ANSI ASHRAE Standard 133-2015 PDF

Full title and description

ANSI/ASHRAE Standard 133-2015 — Method of Testing Direct Evaporative Air Coolers. Establishes a uniform laboratory test method to rate packaged and component direct evaporative air coolers for saturation effectiveness, airflow rate, and total power under controlled conditions.

Abstract

Standard 133-2015 provides recommended practices and precise measurement procedures for testing direct evaporative cooling devices in laboratory settings to produce repeatable rating data (saturation effectiveness, airflow, and power). The 2015 edition simplified the density-correction to saturation effectiveness and clarified mandatory language compared with the 2008 edition.

General information

• Status: Superseded (revised by ANSI/ASHRAE 133:2024).
• Publication date: 2015 (published February 2015).
• Publisher: American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE); ANSI-approved.
• ICS / categories: HVAC/R test methods; ventilators, fans, air-conditioners (approx. ICS 23.120).
• Edition / version: 2015 edition (revises 2008 edition).
• Number of pages: Approximately 20 pages (document metadata varies by distributor; some listings show up to 24 pages depending on formatting).

Scope

Specifies steady-state laboratory test procedures to determine saturation effectiveness, airflow rate, and total power of packaged and component direct evaporative air coolers. Includes required measurements (airflow, static pressure differential, air density, fan speed), test setup, instrumentation, data to record, calculation methods, and performance corrections for airflow and speed. The resulting ratings are intended for use by manufacturers, specifiers, installers, testing laboratories and users across residential, commercial, agricultural and industrial applications.

Key topics and requirements

• Definitions and symbols specific to direct evaporative cooler testing.
• Requirements for test equipment, test chamber, instrumentation accuracy and calibration.
• Methods to measure airflow, static pressure differential, temperature and humidity, fan speed, and power consumption.
• Procedures to determine saturation effectiveness (wet-bulb approach), and corrections for air density and flow deviations.
• Data recording, calculation steps, reporting format, and informative annexes (bibliography and figures).

Typical use and users

Used by HVAC test laboratories, evaporative cooler manufacturers, product certifiers, specifiers, research organizations, and regulatory or procurement authorities to produce comparable performance ratings for direct evaporative cooling equipment and to support product selection, specification and verification.

Related standards

Closely related or cross-referenced documents include earlier ASHRAE Standard 133 editions (2008, 2001), ANSI/ASHRAE Standard 143 (Method of Test for Rating Indirect Evaporative Coolers), ASHRAE measurement standards (e.g., ASHRAE 41.x series for temperature/humidity measurement), and fan testing standards such as ASHRAE/AMCA/ISO test methods.

Keywords

Direct evaporative cooler, evaporative cooling, saturation effectiveness, airflow test, power measurement, ASHRAE Standard 133, test method, HVAC testing, laboratory procedures.

FAQ

Q: What is this standard?

A: ANSI/ASHRAE Standard 133-2015 is a laboratory test method that defines procedures for measuring and rating the performance (saturation effectiveness, airflow, and total power) of packaged and component direct evaporative air coolers.

Q: What does it cover?

A: It covers test setup, required instrumentation and accuracy, measurement procedures for airflow/pressure/temperature/humidity/power/fan speed, calculation methods (including density and flow corrections), and required reporting to produce repeatable, comparable ratings.

Q: Who typically uses it?

A: Manufacturers, independent test laboratories, product certifiers, HVAC specifiers, researchers and procurement agencies use the standard to generate or evaluate performance ratings for direct evaporative cooling equipment.

Q: Is it current or superseded?

A: The 2015 edition has been superseded by a 2024 revision (ANSI/ASHRAE 133:2024). Users requiring the latest mandatory procedures and any changes should consult the 2024 edition. The 2015 edition remains a historical reference for tests performed to that edition.

Q: Is it part of a series?

A: Yes — Standard 133 belongs to ASHRAE’s suite of test and rating procedures for HVAC&R equipment. It directly pairs conceptually with Standard 143 (indirect evaporative coolers) and references other ASHRAE measurement and fan test standards used to ensure accuracy and repeatability.

Q: What are the key keywords?

A: Evaporative cooler testing, saturation effectiveness, airflow measurement, power measurement, laboratory method, ASHRAE 133, direct evaporative cooling.