A hybrid evaporative pre-cooled air-conditioning system has been proposed for operation in humid tropical climatic conditions. The indirect evaporative heat exchanger (IEHX) works in tandem with a conventional air handling unit (AHU). The IEHX operates as an evaporative-enhanced heat recovery device to treat the ambient intake air. An experimental study has been carried out to systematically investigate the performance of a lab-scale IEHX when combined with a chiller under steady-state conditions. In addition, a mathematical model is judiciously developed for both the IEHX and cooling coil. Key results have indicated that the IEHX is capable of pre-cooling and pre-dehumidifying the ambient intake air. In addition, the pre-cooling process facilitates the supply of a higher chilled water supply temperature to meet cooling needs particularly at higher outdoor air fractions. Finally, the hybrid evaporative pre-cooled air-conditioning system is evaluated in terms of its energy consumption performance based on a design day weather condition. (C) 2019 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.