Evaporative cooling as an aircon alternative

Snyper564

Snyper564

Honorary Master
Joined
Oct 1, 2008
Messages
20,042
Reaction score
21,622
Location
Gauteng
Hey all, not sure if this is the right thread. I'm at the point of considering going full blown solar but will be grid tied for bad weather etc.

But with the whole work from home thing I'm dreading hot Pretoria summers.

Obviously aircons are an option but they are super power intensive and with home solar in mind I'm looking for alternatives.

Has anyone actually used properly set up evaporative coolers? I'm not talking an Alva cube off takealot but the home cooling solution or bigger evaporative cooling units.

I'm aware that nothing can touch an aircon but I'm looking at being somewhat comfortable and balancing power consumption at the same time.

Anyone dabble in this before?
 
The issue will be maintenance and ensuring you get proper water treatment.
 
My girlfriends parents have an evaporative cooler at their Pecanwood house which works really well but is no where near to being a proper alternative to a proper aircon unit. I am not sure of the running costs of the evaporative cooler but our aircon unit in our bedroom doesn't use as much electricity as I thought it would, especially once at operating temperature.
 
Neuk_ said:
My girlfriends parents have an evaporative cooler at their Pecanwood house which works really well but is no where near to being a proper alternative to a proper aircon unit. I am not sure of the running costs of the evaporative cooler but our aircon unit in our bedroom doesn't use as much electricity as I thought it would, especially once at operating temperature.
Click to expand...
Those heatpump inverter types are really efficient. My 12000btu uses 400W at room temp. Still a lot higher than a fan though which is around 50W I guess.
 
wingnut771 said:
Those heatpump inverter types are really efficient. My 12000btu uses 400W at room temp. Still a lot higher than a fan though which is around 50W I guess.
Click to expand...

Yep, exactly, ours uses around the same once at operating temperature and is a lot more effective than an evaporative cooler or a fan.
 
Snyper564 said:
Could you please elaborate?

Also does no one else use evaporative cooling?
Click to expand...

I've used one of those portable evaporator coolers before and it's a pain to maintain.

I'm not sure what it's called but the media used on the inside (a membrane of sorts) gets a lot of scaling and becomes slimy. I read that it is possible to use cleaner water or use a descaling agent. That scaling leaves a foul smell also if left for too long, so maintenance has to be done regularly
 
RedViking said:
What about just insulating the house properly?

So many homes have terrible insulation, if any.
Click to expand...

The OP is living in Pretoria.
If my parents house in Pta-north is anything to go by, in the shade mid-summer it gets up to 34-36C and they have the thick isotherm rolls in the roof.

-G-
 
Gallderhen said:
The OP is living in Pretoria.
If my parents house in Pta-north is anything to go by, in the shade mid-summer it gets up to 34-36C and they have the thick isotherm rolls in the roof.

-G-
Click to expand...

I understand. It won't be a complete passive solution, but it does have an impact. There is no point in investing in expensive solutions if the basics are not in place. I will start with making sure there is at least insulation in the roof and check for cross ventilation. If the thermal envelope is well insulated, then start looking at the rest. Otherwise you will just spend a lot of money on energy that is wasted.

Unfortunately with an existing home there is just so much you can do. For a good passive home you need to have it designed properly from the start in terms of orientation, insulation and airflow.
 
If you feel like researching and delving into the subject you can go browse about on youtube for Building Swamp Coolers

Can be pretty good but i'd rather dedicate a panel or 2 extra to keep my office cooler :D
 
Gallderhen said:
The OP is living in Pretoria.
If my parents house in Pta-north is anything to go by, in the shade mid-summer it gets up to 34-36C and they have the thick isotherm rolls in the roof.

-G-
Click to expand...
but the conditioner is not competing with the outside to cool the air.
 
Been using one centrally installed in my house for 3 years, also in Pretoria btw, power usage is negligible.
As long as a window or door is left open they work very well.
Setup is 1.1meter x 960 evaporative unit installed on roof, ceiling ducting to each room with 1 or 2 vents per room depending on size of room, water supply is plumbed in to roof unit.
So far maintenance has been cleaning the filters once per year, my usage in summer is everyday as I work from home so it runs from 7am till 10-11pm and don't see much of an increase in power usage using a elink monitoring unit installed in DB board.
Cooling wise is dependent on wet bulb temperature and humidity which in Pretoria is usually not an issue, on days where its been 36 degrees outside I get between 16-20 degrees temperature from the vent outlets.
 
Yoda said:
Been using one centrally installed in my house for 3 years, also in Pretoria btw, power usage is negligible.
As long as a window or door is left open they work very well.
Setup is 1.1meter x 960 evaporative unit installed on roof, ceiling ducting to each room with 1 or 2 vents per room depending on size of room, water supply is plumbed in to roof unit.
So far maintenance has been cleaning the filters once per year, my usage in summer is everyday as I work from home so it runs from 7am till 10-11pm and don't see much of an increase in power usage using a elink monitoring unit installed in DB board.
Cooling wise is dependent on wet bulb temperature and humidity which in Pretoria is usually not an issue, on days where its been 36 degrees outside I get between 16-20 degrees temperature from the vent outlets.
Click to expand...
Nice!
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top
Sign up to the MyBroadband newsletter
X