Whole-house air cooling using HVAC or central air units can get expensive. Evaporative air coolers are a wonderful tool for homeowners living in dry climates to use to cool parts of your home when the outdoor air is scorching hot.
They are an affordable alternative to running your electricity bills up with your central air, but won’t work in humid climates. If you live in a region with dry air and want to know more about evaporative air coolers, keep reading.
Are They Useful?
Evaporative air coolers reduce nearby air temperatures by using evaporated water. Evaporative cooling systems are best suited for hot, dry climates like those in the Southwestern United States.
Evaporative coolers work by harnessing the power of evaporation. Water changes from a liquid to a gas when it evaporates, causing a drop in temperature. They are an energy-efficient cooling solution that doesn’t require the use of refrigerant and uses less electricity and less energy than traditional air conditioners.
Unlike air conditioning, evaporative cooling does not have any compressors in the system. Essentially, they consist of a fan that takes in the air from the environment and passes it through a layer of damp pads before discharging it out into the room.
They can be used to lower the room temperature up to 30°F depending on the temperature and the humidity of the room. Some coolers are used together with air conditioning systems to increase the efficiency of the air conditioner. One advantage of evaporative coolers is that it use only 10%-20% of the power consumption of an air conditioner.
Swamp coolers can be portable (known as portable air conditioners and portable evaporative coolers) or permanent. Permanent coolers are units designed to cool an entire home by using outside air.
How Evaporative Air Coolers Work
Evaporative air coolers work by taking dry, outside, or indoor air and running it through a wet, internal filter pad. This quickly cools the air for it to then be circulated throughout the room.
A fan sucks in warm air, or inside or outdoor air, and passes it through a layer of damp pads. A water pump that continuously circulates water inside this equipment keeps the cooling pads damp. Larger models have a water tank and can be used for longer before it needs to be refilled.
As the air passes through the damp pads, it picks up some moisture from the pads. As a result, the temperature of the air can drop up to a maximum of 30°F depending on the temperature and humidity levels of the room.
The same fan then discharges into the room this conditioned cooled air. As the air passes through the pads, it is filtered and contaminants such as dust, dirt, and other pollutants are stuck on the surface of the pads. You will then get cleaner and cooler air.
Is Evaporative Cooling for Me?
If you live in an area with low humidity and high temperatures, you might consider trying evaporative air cooling. You can supplement your air conditioner with strategically placed swamp coolers to help keep those AC bills down in the summer. Alternatively, you can use evaporative cooling as your whole-home cooling system.
I recommend trying a portable cooler before switching your entire home system. There are many types of air coolers that are sold in the market these days. Some of the features that you may want to look at before purchasing one are:
- Water level control and indication
- Low, Medium, High, or even super high fan speed control
- 24-hour operation
- Auto-wash during on/off and at programmed intervals
- Programmable on/off function and remote control functions
- Check the number of square feet the cooler covers
Be sure to consult with an HVAC professional to know what is best for you and your home.
FAQs About Evaporative Air Conditioners
Where are swamp coolers most effective?
Swamp coolers, or evaporative air coolers, are most effective in places with dry air. These coolers work by lowering the temperature of surrounding hot air by raising the relative humidity of the area.
Swamp coolers, or evaporative air conditioners, are most commonly used in places in the Southwestern U.S. with arid climates, like Arizona, New Mexico, and California.
How do I know if evaporative cooling is right for my home?
Purchasing portable evaporative air coolers is an effective way to try out this system without breaking the bank. Portable air conditioning units come with wheels so you can easily move them from room to room to test it.
Do evaporative air coolers lessen the air quality of my home?
Evaporative air coolers do not lessen the air quality in your home. In fact, they include filters that work to improve your air quality by pushing out fresh air.
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