How does evaporative cooling work? Answers from the experts

When you ask, “How does evaporative cooling work?” you may not expect a simple answer, as most cooling solutions are highly complicated and use many chemicals, complex machines, and a lot of power to operate. You may be surprised to learn this is an ancient technique that still works today.

If you’re looking for a cooling system for your business, backyard patio, home workshop, or outdoor space, you have several options available. In most situations, evaporative cooling systems will provide you with the most energy-efficient, cost-effective, and environmentally sustainable solution. But how do they work?

Evaporative cooling systems use the same scientific principles that allow sweat to effectively cool your body on a hot day. When your body sweats, this liquid changes to a vapor. As it leaves the surface of your skin, it performs important cooling functions.

That occurs because the highest energy particles are released during the evaporation process, resulting in a decrease in temperature. Put in the simplest terms, as water evaporates, it reduces heat in the process.

What Is an Evaporative Air Cooler?

Evaporative air coolers, sometimes referred to as swamp cooler or desert coolers, harness that scientific process on a much larger scale to provide a cooler, more comfortable environment. Evaporation is used to significantly drop the temperature of the air in the cooler so that the resulting air that blows out is much more comfortable than the ambient room temperature.

While evaporative coolers use water to cool naturally, they do not produce any mist, fog, or spray water. Misters, atomizer fans, foggers, and vaporizers spray a shower of water into the air that collects on people, objects, equipment, and floors.

Evaporative air coolers prevent this issue by completing the evaporation process within the evaporative media contained in the cooler. This creates a safer, more comfortable work environment.

How Does Evaporative Cooling Work?

An evaporative cooler consists of several parts:

• Fan
• Evaporative media
• Water reservoir
• Air filter (some models)
• Water pump

Water flows from the top of the evaporative media, over, down, and through the media, and then back into the reservoir. Hot air is drawn into the cooler by the fan. This air flows through evaporative media. As the hot air moves through the media, it causes the water molecules on the media’s surface to evaporate, making the air in the cooler drop as much as 30 degrees in temperature.

This cooler air is blown throughout the room by the fan, allowing you to maintain a more comfortable temperature for your employees or contractors on job sites.

The air filter works to improve the air quality in your room by minimizing mildew growth and reducing allergens in the air. This is an important benefit that will significantly improve the quality of life for individuals with allergies or respiratory conditions. The water pump helps streamline the absorption of water into the cooling pad, providing added efficiency to the machine.

Optimal Performance Requires More Water

One gallon of evaporative water removes as much as 8,000 BTUs (definition) of heat from the air. To get the most efficient cooling for your space, you’ll need to use a lot of water.

Many companies brag that their products only use a few gallons of water a day. In reality, the more water an evaporative cooler uses, the better it is working. This allows you to increase the amount of cool, refreshing air being produced.

Portacool evaporative coolers all come with a built-in reservoir (up to 65 gallons), and most models have hose connections for continuous feed. This gives you the ability to easily produce large quantities of cool air for an extended time. In addition, all Portacool products come equipped with low water shutoff sensors that cut power to the high-efficiency pumps, preventing damage and protecting your investment.

It’s important to understand that while evaporative water removes BTUs of heat from the air, your evaporative cooler doesn’t give off BTUs. This measurement is something specific to an air conditioner.

Instead, your evaporative cooler puts off large quantities of cool air due to the evaporation process being performed inside of the machine.

Portacool’s HydroTek™ Evaporative Media Delivers Results in Any Environment

The evaporative media customized for our products is designed to the exact performance requirements of Portacool portable evaporative coolers, allowing you to reach the highest levels of evaporative efficiency and deliver maximum cooling to your facility.

That efficiency enables our evaporative coolers to provide effective results in humid environments, ensuring our product will address your needs regardless of where your facility is located.

Our media features an exclusive mix of superior raw materials and a proprietary application of geometrical, intelligent design to create the optimal cooling experience. Its durable design and quality workmanship will last up to five years with proper maintenance.

Portacool’s HydroTek™ evaporative media is the driving force behind our evaporative coolers’ superior cooling performance:

• Premium Materials: HydroTek™ Evaporative Media by Portacool is engineered with quality high-grade, reinforced cellulose fibers to enhance airflow and boost efficiency, delivering unmatched cooling power in Portacool APEX™ coolers and beyond.
• Long-Lasting and Self-Cleaning: Innovative edge-coat technology prevents algae buildup and guards against UV damage, ensuring reliable performance with minimal maintenance.
• Little to No Maintenance: Engineered to increase water flow, minimize debris and mineral accumulation, reduce clogging, and
• Cleaner, Cooler Air: Filters out allergens and airborne particles, improving the air quality, and the proprietary design maximizes evaporation to deliver more, cleaner, cooler air.

Portacool Can Deliver the Cooling You Need

Now that you know how evaporative cooling works, you may be ready to explore what the best portable cooling unit is for your situation.

At Portacool, we’ve been making evaporative coolers since 1990. Our industry-leading evaporative cooling technology can drop the ambient temperature in your space by up to 30 degrees F, delivering the cooling benefits you need during the hot summer months.

All of our evaporative coolers are made in our Center, Texas manufacturing facility. With best-in-class warranties and exceptional customer support, you can count on the service you need, when you need it.

You can find a retailer near you to purchase an evaporative cooler or contact us to learn more.