Although evaporative cooling is an excellent cooling method for hot and dry climates, this method of cooling has been shown to be less effective in humid weather and regions that experience year-round humidity. If you’re thinking about installing evaporative cooling in Melbourne, it can help to understand why evaporative cooling is less effective in humid weather and some of the ways you can increase evaporative cooling efficiency during particularly humid days. This article will go over some reasons why evaporative cooling can struggle in humid weather and what you can do to optimise your evaporative cooler in humid conditions.
Reasons Evaporative Cooling Can Struggle in Humid Weather
Three of the main reasons evaporative cooling in Melbourne can be less effective in humid weather are:
Humidity Naturally Decreases Evaporation Rate
When the air is already full of water vapour, there is less capacity for water to evaporate from your skin. This means that the cooling effect of evaporative cooling is reduced. Air that is more humid is simply already at a higher rate of saturation, and in most cases, this will extinguish the evaporative cooling effect.
Humidity Decreases the Temperature between the Air & Your Skin
The temperature differential between the air and your skin is what makes evaporative cooling so effective. When the air is already full of water vapour, the temperature difference between the air and your skin is only slight. This means that the cooling effect of evaporative cooling is naturally reduced.
Humidity Decreases the Amount of Air Movement
Air movement is necessary for evaporative cooling to work. When the air is already full of water vapour due to humidity, the air is more stagnant and there is less “room” for the air to move around in. This can further decrease the efficacy of evaporative cooling.
Optimising Evaporative Cooling Efficiency in a Humid Climate
Although evaporative cooling efficiency can be decreased by a humid climate, there are fortunately some ways you can optimise your evaporative cooler to run and still be effective despite humid conditions. Some of the best ways to optimise evaporative cooling in Melbourne for humidity include:
Use a Fan to Increase Air Circulation
Using a fan to increase the circulation of your evaporative cooler is one of the best and easiest ways to optimise your evaporative cooler for humid weather. While you may not love the idea of having to run two separate appliances simultaneously in order to achieve the best evaporative cooling effect, humid weather seldom lets up and can create a great deal of discomfort when trying to fall asleep or when working from home. Using a basic pedestal fan or floor fan in conjunction with your evaporative cooler will be more than enough to combat humidity.
Use a Dehumidifier to Remove Moisture
While using a dehumidifier may seem counterintuitive if you’re trying to cool your home, this technique can actually go a long way to helping your evaporative cooler do its job properly. By removing moisture content from the air, you can artificially create the temperature differential necessary for evaporative cooling to have its intended effect.
