What Size Evaporative Cooler Do I Need?

Evaporative coolers are capable of cooling off homes, businesses, and large industrial spaces.

Learning how they work and how to choose an evaporative cooler makes it easier to answer an important question:

How Evaporative Coolers Work

Evaporative coolers work using the evaporation process.

Outdoor air moves over water-saturated pads. As the water in the pads evaporates, it can reduce the temperature in the air by as much as 30 degrees.

In order for evaporative coolers to work effectively, there are two important things to note.

The first is that it’s an open-circuit system, which means that doors and/or windows should be open in order to provide fresh outdoor air (unlike HVAC where it’s a closed-circuit system).

The second is that the air circulating through the room should be low humidity.

If there’s too much humidity in the air, the evaporative process won’t work, thus the air won’t cool sufficiently.

Since the units depend heavily on evaporation, they don’t require a lot of moving parts. You simply need an electric supply and a water supply.

The units are low maintenance and highly energy efficient.

How Do I Choose an Evaporative Cooler?

Choosing an evaporative cooler is critical as you want to make sure that it works for the space you want to cool.

Coolers are rated based on the CFM (cubic feet per minute) of air that is delivered throughout the space.

Units will vary from 3,000 CFM to 25,000 CFM. Ideally, you’ll want to choose an air-moving capacity for at least 20 air changes per hour.

There are a few components to consider on your evaporative cooler.

Fan type: There will be either a centrifugal or axial fan, which will determine how quiet the air is moved (and how energy efficient the unit is).

Motor type: Motors range from 1.5 HP to 15 HP depending on the CFM rating as well as static pressure.

Construction type: Due to the amount of water used in the evaporative process, corrosion is possible. Consider choosing a material that is durable enough to hold up against corrosion, such as stainless steel.

Adjustability: You’ll want to be able to control the blower of the cooler, so you should have adjustable louvers and/or a remote control.

Configuration type: You can choose to have the air discharged from the top, bottom, or side.

Accessories: Various accessories can be added to an evaporative cooler so that you get the control and the humidity output that you desire. It’s a way to customize the cooler to meet your industry needs.

Portability: Consider whether you want a portable unit or one that is mounted inside your building or to your roof.

How Do I Know What Size I Need?

There’s an important question you have to ask before you start shopping: What size evaporative cooler do I need?

You don’t want to get an undersized unit because it can end up costing you more to run without providing you with the full cooling capacity that you need.

When you have a space of up to 1,000 square feet, you’ll want a CFM of 2,000 to 4,000 CFM.

Whenever possible, you’ll want a higher CFM so that it is capable of cooling the space quickly without using more energy than necessary.

The larger your space, the more CFM you’ll want.

It’s important to be realistic about the demands of your space.

There are residential, commercial, and industrial units available.

If you have a number of heat-generating appliances or there are a lot of people occupying the space, you’ll want a higher CFM rating.

Ultimately, it’s important to work with professionals.

At Premier Industries, Inc., we can learn more about your property to help you determine the best size and even customize a unit for your space.

Contact us today to learn more about evaporative coolers and the sizing that will work best for you.

Categorised in: Coolers, Evaporative Cooling

This post was written by Mike Nicolini