This paper presents a comparative study of two selected types of cross-flow indirect evaporative units: typical air cooler and regenerative air cooler. The key target of presented analysis is to establish which of the considered units is more favorable for air-conditioning application. The analysis was performed on the base of numerical methods. An original mathematical model was developed and validated against existing experimental data. A comparison was performed for two basic operating conditions: constant airflow velocity in dry and wet channels and variable inlet airflow parameters (temperature and moisture content) and variable airflow velocity under constant inlet airflow parameters. Additionally, a sensitive analysis of heat and mass transfer process was performed on the base of the epsilon-NTU method to establish preferable operating conditions. (C) 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.