Evaporative Coolers also known as Open Space Coolers or Swamp Coolers were developed to provide a low-cost and efficient method of cooling air. It is often considered a cost-effective option to traditional Air-Conditioning due to its high installation and operating expenses. Evaporative coolers are not like Air Conditioning. Instead, they use evaporating the water to cool the air.
Simply put, during water evaporation, liquid water must absorb large amounts of heat to convert to vapor. This is known as Latent Heat Of Evaporation. This heat is taken with the resulting water vapor into the atmosphere. This is the process that makes the air cooler than it was before. Evaporative coolers make use of this cooling phenomenon to produce cool and distributed air throughout buildings, and open spaces, as well as for people who need cooling.
How Evaporative Coolers Take Advantage Of Evaporative Cooling?
Evaporative Coolers use a high-efficiency cooling material called evaporative chilling pads to help with evaporation. The cooling unit uses water to circulate the cooling pads. This keeps the media moist. The cooling pads allow air to be sucked in, and the water on the cooling medium evaporates.
1. A water pump is a device that circulates water from the basin to the top and keeps it constantly wet.
2. The running fan causes outside warm air to flow through the cooling media and into the cooler.
3. Water evaporates when the air passes over the wet medium. It is because of this water evaporation that the cooler intake air cools down.
What Cooling Performances Can Evaporative Fans Achieve?
Evaporative cooling, a scientific natural phenomenon, relies on nature for its success. The ambient temperature and relative humidity outside will have a significant impact on the cooling process of evaporative.
Evaporative coolers provide better cooling performance in dry environments where relative humidity levels are low. This is because the cooling media’s ability to evaporate more water into the atmosphere, the dryer the air. Also, the cooler the air will remain, the faster it evaporates into our atmosphere.
Evaporative coolers can supply air as much as 10degC cooler than what is outside in the best of conditions. For example, if the outside air temperature is 38degC, the Evaporative cooler can cool that air down to 28degC under the best atmospheric conditions.
What Are The Common Uses Of Evaporative Coolers?
Evaporative coolers are used to cool semi-enclosed structures and large open areas. They are used in factories, warehouses, and workshops, among other industrial uses. They can also find use in outdoor commercial spaces, such as semi-outdoor shopping areas, office buildings, and many more. Sometimes, smaller Evaporative coolers are used in residential settings.
How Does Evaporative Cooling Works Compare To Air Conditioning Systems?
Evaporative coolers cannot be substituted for HVAC and refrigeration systems. Air conditioning is a mix of coolants and refrigerants that produces chilled air at very low temperatures. Air conditioning can produce very cool temperatures, but it also requires lots of energy during the day. For industrial applications, the cost of cooling a warehouse or factory using an Air conditioner is prohibitive.
To give you an idea about the cost comparison, for a similar area to be cooled, the average operating cost of an evaporative cooling system is 50% lower than that of an HVAC unit. Evaporative cooling systems are preferred by many factory decision-makers due to their low cost and ability to provide comfortable work environments at a fraction compared to air conditioning.