with natural
ventilation was designed to reduce the daily thermal load. Air inlets consist of me-

International Journal of Energy for a Clean Environment

Review of Nocturnal Cooling Systems 127

FIG. 5: Innovative residential nocturnal radiation cooling concept (Parker, 2005) showing
the components: (1) white metal roof on metal battens (no decking); (2) small-capacity de-
humidifier; (3) baffled inlet grill from attic for nighttime operation; (4) room return inlet;
(5) thermostat; (6) variable-speed air handler fan with electronically commutated motor;
(7) vapor compression air-conditioner cooling coil; (8) interior duct system with supply
outlet; (9) interior room air return to attic during evening hours when night cool is acti-
vated; (10) roofline drip collection system with drain; (11) ceiling return for night cool op-
eration mode; (12) attic air connects to cool roof for nocturnal cooling; (13) R-30 ceiling
insulation; (14) sealed attic construction with top plate baffles; (15) air-conditioner outdoor
unit, condenser; (16) concrete interior walls; (17) tile floor

chanically operated tilting windows. CFD transient analysis predicted cooling en-
ergy saving up to 50%. These results were compared with experimental results and
showed close patterns.
Air cooling systems are quite simple and cheaper to install. However, since they
cool the space directly, they can only be used in bungalows or the last floor of a
duplex or multistory building. Furthermore, there cannot be a barrier between the
thermal radiator and the space, as seen in the ceiling of a building. Consequently,
there is the tendency of overheating during the day when the insolation level is
high×especially as surfaces with high emissive properties for thermal radiators
used in space cooling also have high absorptive properties for longwave solar ra-
diation. In essence, adopting the air cooling system implies that an alternative pas-
sive cooling arrangement must be put in place to reduce heat ingress into the
space during the day and also aid rapid temperature drop at night to a level where
applying a nocturnal cooling arrangement could sufficiently produce comfort, or
reduce the contribution of an artificial cooling mechanism. One such arrangement
could be planting trees. Unfortunately, trees, just like any other source of shade,
significantly reduce the radiative cooling power of surfaces. Apart from planting

Volume 11, Numbers 1–4, 2010

128 Nwaigwe et al.

trees, some other passive cooling methods that could be combined with the air
cooling system arrangement for nocturnal cooling are proper orientation of the
building (to minimize solar heat absorption both from the space envelopes and the
thermal radiator) and adequate sizing of windows.

B. Water Cooling Systems

Water cooling systems utilize water as a medium to achieve the desired cooling. It
serves as both the in situ cooling mechanism and as a cold storage device. Fig-
ure 6 shows a typical schematic arrangement of a water cooling system. It consists
of a thermal radiator, insulated water tank, heat exchanger, and water pump. The
thermal radiator cools water at night. The cooled water is stored in the insulated
water tank and circulated, with the aid of a pump, through the heat exchanger dur-
ing the day for space cooling. Meir et al. (2003) studied a radiative cooling sys-
tem consisting of unglazed flat-plate radiators with water as heat carriers and a
reservoir. Their typical flat-plate radiator consists of tubes through which the heat
carrier is transported, an absorber plate that absorbs incoming radiation, and a
cover plate that prevents outgoing thermal radiation and convective losses, as
shown in Fig. 7 (Meir et al., 2003). The tubes can lie beneath or on top of the
absorber plate, or be integrated in it. There must be good thermal contact between
the tubes and the plate. Results and the parameters obtained from their small-scale
system were used to design a radiative cooling system for a single-family house.
It was shown that even under unfavorable conditions, the system had the capacity
to cover a significant fraction of the required cooling demand. In general, the
simulation results indicated that sufficient radiative cooling was obtained over pe-
riods with modest air humidity and ambient night temperatures, with the cooling to
20oC and below.

FIG. 6: Typical arrangement of a water cooling-type nocturnal radiator for space cooling

International Journal of Energy for a Clean Environment

Review of Nocturnal Cooling Systems 129

FIG. 7: Typical flat-plate sky radiator used by Meir et al. (2003) in their work

Ali (2007) investigated experimentally and analytically the natural cooling of

water at night in an uninsulated open tank by evaporation, convection, and sky ra-
diation in hot arid areas as well as the feasibility of using the obtained cooled
water for human thermal comfort inside buildings. He utilized two tanks–one cov-
ered, one uncovered. The covered tank was used to clarify the evaporative and
mass transfer convective cooling contribution of the water to the total net cooling
obtained from the open tank. The two tanks, during experimental measurements,
were filled with water until they overflowed. The experimental results showed that
for a tank having an open surface area of 1 m2 and a depth of 0.5 m, by the ends
of nights, the water temperatures were reduced to between 17.2 and 18.9oC from
initial values of 23.8–27.1oC. The evaporative and convective mass transfer cooling
portions ranged from 38.7 to 57.4% of the total net cooling. The percentage of
water loss from the tank, including the evaporated convective mass transfer cool-
ing portions on different nights ranged from 2.5 to 4.13%. Results obtained from
the model developed were validated with measured values. Good agreement pre-
vailed. The analytical results showed that as the water depth in the open tank var-
ied from 0.2 to 0.6 m, the net cooling of the water ranged from 10.53 to 19.7
MJ/m2 with temperature values ranging from 14.3 to 18.7oC. The results indicated
that the naturally cooled water final temperature and cooling energy results were
feasible for human thermal comfort.
Mwithiga and Kirui (2007) studied the change in water temperature in horizon-
tally placed pans exposed to night sky radiation between 8:00 PM and 6:00 AM
the following day. The effects of varying the water quantity in the pan as well as
the surface color of the radiating surface were studied for water depths 1.0, 1.5,
2.0, 2.5, and 3.0 mm. The essence of the study was to determine the possibility of
storing cold energy and the possibility of using the cold energy stored for daytime
preservation of fresh produce. Results revealed that the pan water could be cooled
to 9oC below the lowest ambient temperature, with the black painted surface pro-

Volume 11, Numbers 1–4, 2010

130 Nwaigwe et al.

ducing higher cooling rates, and ultimately lower water temperatures, than the
white surface. Within the experimental water-loading depth of 1–3 mm, the shal-
lower depths attained lower final cold water temperature but had lower cooling ef-
ficiency in terms of total peak cold load per unit area of pan surface. Furthermore,
it was observed that each square meter of pan surface can store enough cold en-
ergy to remove the heat of respiration of a 10 kg vegetable or fruit that is main-
tained at or below the lowest ambient night dry bulb temperature, thus maintaining
the produce at 10–15oC below the recorded daytime dry bulb temperature.
Etzion and Erell (1991) and Erell and Etzion (1992) demonstrated that the key
to improving radiative cooling systems for buildings lay in the recognition that
sustaining a high cooling rate was possible only if the radiating surface remained
relatively warm. This required a means of extracting the energy absorbed in the
thermal mass of the building during the daytime to a radiator, where it might be
dissipated to the environment at night. Consequently, the cooling system they pro-
posed consisted of a shallow roof pond insulated from the environment, and flat
plate collectors exposed to the sky, through which the water was circulated at
night to be cooled by longwave radiation and convection. Building on this, Erell
and Etzion (1999) conducted a systematic analysis of the characteristics of a radia-
tor designed specifically for nocturnal, longwave radiative cooling of buildings.
The objective was to maximize the cooling output per unit area of radiator, ne-
glecting further improvements in the integration of the cooling system in the test
building. Based on some design specifications arising from their study, a thermal
radiator was constructed. Results obtained showed that the mean nightly cooling
output of the radiator achieved due to the combined effect of radiation and con-
vection was over 90 W/m2 under typical desert meteorological conditions.
Ali et al. (1996) studied nocturnal cooling of water flowing through a night sky
radiator. They used a two-parallel-plate night sky radiator, the top plate made from
aluminum and painted black. The radiator plate was covered by a polyethylene
wind screen. The performance of this unit was studied through the water tempera-
ture difference, the cooling power, and overall efficiency. For typical hot dry sum-
mer nights, and for open flow systems (gravity flow) having water mass flow rates
4.8–20.2 kg/h, the optimum value for maximum cooling power was ~17 kg/h.
However, as expected, the lowest water temperature of 16.3oC was obtained at the
lowest mass flow rate (4.8 kg/h). Furthermore, evaporation produced a slight en-
hancement in performance of the whole system. The cooling power and efficiency
of the radiator were lower for an uncovered supply tank than those of a covered
supply tank. They however recommended a reduction in the thermal capacity of
the radiator components for improved performance.
While analyzing the cooling and heating of water with flat-plate solar radiators,
Balen et al. (2003) extensively evaluated the flat-plate radiative panels’ operation
using average hourly weather data for a maritime climate region. The purpose of
the work was to develop and design a sustainable energy system that uses solar
energy (solar panels) for air-conditioning during the whole year in a maritime cli-

International Journal of Energy for a Clean Environment

Review of Nocturnal Cooling Systems 131

mate. The panels were integrated in the space ventilation system with air cooling
by means of a cold-water foil. Their primary function was to prepare a sufficient
quantity of cold water, integrating radiative and convective cooling, that was col-
lected in the cold-water tank during nighttime operation. The cold water was used
for cooling of the air during the daytime. The results indicated that sufficient ra-
diative cooling was obtained, and the system of selected size covered the full cool-
ing energy demands during summer.
In regions with hot climates such as southern Algeria, excessive heat is a major
cause of human discomfort. Space cooling is therefore the most desirable need for
the inhabitants. Previous works by Bouchair (1989, 1984) and Bouchair et al.
(1989) aimed at providing solutions using a solar chimney for cooling ventilation.
More recently, Cheikh and Bouchair (2004) used an evapo-reflective roof for cool-
ing in hot dry climates. This approach was aimed at improving the performance of
roofs. The proposed roof design consisted of a concrete ceiling on which lay a
bed of rocks in a water pool. Results obtained showed that cooling inside build-
ings could be improved by the application of such a cooling design. It was also
seen that combining an evapo-reflective roof with night ventilation increased such
cooling significantly.
Johansson (2008) investigated the possibility of using an unglazed flat-plate solar
collector as a cooling radiator. The solar collector was connected to the condenser
of a heat pump and used as a cooler during nighttime. During the day, it was con-
nected to the evaporator of the heat pump and used as a heat source. The higher
the temperature difference between the solar collector and the surrounding air, or
the atmosphere, the higher the cooling rate. Also, whether convection or radiation
was most important for the cooling rate depended on the emissivity of the solar
collector, the atmospheric temperature, and the wind speed. Johansson (2008) fur-
ther observed that the convective cooling rate was higher from a solar collector
with a smooth surface than from a solar collector with tubes above the absorber
plate. He concluded that the alterations that needed to be made to the solar collec-
tor to enable its use for cooling made it less efficient as a collector.
Using a novel approach, Chotivisarut and Kiatsiriroat (2006) studied a nocturnal
cooling system using a thermosyphon heat pipe as a thermal radiator. The radiator
studied consists of 48 thermosyphon heat pipe tubes, each of 19.05 mm in diame-
ter, and rejects heat to the sky for producing cool water in a 1.0 m3 insulated rec-
tangular tank during nighttime. The cooled water is filled in a set of six heat
exchangers, each of 0.87 m2 in surface area, installed at the room ceiling, which
then absorbs heat and reduces the temperature inside the tested room during day-
time. The test room has dimensions 3 × 3 × 2.5 m. Tests conducted revealed that
the initial water temperature in the storage tank at 27oC could be gradually cooled
to 12.1oC within four nights. It was found that the cooled water absorbed heat,
and the indoor temperature was decreased to around 12.8oC or 21.8% compared
with that without water cooling. The energy balance showed only 3.34% error be-

Volume 11, Numbers 1–4, 2010

132 Nwaigwe et al.

tween the calculated value from thermosyphon theory and the experimental result.
They concluded that the system could save energy consumption and should be ex-
panded to a commercial scale.
More recently, Farmahini Farahani et al. (2010) studied a two-stage system of
nocturnal radiative and indirect evaporative cooling for conditions in Tehran. This
system consists of a nocturnal radiative unit, a cooling coil, and an indirect evapo-
rative cooler. During the night in summer, requisite chilled water for a cooling coil
unit is provided by nocturnal radiative cooling and is stored in a storage tank. The
next day, the water in the tank provides chilled water for the cooling coil unit
while hot outdoor air passes through two stages, i.e., the cooling coil unit and an
indirect evaporative cooler. Three sources provide secondary air for the indirect
evaporative cooler. They are the outdoor air, the air leaving from the cooling coil,
and the air leaving from the indirect stage (regenerative). Results obtained demon-
strate that the first stage of the system increases the effectiveness of the indirect
evaporative cooler. Also, the regenerative model provides the best comfort condi-
tions. They concluded that this environmentally friendly and energy-efficient sys-
tem can be considered a viable alternative to mechanical vapor compression
systems.
Dobson (2005) thermally modeled a night sky radiation cooling system suitable
for a room situated in the Namib Desert at Gobabeb, Namibia. The system con-
sists of the following components: radiator panels, a single water storage tank,
room air-to-water natural convection heat exchangers or convectors, circulating
pump, interconnecting pipe work, and temperature sensors and controls. The result-
ing equations were solved using an Excel spreadsheet, and the hourly panel sur-
face, water storage tank, and room temperatures calculated for any given internally
generated heat load and weather pattern. Given the maximum allowable room tem-
perature, the sizes of the system components were calculated. Results obtained
compared favorably with values reported in the literature. They concluded that the
thermal model presented can be used with confidence as a design tool for the siz-
ing of a night sky radiation cooling system.
Al-Nimr et al. (1998) built and tested a radiative cooling system in Irbid, Jordan,
to cool and store fluids by direct radiation to the low effective sky temperature.
The radiative cooling system was built to verify the validity of a mathematical
model earlier proposed to describe the system’s dynamic thermal behavior. The
constructed radiative system has the ability to create a 15oC reduction in the mean
temperature of a 120 l capacity storage tank using 0.6 m2 radiative cooling panel
over one night. The climate conditions under which the radiative cooling system
was tested (28–55% relative humidity and 16–27oC ambient temperature) are repre-
sentative of the average spring conditions of Irbid (32.5N latitude, 35.5E longitude).
Results obtained showed good agreement between theoretical and experimental data.
The system emitted up to 13 MJ/m2 to the sky.
Saitoh and Ono (1984) presented the results of a computer simulation for the
performance of a long-term thermal energy storage system. A black painted collec-

International Journal of Energy for a Clean Environment

Review of Nocturnal Cooling Systems 133

tor with a polyethylene film cover was used as the radiator. It was shown that the
long-term cold storage system provided sufficient space cooling energy for a
standard home.
Water cooling systems are more expensive and complex to install than air cool-
ing systems. They may require grid-connected electricity to power water circula-
tion pumps, and have the tendency of producing less cooling in the space. This is
because the space is not losing its energy directly through the thermal radiator —
it loses it first to the circulating water, which in turn loses energy to the sky via
the thermal radiator. Between the space and the thermal radiator, there could be
energy gain, thus reducing the cooling potential of the water arriving from the ra-
diator. However, the facts are that with this type of nocturnal cooling system,
spaces and rooms other than the ones at the top floor of a duplex can be cooled
and also the possibility of the thermal radiator not being an integral part of the
roof makes it quite attractive. Furthermore, water that is cooled at night may be
stored in a well-insulated vessel and subsequently used in air cooling during the
day, making it possible for nocturnal cooling to also provide daytime cooling.

IV. FIELD APPLICATIONS OF NOCTURNAL COOLING SYSTEMS

The possibility of cooling using night sky radiation is well known. Unfortunately,
its effective adoption for space cooling purposes are mainly at the experimental or
prototype testing stages. Data on its field application are therefore scarce. How-
ever, results based on the work of Bagiorgas and Mihalakakou (2008) show that a
drop in temperature of between 2.5 and 4oC can be achieved. They found this out
by installing a nocturnal radiator on the roof of the building housing the Depart-
ment of Environmental and Natural Resources Management, University of Ioan-
nina, Agrinio, Greece. For the system studied by Chotivisarut and Kiatsiriroat
(2006) in Chiang Mai, Thailand, a decrease in the indoor temperature of 12.8oC
or 21.8% was observed. Their system used a heat pipe-type arrangement. In what
appears to be the most extensive test reported on the field application of noctur-
nal cooling, Parker et al. (2008) observed that a cooling energy savings of 14.7%
is possible by incorporating a nocturnal cooling facility in a typical building in
Florida. Their test rig, which consists of two highly insulated buildings of 3.7 ×
4.9 m with 17.8 m2 of conditioned area was tested in Cocoa, Florida. One of the
buildings was used as control. Figure 8 shows the test rig. Data acquisition was
carried out from April to November, representing the seasons of spring to fall,
2007. Figure 9 shows the average monthly performance of their test facility while
Table 1 shows the cooling performance in 2007. It numerically summarizes the
detailed performance in terms of energy, efficiency, thermal, and comfort-related
performance. It can be seen from Fig. 9 that the percentage of night cool saving
was highest in April and lowest in July. Similarly, the energy efficiency ratio
(EER) was highest in November and lowest in June. Results of extended per-
formance testing of nocturnal cooling facilities installed in a prototype building

Volume 11, Numbers 1–4, 2010

134 Nwaigwe et al.

FIG. 8: Experimental rig for nocturnal cooling by Parker et al. (2008) in Cocoa, Florida

similar to the one by Parker et al. (2008) are needed for different climatic regions
of the world to fully establish the functionality of nocturnal cooling systems and
thus reasonably specify their levels of contribution to energy saving for cooling
purposes.

FIG. 9: Average monthly performance of the system for April to November, 2007, as re-
ported by Parker et al. (2008).

International Journal of Energy for a Clean Environment

Review of Nocturnal Cooling Systems 135

Table 1. The overall performance of the night cooling facility by Parker et al. (2008) for 2007
showing the average power consumption and efficiency of equipment used, average building
conditions, and weather conditions for April to November
Power and Efficiency
Septem- Novem-
April May June July August October
ber ber
Experiment AC (kW⋅h/day) 0.292 1.027 2.176 2.507 3.886 2.881 2.109 0.224
Experiments fans (kW⋅h/day) 0.080 0.151 0.121 0.094 0.046 0.049 0.104 0.095
Control AC (kW⋅h/day) 0.683 0.682 2.694 2.767 4.481 3.257 2.567 0.341
Experiment lights (kW⋅h/day) 2.723 0.682 2.660 2.575 2.641 2.689 2.693 2.694
EER (Btu W⋅h) 24.6 23.9 16.5 18.6 18.6 19.3 23.6 31.8
RTF (run-time-fraction) 0.185 0.358 0.291 0.216 0.120 0.118 0.250 0.227
T (oF) (Treturn – Tsupply) 2.73 0.65 1.83 2.07 2.07 2.14 2.62 3.53
Percent NightCool Saving (%) 45.5 0.0 14.7 6.0 12.3 10.0 13.8 6.5
Building Conditions
Avg Avg Avg Avg Avg Avg Avg Avg
Experiment Attie Temp. (oF) 73 79.9 83.8 85.2 86.2 83.5 80.8 68.5
Control Attie Temp. (oF) 81.0 85.7 90.0 91.8 94.9 89.2 85.6 74.7
Experiment Room Temp. (oF) 77.3 78.9 80.1 79.9 74.6 79.2 79.1 76.5
o
Control Attie Temp. ( F) 77.9 79.1 79.2 79.0 78.7 78.6 78.6 77.0
Experiment Room RH (%) 47.5 45.4 44.0 43.9 39.5 41.8 46.7 53.0
Control Room RH (%) 45.1 40.5 40.3 41.9 39.2 42.7 44.4 54.8
Weather Conditions
Ambient Temp. (oF) 69.6 74.5 78.5 79.9 82.9 80.2 78.3 67.5
Ambient RH (%) 63.7 68.5 77.7 82.9 6.3 79.7 79.4 76.3
Solar (w/m2) 250.0 253.5 235.0 210.9 235.5 181.6 150.5 151.6
Dewpoint (oF) 57.9 64.0 71.6 74.9 75.0 73.6 71.7 59.8
o
Sky Temp. ( F) 50.1 58.6 66.8 70.5 70.8 69.6 67.7 49.0

V. PROSPECTS
The application of night sky radiation for space cooling is an age-old practice, es-
pecially in the hot arid regions of the world. It was largely abandoned with the
advent of the mechanical air-conditioning systems. However, with the high cost as-
sociated with using conventional energy and the urgent need to protect our envi-
ronment, its prospects as a source of cooling for most residential buildings are
bright. At present, cooling for comfort in homes and preservation of agricultural
produce are met completely by mechanical refrigeration. There are obvious envi-
ronmental pollution concerns regarding the use of these mechanical refrigeration
systems. The most worrisome is the current global concern over environmental
pollution from conventional energy development, which contributes to the growth

Volume 11, Numbers 1–4, 2010

136 Nwaigwe et al.

of green house gases in the atmosphere and hence the threat of global climate
change. Incorporating nocturnal cooling systems into most homes would reduce re-
liance on these conventional, large-scale energy sources for cooling purposes. Ac-
cordingly, considering the world’s population (3.0 billion), this reveals a potential
for nocturnal cooling. In Nigeria alone, the population of households is about 20
million (Agbo and Oparaku, 2006).
Apart from the very high potential of residential buildings present for nocturnal
cooling, it can also be effectively deployed to other sectors of the economy. In the
agricultural sector, for instance, it can be used to maintain space temperature
within the range where some agricultural produce, such as vegetables and seeds,
can be kept fresh. This way, the common practice in most developing countries
where these vegetables and seeds are kept in the open air (especially at night)
after harvesting will be avoided. Open-air preservation of fruits and vegetables ex-
poses them to unhygienic conditions, including attack by insects and rodents. Noc-
turnal cooling can also be applied in the health sector, for the storage of medicines
and also in water purification such as water desalination (Dobson et al., 2003). In
the educational sector, it can also be used to cool students’ residences (especially
those with boarding facilities).
However, nocturnal cooling systems’ performance is largely dependent on the
local meteorological conditions and as such may not alone provide all the cooling
needed in a space. It therefore serves as a support for mechanical air-conditioning
systems, reducing to a large extent the cooling load demand on the mechanical air-
conditioning system. The net effect is a reduction in the monthly energy bills paid
for cooling and, of course, an overall reduction in green house gas emission as
seen from Fig. 10 (Nguyen and Pryor, 1998), which shows a typical conventional

FIG. 10: Energy consumption by the various sectors in Vietnam

International Journal of Energy for a Clean Environment

Review of Nocturnal Cooling Systems 137

FIG. 11: Contributions of energy forms in a typical household in Ho Chi Minh City,
Vietnam

energy consumption by the various sectors in Vietnam. It can be seen from this
figure that a total of 19% of the conventional energy consumed (for domestic and
agricultural uses) can either be completely replaced or to a great extent reduced by
the introduction of a nocturnal cooling system; in fact, in a typical home in Viet-
nam, space cooling accounts for about 16% of the total domestic energy require-
ment. Similarly, Fig. 11 (Nguyen and Pryor, 1998) shows that with a nocturnal
cooling arrangement, the 69% contribution from electrical energy in Hochiminh
City can be significantly reduced, thus freeing the over-pressurized grid-connected
electricity for some other sectors, such as the industrial sector.

VI. TECHNICAL CHALLENGES OF NOCTURNAL COOLING SYSTEMS

In recent years, nocturnal cooling has gained increased awareness due to high en-
ergy costs and environmental concerns. Despite this increase in awareness, its
usage is still on a limited scale, with the bulk of reports concerning it being on
the experimental scale. The major problems responsible for this poor usage level
are geographic, technical, and economic.

A. Geographic Problems
The major geographical problems of fully utilizing nocturnal cooling as a means
of reducing energy costs are due to the local meteorological conditions in the lo-
cation and the location of the building being considered for cooling. Generally,
meteorological conditions affect the rate of nocturnal cooling. Some of these are

Volume 11, Numbers 1–4, 2010

138 Nwaigwe et al.

the sky condition, wind speed, frost situation, and the general weather conditions
(i.e., whether it is raining or a dry night). For instance, results by Nkemdirim
(1978) have shown that radiative cooling rates over snow under clear skies are
two times higher than that over grass. Similarly, based on the results of some re-
ported works (Khedari et al. 2000), it is obvious that clouds, condensation on the
surface of the thermal radiator, and rain reduce radiative cooling significantly. Un-
fortunately, these effects are not easily managed, though some, such as the effect
of the wind speed, could be taken care of in the design. Golaka and Exell (2007)
reported the successful reduction of convective heat flux to a nocturnal radiative
cooling surface by using wind shields. Hence, knowledge of the meteorological
conditions of any location is needed before embarking on cooling using night sky
radiation. Maintaining the thermal radiator temperature above the local dry bulb
temperature is one way of managing condensation on the radiator surface. This not
only ensures that condensate does not form on the radiator surface, but it also in-
creases the net rate of longwave radiation back to the sky due to reduced convec-
tion losses (Dimoudi and Androutsopoulos, 2006).
Location of the building requiring nocturnal cooling is another important factor.
Trees and shade near any thermal radiator reduce its effectiveness. Interestingly,
properly positioned trees assist in transpirational cooling, thus reducing heat in-
gress into building. This reduces the cooling load to be offset by nocturnal cool-
ing. The way out of this is to position both the trees and the thermal radiator in
such a way that the shading effect of the trees on the thermal radiator is minimal.

B. Technical Problems

Design of a thermal radiator presents some technical difficulties. Ordinarily, a

good thermal radiator functions as a good solar collector, harvesting the insolation
during the day, thereby increasing the space temperature, especially for direct air
cooling nocturnal cooling systems. This is so because absorptivity of most surfaces
is equal to the emissivity, which are the two parameters essential in determining
whether a surface can function effectively as a solar thermal collector or radiator
for nocturnal cooling. Some possible solutions to this problem have been proposed
(Granqvist and Eriksson, 1991) as the introduction of optical scattering materials to
shield substrates and coating of shield substrates with high solar reflector films.
More recently, Dobson et al. (2003) conducted an investigation into the use of thin
semiconductor films for radiative cooling applications and concluded that chemical
solution–deposited semiconductor films can offer an alternative to pigmentation of
polymer foils in the design of shields for radiative cooling applications. Further-
more, several patents exist regarding the application of selective emitters deposited
on metal surfaces as a means of improving space cooling by nocturnal radiation.
They include those of Head (1962) and Berdahl (1986). Although these are possi-
ble solutions to the problem of high absorptivity, the cost and possible complexi-
ties involved in using them have discouraged their commercialization. Also,

International Journal of Energy for a Clean Environment

Review of Nocturnal Cooling Systems 139

selective emitters have less cooling power than nonselective emitters when cooling
warm buildings (Granqvist and Hjortsberg, 1981). One other technical difficulty as-
sociated with the design of a thermal radiator is achieving good thermal contact
between the radiating surface and the heat transfer fluid (water) flowing in a
length of pipe attached to it (for water cooling systems). Erell and Etzion (1999)
have attempted to solve these problems by proposing the following design specifi-
cations for thermal radiator for nocturnal cooling by longwave radiation. They are
(i) the distance between the pipes in the radiator should be kept to a minimum
(the ideal arrangement, however, is one in which the pipe are so close that they
form the entire surface of the radiator), (ii) maintaining a turbulent flow regime
within the pipes to improve heat exchange between fluid and pipe walls, (iii)
adapting the radiator to the geometry of the roof on which it is to be installed,
(iv) the inlet temperature to the radiator should be as warm as the warmest part of
the building to be cooled, and (v) maintaining a flow rate that will achieve a fairly
flat longitudinal temperature profile so as to keep the average surface temperature
of the radiator high. Although (i) and (iii) can easily be accommodated, the others
may depend on factors that may not be easily controlled. The inclination of the ra-
diating surface is an important factor. Flatter surfaces tend to have the greatest ex-
posure to the sky and, as such, the view factor will be higher for the purposes of
radiation than inclined surfaces. Generally, the lower the roof slope, the stronger
the radiation linkage to the night sky since the roof views more of the sky than
the ground and local surroundings.

C. Economic Problems
Major economic problems and, possibly, government policies that have greatly hin-
dered the level of awareness and application of nocturnal cooling systems include
lack of a good energy policy, low income levels, lack of subsidy, short-term in-
vestment syndrome, and lack of institutional support. Others are the system’s in-
itial cost, poor regulation for the promotion of solar thermal systems utilization,
and poor public perception as many people are yet to appreciate its effectiveness
in reducing the building energy demand. This is probably as a result of the scar-
city of documented information on its effectiveness. Solutions to these problems
are basically dependent on governments’ ability to raise the standard of living and
introduce energy policies capable of encouraging further research studies on noc-
turnal cooling and its utilization for space cooling. These policies include but are
certainly not limited to the funding of more research activities in nocturnal cool-
ing, subsidies for the purchase of nocturnal cooling facilities, and the creation of a
financing scheme where interested users of nocturnal cooling could borrow at a re-
duced interest rate. The problem of lack of awareness can be overcome through
mass education and public enlightenment programs. This can come in the form of
sponsored programs on renewable energy. The problem arising from a system’s
first cost can be solved by embarking on research for the development of compo-

Volume 11, Numbers 1–4, 2010

140 Nwaigwe et al.

nents that can reduce the first cost and thus contribute to improved cost effective-
ness of nocturnal cooling systems.
The major economic benefit of the nocturnal cooling system is the reduction in
the overall cooling energy cost of buildings. This comes from the general reduc-
tion in the running cost of cooling energy facilities of such buildings. Parker et al.
(2008) showed that a nocturnal cooling system has the potential of reducing the
cooling energy demand of a 17.8 m2 building by up to 48%. Although this test
was carried out using a small and simple building (Fig. 8), the results obtained
can probably be extended to larger and more complex buildings. However, the
nocturnal cooling system initial cost will increase accordingly. Nevertheless, with a
reduction in energy demand on the order of magnitude of 48%, the system may
break even in as short a time as four to five years and subsequently become more
economical to use.

VII. CONCLUSION

A review of nocturnal cooling system has been undertaken. From this study, the
following are evident:
1. The net night sky radiation in most regions could be as high as 60 W/m2.
2. A drop in room temperature of between 2 and 4oC is possible when noctur-
nal cooling is used.
3. With the nocturnal cooling system, the cooling energy demand of a building
can be reduced as much as 48%.
4. There is a need for increased awareness on space cooling by nocturnal radia-
tion since it has the potential of greatly reducing green house gas emissions.

REFERENCES
Agbo, S. N. and Oparaku, O. U., Positive and Future Prospects of Solar Water Heating in Nigeria,
Pacific J. Sci. Technol., vol. 7, no. 2, pp. 191–198, 2006.
Ali, A. H. H., Passive Cooling of Water at Night in Uninsulated Open Tank in Hot Arid Areas, En-
ergy Convers. Man., vol. 48, pp. 93–100, 2007.
Ali, A. H. H., Taha, I. M. S., and Ismail, I. M., Cooling of Water through a Night Sky Radiator,
Sol. Energy, vol. 55, no. 4, pp. 235–253, 1996.
Al-Nimr, M. A., Kodah, Z., and Nassar, B., A Theoretical and Experimental Investigation of a Ra-
diative Cooling System, Solar Energy, vol. 63, no. 6, pp. 367–373, 1998.
Armenta-D?u, C., Donaire, T., and Hernando, J., Thermal analysis of a prototype to determine radia-
tive cooling thermal balance, Renew. Energy, vol. 28, pp. 1105–1120, 2003.
Bagiorgas, H. S. and Mihalakakou, G., Experimental and theoretical investigation of a nocturnal ra-
diator for space cooling, Renew. Energy, vol. 33, pp. 1220–1227, 2008.
Balen, I., Soldo, V., and Kennedy, D., Analysis of Cooling and Heating of Water with Flat-Plate
Solar Radiators, Conference on Sustainable Developments of Energy, Water and Environmental
Systems, Dubrovnik, Croatia, June 2003.

International Journal of Energy for a Clean Environment

Review of Nocturnal Cooling Systems 141

Berdahl, P. and Fromberg, R., The Thermal Radiance of Clean Skies, Sol. Energy, vol. 29, no. 4,
pp. 299–314, 1984.
Berdahl, P. H. Selective Radiative Cooling with MgO and/or LiF Layers, U.S. Patent No. 4,586,350,
May 6, 1986.
Bouchair, A., Solar Induced Ventilation in the Algerian and Similar Climates, PhD Thesis, University
of Leeds, UK, 1989.
Bouchair, A., Solar Chimney for Promoting Cooling Ventilation in Southern Algeria, Build. Services
Eng. Res. Technol., vol. 15, no. 2, pp. 81–93, 1994.
Bouchair, A., Fitzgerald, D., and Tinker, J. A., Passive Solar Induced Ventilation, Alternative Energy
Sources VIII. Proceedings of the Miami International Conference on Alternative Energy Sources,
1987, Maimi, Solar Energy Fundamental and Applications, Vol. 1, Hemisphere Publishing, New
York, 1989.
Cheikh, H. B. and Bouchair, A., Passive Cooling by Evapo-Reflective Roof for Hot Dry Climates,
Renew. Energy, vol. 29, pp. 1877–1886, 2004.
Chotivisarut N. and Kiatsiriroat T., Experimental Study on Nocturnal Cooling System Using Thermo-
syphon Heat Pipe Radiator, International Conference on Green and Sustainable Innovation, Amora
Tapae Hotel, Chiangmai, Thailand, Nov. 29–Dec. 1, 2006.
De Wekker, S. F. J. and Whiteman, C. D., On the Time Scale of Nocturnal Boundary Layer Cooling
in Valleys and Basins and over Plains, J. Appl. Meteorol. Climatol., vol. 45, pp. 813–820, 2006.
Dimoudi, A. and Androutsopoulos, A., The Cooling Performance of a Radiator Based Roof Compo-
nent, Sol. Energy, vol. 80, pp. 1039–1047, 2006.
Dobson, K. A., Hodes, G., and Mastai, Y., Thin Semiconductor Films for Radiative Cooling Appli-
cations, Sol. Energy Mater. Sol. Cells, vol. 80, pp. 283–296, 2003.
Dobson, R. T., Thermal Modelling of a Night Sky Radiation Cooling System, J. Energy Southern
Africa, vol. 16, no. 2, pp. 20–31, 2005.
Emmanouil, G., Galanis, G., and Kallos, G., Statistical Methods for the Prediction of Night-Time
Cooling and Minimum Temperature, Meteorol. Appl., vol. 13, pp. 1–11, 2006.
Erell, E. and Etzion, Y., A Radiative Cooling System Using Water as Heat Transfer Medium, Arch.
Sci. Rev., vol. 35, pp. 35–49, 1992.
Erell, E.,and Etzion, Y., Analysis and Experimental Verification of an Improved Cooling Radiator,
Renew. Energy, vol. 16, pp. 700–703, 1999.
Etzion, Y. and Erell, E., Thermal Storage Mass in Radiative Cooling Systems, Build. Env., vol. 26,
no. 4, pp. 389–394, 1991.
Ezekwe, C. I., Nocturnal Radiation Measurements in Nigeria, Sol. Energy, vol. 37, no. 1, pp. 1–6,
1986.
Fairey, P. W., Kerestecioglu, A., Vieira, R., Swami, M., and Chandra, S., An Analytical Assessment
of the Desicant Enhanced Radiative Cooling Concept, ASME 1990 International Solar Energy
Conference, Miami, ASME Paper No. FSEC-PF-207-90, 1990.
Farmahini Farahani, M., Heidarinejad, G., and Delfani, S., A Two-Stage System of Nocturnal Radia-
tive and Indirect Evaporative Cooling for Conditions in Tehran, Energy Build., vol. 42, no. 11,
pp. 2131–2138, 2010.
Feng, J., The Influences of Trade Wind Inversion and Nocturnal Cooling on the Weather and Circu-
lation over the Island of Hawaii, PhD Thesis, University of Hawaii, Source DAI-B 59/04, 1998.

Volume 11, Numbers 1–4, 2010

142 Nwaigwe et al.

Feng, J. and Chen, Y., Numerical Simulations of Airflow and Cloud Distributions over the Wind-
ward Side of the Island of Hawaii, Part II: Nocturnal Flow Regime, J. Appl. Meteorol. Climatol.,
vol. 129, pp. 1135–1147, 2001.
Givoni, B., Cooling by Long Wave Radiation, Passive Sol. J., vol. 1, pp. 131–150, 1982.
Golaka, A. and Exell, R. H. B., An Investigation into the Use of a Wind Shield to Reduce the Con-
vective Heat Flux to a Nocturnal Radiative Cooling Surface, Renew. Energy, vol. 32, pp. 593–
608, 2007.
Granqvist, C. G. and Eriksson, S., Materials for Solar Energy Conversion Systems, C. Granqvist, G.
(ed.), Pergmon Press, New York, pp. 168–203, 1991.
Granqvist, C. G. and Hjortsberg, A., Radiative Cooling to Low Temperatures: General Considerations
and Application to Selectively Emitting SiO _LMS, J. Appl. Phys., vol. 52, no. 6, pp. 4205–4220,
1981.
Hay, H. R., A Passive Heating and Cooling System from Concept to Commercialisation, Proceedings
of the Annual Meeting of the American Section of the International Solar Energy Society, pp.
262–272, 1978.
Head, A. K., Method and Means for Producing Refrigeration by Selective Radiation, U.S. Patent No.
3,043, 112, July 10, 1962.
Hull, J. R. and Schertz, W. W., Evacuated-Tube Directional-Radiating Cooling System, Sol. Energy,
vol. 35, no. 5, pp. 429–434, 1985.
Iijima, Y. and Shinoda, M., The Influence of Seasonally Varying Atmospheric Characteristics on the
Intensity of Nocturnal Cooling in a High Mountain Hollow, J. Appl. Meteorol., vol. 41, pp. 734–
743, 2002.
Ito, S. and Miura, N., Studies of Radiative Cooling Systems for Storing Thermal Energy, J. Sol. En-
ergy Eng., vol. 111, pp. 493–496, 1989.
Johansson, H., Nocturnal Cooling: Study of Heat Transfer from a Flat-Plate Solar Collector, Faculty
of Technology and Science, Karlstad Universitet, Karlstad, 2008.
Khedari, J., Waewsak, J., Thepa, S., and Hirunlabh, J., Field Investigation of Night Radiation Cool-
ing under Tropical Climate, Renew. Energy, vol. 20, pp. 183–193, 2000.
Martin, M. and Berdahl, P., Summary of results from the spectral and angular sky radiation meas-
urement program, Solar Energy, vol. 33, pp. 241–252, 1984.
McCathren, J. R. and Akridge, J. M., Radiant Cooling to the Night Sky in Hot, Humid Climates,
Prog. Passive Sol. Energy Syst., American Energy Society, pp. 877–882, 1982.
Meir, M. G., Rekstad, J. B., and Lovvik, O. M., A Study of a Polymer Based Radiative Cooling
System, Sol. Energy, vol. 73, no. 6, pp. 403–417, 2003.
Mwithiga, G. and Kirui, A. C., Potential of Nightsky Nocturnal Radiative Cooling as a Fresh Pro-
duce Preservation Method, Adv. Mater. Res., vol. 18–19, pp. 325–330, 2007.
NIRE, Effects of the Passive Use of Nocturnal Radiative Cooling in Fresh Vegetable Cooling, Na-
tional Institute for Rural Engineering, Japan, 2000.
Nguyen, B. T. and Pryor, T. L., Feasibility of Solar Hot Water Systems in Vietnam, Renew. Energy,
vol. 13, no. 4, pp. 415–437, 1998.
Nkemdirim, L. C., A Comparison of Radiative and Actual Nocturnal Cooling Rates over Grass and
Snow, J. Appl. Meteorol., vol. 17, pp. 1643–1646, 1978.

International Journal of Energy for a Clean Environment

Review of Nocturnal Cooling Systems 143

Parker, D. S., Theoretical Evaluation of the Night Cool Nocturnal Radiation Cooling Concept, Tech.
Report, U.S. Department of Energy, DOE Award No. DE-FC26-99GO10478, FSEC Contract No.
20126003, 2005.
Parker, D. S., Sherwin, J. R., and Hermelink, A. H., NightCool: A Nocturnal Radiation Cooling
Concept, 2008 ACEEE Summer Study on Energy Efficiency in Buildings, American Council for an
Energy Efficient Economy, pp. 209–222, 2008.
Saitoh, T. and Ono, T., Simulative Analysis for Long-Term Underground Cool Storage Incorporating
Sky Radiation Cooling, ASME J. Sol. Energy Eng., vol. 106, pp. 493–496, 1984.
Santamouris, M. and Asimakopoulos, D., Passive Cooling of Buildings, James and James, London,
1996.
Simonetti, M., Fracastoro, G. V., and Perino, M., CFD transient analysis of night cooling strategy
applied to school buildings, Department of Energetic, Turin Politechnic, Italy, 2008.
Yamada, M., The Numerical Simulation of Nocturnal Cooling during Frost Damage of Hemerocallis
Esculenta in the Sarobetsu Mire, Hokkaido, Japan, National Agricultural Research Centre for
Hokkaido Region, 2004.

Volume 11, Numbers 1–4, 2010

View publication stats