How does evaporative cooling work?
Evaporative air conditioners pump cooled, fresh air through your whole home
Just like a sea breeze keeps you cool at the beach on a hot day, our evaporative air conditioning systems use the power of evaporation to cool your home. On a hot day by the seaside, the movement of air over the ocean causes water to evaporate, absorbing some heat from the air. During this process, the air temperature is lowered and the result is a cooling sea breeze.
Our evaporative air conditioners work in the same way. Hot air enters the cooling unit on your roof where it is filtered and cooled as it passes through specially designed moistened Chillcel® pads. A fan then blows this beautifully cooled air throughout your home.
Hot air in the house is forced out through open windows and doors providing your entire home with a complete change of air at least every two minutes. It is important to remember that cooled air inside the building is not recirculated, so a door or window must be left open for this air to escape, providing the whole building with a complete change in air at least every two minutes. One of the great advantages of an evaporative air conditioner is that doors and windows can be left open – which is great news for people with children and pets who like to frequently come in and out throughout the day or those who enjoy alfresco dining and outdoor entertaining.
How does Evaporative Cooling Work? – the healthy solution
100% fresh air
The evaporative process relies on airflow, with cool air entering through ducts and then exiting via open doors or windows. Only 100% fresh air is circulating, rather than stale and recycled air.
Moisture levels
Dry air from refrigerated air conditioners can aggravate allergies and asthma. Evaporative air conditioning systems use moisture to cool the air and won’t dry your skin, nose or eyes.
Filtered air
As the fan draws outside air though the cooling pads, not only is it chilled but the air is also filtered from impurities.
Enjoy the outdoors
Ducted evaporative cooling units require some windows or doors to be open to create airflow. By leaving doors and windows open, an evaporative system can even be used to cool outdoor areas!
Furthermore, our NEW revolutionary Black MagicTM Mini-Cell^ Chillcel® pads have transformed the aesthetics of our coolers as they seamlessly blend into their surroundings; maintaining our global leading Mini-cell^ Chillcel® pad technology, which increases surface area of the pads by 25%, dramatically multiplying cooling capacity and efficiency – BEYOND BELIEF!
Australian summers can be scorchers, invariably involving many heat waves. This is why having an effective and economical home air conditioner makes all the difference to being comfortably cool and avoiding a high electricity bill. As electricity prices continue to rise, many Australian households are looking carefully at the cost of running all home appliances especially their air conditioner. Household power bills have risen considerably since the 1990’s and are expected to continue to increase. In fact, Australian residential customers are now paying among the highest electricity prices in the world, two or three times more than American households. *1
Evaporative vs refrigerated air conditioning
In examining air conditioning costs, home owners are also looking at the technology choices on offer. Overall there are two main whole of home ducted options available – evaporative or refrigerated air conditioning. In trying to determine which technology suits a home and lifestyle, the cost to operate each whole of home system should be closely examined in addition to the features and benefits. For example if you do a lot of outdoor entertaining in summer, evaporative cooling has the ability to cool outdoor entertaining areas, perfectly complementing Australia’s alfresco living. On the other hand, open plan outdoor areas can’t be cooled using a reverse cycle air conditioner.
Evaporative cooling running costs
The main reason that evaporative cooling is so energy efficient is that the only power-consuming components are the motor for the fan, the control module, and a small water pump. That means some evaporative cooling products can use almost 90 per cent less *2 energy than refrigerated air conditioning. That’s a huge saving when you consider that heating and cooling can account for as much as *340 per cent of a building’s energy consumption. Innovative evaporative coolers deliver highly effective, energy-efficient cooling, with an added bonus of delivering continually refreshed, 100% naturally cooled air. In terms of running costs, evaporative cooling is by far the most economical to run.
New technologies helping to manage power use
Seeley International’s range of evaporative coolers have a smart electronic controller to further help reduce power consumption. Depending on the brand and model it may mean an evaporative air conditioner can be set up with a seven-day program. For example the Breezair sophisticated and intuitive MagIQtouch controller with touch screen technology allows you to program each day into four time periods. By reducing the time the evaporative cooler operates this minimises power consumption and power bills.
Easy maintenance helps to keep costs down
Easy and regular service by a qualified technician from time to time will ensure that an evaporative air conditioner continues to run at its peak efficiency and maintain low evaporative cooling costs. Australia’s own Breezair, Braemar and Coolair ranges have locally designed and manufactured cooling pads specifically aimed at maximising cooling in our harsh summer climate. To make things easier and also improve efficiency, some evaporative air conditioners also have automated pad rinse technology and seasonal maintenance alerts. It helps too that evaporative coolers are also made of a hard wearing, easy to maintain, highly durable and non-corrosive plastic outer casing, are light weight, easy to install and maintain. These hard wearing non-corrosive casings will not rust or corrode contributing to their long life and in turn contributing to savings on not having to replace the casing.
What is the average cost of purchasing an air conditioner installation?
The approximate cost for full evaporative air conditioner installation including ducting will vary depending on the size of your home, number of ducts and unique features of the unit. It is important to keep in mind that while installation costs for an evaporative or reverse cycle air conditioner may be similar, the running costs will be vastly different. The simple way to find out exactly how much an evaporative air conditioner would cost for your home is to request a quote from a qualified and certified dealer who specialises in this type of air conditioning installation. Please contact a Climate Masters of Seeley International expert on heating and cooling – click here to find out more.
References
*1 According to the Financial Review ‘Australian households pay highest power prices in world’ http://bit.ly/2yoScSB
*2 Based on approximate running cost figures sourced from publicly available data. Assumes a whole house area of 166 square metres, with 300 hours usage, 60% duty cycle for air conditioners, and an electricity tariff of 28 cents/kWH. Note that evaporative coolers also use water. Correct at time of publishing. 90% running cost saving based on a Breezair 16kW costing $37 per year to run compared to a reverse cycle 20kW costing $383 per to run (not zoned standard efficiency).
*3 Australian Bureau Of Statistics – According to the Australian Bureau of Statistics heating and cooling can account for more than 40% of a household’s annual energy consumption http://www.abs.gov.au/ausstats/abs@.nsf/mf/4602.0.55.001
