Beat the Heat with These Evaporative Cooler Tips

Central heat and air conditioning can be expensive, but there’s an alternative. Evaporative coolers are cheaper and more cost-effective, creating cold air with less energy than traditional HVAC systems. If you’re running an evaporative cooler, you’ll want to make sure you’re practicing good maintenance to avoid any malfunctions, such as ensuring your evap cooler pads in Phoenix, AZ are working properly. Everyone knows how hot it gets in Arizona, and being without a cooler is not going to work!

Control for humidity

If you’re using an evaporative cooler, you’ll want to make sure you’re taking into account the humidity of your environment. While evaporative coolers work great in dry heat, they have a harder time in more humid environments. That’s because, for water to evaporate, it uses heat in the air to transform from liquid to vapor. Evaporative coolers work by pumping water through an evap cooler pad in Phoenix, AZ, where the warm air is blown through a fan. The water absorbs the heat and evaporates, cooling the air down, which is then blown through the other side. In more humid environments, it’s more difficult for the water to evaporate and create the cooling process.

However, even in humid environments, you can still use an evaporative cooler to supplement central heating and air conditioning systems to save money. Try putting your central AC system on a high temperature, so it cools your home down to an easy (and inexpensive) temperature to maintain. Then, use an evaporative cooler in the room you’re spending time in. This way, you save on energy costs while still remaining comfortable.

Allow proper ventilation

Evaporative coolers work best when used in a well-ventilated area, such as near an open window or door. The fresh air is what allows the evaporative cooler to work, as it relies on a stream of new air to cool and blow in. An additional tip is to create a breezeway, which will provide even more airflow for the evaporative cooler. Try opening a door or window opposite the door or window that is already open. The channel of breeze will help the evaporative cooler work more efficiently. One or two square feet per 1,000 CFM of cooling capacity is enough to allow hot air and humidity to be pushed outside.

Add ice for even cooler temperatures

Many operators of evaporative coolers have figured out the trick of adding ice to the water tank, which increases the cooling capacity of the evaporative cooler, resulting in even chillier air. Many coolers even include ice compartments and gel packs for this purpose. While the ice will create a chill when blown out by the fan, it doesn’t necessarily increase the rate of evaporation or removal of heat from the room. In fact, ice will take longer to heat up, which may increase the amount of time the cooler takes to evaporate and cool the air. You may even find that room temperature water helps cool the room faster than cold water or ice, because it will evaporate faster, pushing more cool air into the room and more hot air out.

If you’re in the market for an evaporative cooler or need new evap cooler pads in Phoenix, AZ, call Premier Industries Inc. We design and build efficient evaporative cooling equipment at competitive rates. Give us a call today to see what we have to offer!

Categorised in: Evaporative Cooler Pads

This post was written by Mike Nicolini