From emergency situations to smart solutions, air-cooled spot coolers offer a lot of versatility. When compared to a water-cooled spot cooler, an air-cooled unit is the more common option. We’ll go over the differences between the two later, but first, here’s everything you need to know about air-cooled spot coolers.
How Air-Cooled Spot Coolers Work
Spot coolers work similarly to air conditioners. Air cooled spot coolers take in air and blow it over the evaporator coil that is filled with refrigerant, thus cooling the air and causing a drop in temperature. In addition, this reduces the humidity. The cooled air is then recirculated back through the space.
Spot coolers operate as self-contained air conditioning systems that are equipped with all of the major components associated with a central AC system, but they are compact and portable.
Many units feature adjustable supplies so that you can direct the air where you want it to go in a room.
One of the biggest considerations to make is where to vent out the hot air. Common options are to vent warm air through a drop celling, window, or door. In addition, people often vent them into an unused area of the building or directly outside.
Benefits to Air-Cooled Spot Coolers
These units provide a great deal of flexibility for a variety of industries and applications. They are easy to install because they do not require a water source for hookup. They simply plug into a wall outlet and are then ducted through a ceiling tile or window to remove hot air. These units are very user-friendly, from set up to daily use.
They are great for a variety of applications, including:
- Cooling older buildings that do not have central air
- Spot cooling in certain areas that get warmer, such as assembly lines, warehouses, and other production processes
- Cooling outdoor events
- Emergency solution for drying and dehumidifying after a flood or hurricane
- Supplemental cooling, used alongside the building’s central AC system to help balance temperatures throughout the building and reduce hot spots
What About Water-Cooled Spot Coolers?
There are two different ways that spot coolers work to cool off a space – either through an air-cooled or water-cooled system. The main difference is that in an air-cooled unit, the warm air runs over the evaporator coil, while with a water-cooled unit, water runs over the coil. Since water is used, there must be a way to drain the water, as well as a water hookup source.
Water cooled units are commonly used in areas with high ambient heat and placed directly at the heat source. In order to use these units, you’ll need a water hookup, which tends to make them more complicated to set up. This also makes them less portable than air cooled units. Although, if you are cooling a space that exceeds 100 degrees F, water cooled units work more efficiently and cool off the space better. If the area you are dealing with does not allow ductwork, this is a good option.
At Cooling Power, we offer both air-cooled and water-cooled systems to fit a variety of needs and applications. Our units range from 1 ton to 12 tons to meet your site conditions. They are easy to control and set up, plus they maintain a low profile with a sound level of 55 dB(A). Plus, all of our units are outfitted with heavy duty casters for portability. Learn more