Earth-to-air heat exchangers cooling evaluation for different climates of Iran

•In order to create a simulation of a multiple-pipe EPAHE (Earth-pipe-air heat exchanger), A three dimensional, transient model based on computational fluid dynamics is developed and validated by experimental data of another research.•The performance of the EPAHE and its effect on maximum cooling load of a specified building is examined for the cities in July.•Climate and soil properties of the cities greatly affect performance of the EPAHE.