Evaporative cooling has become the system of choice for many business owners in dry climates, utilized to cool their facility while keeping energy consumption and operational costs in check, especially compared to traditional compressor-based cooling. The sheer size of the commercial and industrial facilities that are effectively tempered by evaporative cooling offers insight to the significant savings that can be realized first by the system’s installation and then its continued optimization.
How Do Evaporative Coolers Work?
To optimize performance, we first have to understand how an evaporative cooling system works. The design is simple, yet complex: provide cool, tempered air by converting warmer, dry air through a series of evaporative processes to draw out the air’s natural heat and inject cooler air into your work space.
Often compared to “swamp coolers” in the southwestern United States, evaporative cooling units utilize more advanced technology that enable them to serve as viable alternatives to conventional cooling beyond just the Southwest and for larger spaces.
There are direct and indirect technologies available in evaporative cooling, essentially designated by the moisture level in your climate and whether or not additional moisture is desired. These systems may be effectively combined in a two-stage unit, such as the ESC-Series, to add additional cooling as the result of the two processes working together.
Providing comfortable and healthy working environments
The benefits of evaporative cooling extend well-beyond temperature, especially in terms of improved indoor air quality and its effect on your employee’s health and morale. For example, rather than recycling existing and contaminated air in the building, the 100% outside air brought in by the evaporative cooling system achieves fresher, cleaner air for the workers inside the facility.
The investment of thermal comfort does more than meet a code standard, it signals to your employees that their leadership team cares for them. It increases employee morale and allows them to continue to work at their full capacities, increasing productivity and lowering turnover rate. You probably wouldn’t want to come to work in a 90-degree building on a hot summer day, so why expect your employees to?
4 Tips for Increasing Unit Efficiency
Have an evaporative system installed? Let’s make sure you are running optimally.
- Perform maintenance on your evaporative cooler routinely. Clean the cooling pads, filters, reservoir, and pump at least once a month during the summer months. Maintaining your system will ensure it is operating at peak performance.
- Evaporative coolers rely on temperature differences between the outside air and the wetted evaporative media. Run it during the warmest time of day to get the most out of your system.
- Evaporative media should be damp but not wet or dry. Periodically ensure water levels are within manufacturer recommendations.
- Building ventilation process loads and temperature conditions can vary. For maximum efficiency, ensure your unit is set to meet minimum ventilation requirements while monitoring building humidity levels so as to provide maximum temperature depression without over saturating the space with moisture.
Come see for yourself
Cambridge Air Solutions Tours are available to answer any questions you may have about cooling your facility. Schedule a tour today to see our own evaporative cooling unit in action at our manufacturing facility and see how it provides cooler air to our facility in the St. Louis summers.