Advantages of Evaporative Coolers

When thinking of air cooling systems, most people think of refrigeration air conditioners. However, evaporative coolers also cool the air, and they have some significant advantages over traditional refrigerant-based air conditioners. If you are looking for a new air conditioning system for your home or work, you might want to consider what evaporative cools have to offer.

Evaporative coolers work using the same principles one can find in nature. In nature, when water evaporates, it cools the air around it. That’s why it’s always cooler when you’re near a waterfall. With an evaporative cooler, air is forced through water. This process cools the air naturally without the help of refrigerants that can harm the ozone layer.

The most common type of evaporative cooler uses direct evaporation. The process of direct evaporation involves pulling ambient air into the cooler through damp evaporative pads. The heat in the ambient air evaporates the water in the pads, and the moist air is sent back out of the unit through a vent. This type of evaporative cooler is what is most used in residences and commercial businesses.

There is another type of evaporative cooler, however. Indirect evaporative coolers do not add humidity to the air because they use a secondary heat exchanger. Indirect evaporative coolers use more electricity than direct evaporative coolers, and they are more expensive. Two-stage evaporative coolers use a combination of direct and indirect evaporation.

Before the air is sent through the moist pads, it is pre-cooled with a heat exchanger. When, in the next stage, the air is passed through the pads, it does not pick up as much humidity because it is already cooled. Cool air doesn’t hold humidity as well as warm air. Air from a direct evaporative cooler has about 80% humidity whereas air from a two-stage evaporative cooler has about 50 to 70% humidity.

Direct evaporative coolers are often called “swamp coolers” because they add a lot of humidity to the air. Consequently, they are not appropriate for all climates, but will be more useful in others. Areas where the weather is warm and dry, for instance, are perfect for evaporative coolers.

However, in regions where high humidity abounds, evaporative coolers may cause more harm than good. If you use an evaporative cooler where there is already high humidity, you can encounter problems with condensation and corrosion. Both of these problems can damage electrical equipment and other household items.

Part 2: More Evaporative Cooler Benefits

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