A significant portion of energy consumed in buildings is attributed to energy usage by heating, ventilating and air conditioning (HVAC) systems. Free cooling is a good opportunity for energy savings in air conditioning systems. With free cooling, commonly is known economizer cycle, the benefits of lower ambient temperatures are utilized for a significant proportion of the year in many climates. The detailed analysis of local weather data is required to assess the benefits of economizer. In this study, free cooling potential of Istanbul, Turkey was determined by using hourly dry-bulb temperatures measurements during a period of 16 years. It is found that the free cooling potential varies with supply air temperature and months. It is determined that although there are substantial energy savings during a significant portion of the year especially in transition months (April, May, September and October), the high outdoor air temperatures from June to August, made the system not beneficial for free cooling except at high supply air temperature. (C) 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.