water absorbent material pads 85 and 87 are suspended over the air inlets of the heat exchanger 75 such that air passing over the heat exchange banks 82 and 84 is required to pass through the water absorbent material pads 85 and 87 first in a preferred embodiment the water absorbent material pads 85 and 87 comprise material distributed under the trademark u201c celdek u201d and these pads 85 and 87 are continually moistened by the application of water to the top of each of the pads 85 and 87 at inlets 90 and 92 water applied at inlets 90 and 92 eventually trickles down through the water absorbent material pads 85 and 87 substantially wetting the entire material pad in the event that the material pads 85 and 87 do not fully absorb water applied to the inlets 90 and 92 run off from the bottom of each pad may be collected in a tank not detailed herein that may be returned to the water inlets 90 and 92 via a pump also not detailed air drawn through the material pads 85 and 87 is cooled by the action of evaporation and the passing of this cooled air over the heat exchange banks 82 and 84 acts to significantly increase the efficiency of the extraction of thermal energy from water passing through those heat exchange banks in a.