Evaporative Coolers

There are basically two methods of evaporative coolers: direct evaporative coolers and indirect evaporative coolers. Direct evaporative coolers, or open circuit coolers, use the heat of evaporation to lower the temperature of the air. The heat in the air is used to evaporate the water, thereby changing it to cool, moist air. Indirect evaporative coolers, or closet circuit coolers, use a type of exchanger to lower the air temperature through the use of the latent heat of evaporation.

Direct evaporative coolers are most commonly used in residential and commercial buildings. The cooler itself is a metal or plastic box that has vented sides and employs the use of a fan motor and water pump to moisten the cooling pads. Evaporative coolers are typically either mounted on the roofs or exterior sides of buildings. See the articles below to learn more about how evaporative coolers work and their many uses.