Air Coolers

[kwcllf]

POA Teacher:

Air coolers are of no use. Someone told me that long ago.

Buy an aircon.
There are portable aircons nowadays. But I've been told they are kinda noisy.

Portable air con is very troublesome as you need to stick the exhaust tube out of the room or window. I was told air coolers use very much less electricity compared to air con. As I have mentioned before, they are not the same in terms of cooling the room. But just trying to find an alternative that can make do for this hot period.

[tankee]

IMHO air coolers are not suitable for our humid climate, more suitable for places where it is hot and dry.

[Way2GO]

kwcllf:

Portable air con is very troublesome as you need to stick the exhaust tube out of the room or window. I was told air coolers use very much less electricity compared to air con. As I have mentioned before, they are not the same in terms of cooling the room. But just trying to find an alternative that can make do for this hot period.

Aiyo, how much trouble is it to stick an exhaust tube out of d window n seal it? :faint:

Heat n humidity makes dis weather uncomfortable.
u can only remove humidity with an air-con system.
gud heat insulation n ventilation will help to keep d temperature down some, but may require more work at d onset.

I try to explain dis in layman’s terms.
D air cooler works on d idea of evaporation cooling effect.
Little or no evaporation -> little or no cooling effect.
Evaporation rate is dependent on air humidity.
SG’s humidity is high - >80% range.
How to get gud evaporative cooling effect in dis humidity?
If d salesman can answer dis question truthfully by explaining
how his air cooler can do so, then u can seriously consider buying.

Put it another way, ur body uses d same evaporative cooling effect by perspiration.
When u sweat in dis hot n humid climate, n d sweat is not evaporated fast enuf, u feel shiok?
same thing with d air cooler - not enuf evaporation, no shiok!

I hv nvr used an air cooler as I am not convinced dat it works in our weather.
I seriously think it is a waste of money.

U seemed half-sold on d idea of an air cooler.
If u do decide to buy n use one, please come back to make a field report here, can?

[kwcllf]

Way2GO:

kwcllf:

Portable air con is very troublesome as you need to stick the exhaust tube out of the room or window. I was told air coolers use very much less electricity compared to air con. As I have mentioned before, they are not the same in terms of cooling the room. But just trying to find an alternative that can make do for this hot period.

Aiyo, how much trouble is it to stick an exhaust tube out of d window n seal it? :faint:

Heat n humidity makes dis weather uncomfortable.
u can only remove humidity with an air-con system.
gud heat insulation n ventilation will help to keep d temperature down some, but may require more work at d onset.

I try to explain dis in layman’s terms.
D air cooler works on d idea of evaporation cooling effect.
Little or no evaporation -> little or no cooling effect.
Evaporation rate is dependent on air humidity.
SG’s humidity is high - >80% range.
How to get gud evaporative cooling effect in dis humidity?
If d salesman can answer dis question truthfully by explaining
how his air cooler can do so, then u can seriously consider buying.

Put it another way, ur body uses d same evaporative cooling effect by perspiration.
When u sweat in dis hot n humid climate, n d sweat is not evaporated fast enuf, u feel shiok?
same thing with d air cooler - not enuf evaporation, no shiok!

I hv nvr used an air cooler as I am not convinced dat it works in our weather.
I seriously think it is a waste of money.

U seemed half-sold on d idea of an air cooler.
If u do decide to buy n use one, please come back to make a field report here, can?

Sticking out the exhaust and sealing it up is a big problem if you have casement windows and not sliding windows.

I am not sold yet on air coolers and that is why I am asking if anyone has actual experience using air coolers.

I will definitely post again should I decide to buy one after experiencing it.

[mummy so kiasu]

Just bought a honeywell air cooler. It is cooler than fan, can’t compare to the aircon & kind of noisy. Only suitable for the living room, not for bedroom.

[heyhoe]

I was using air cooler for the kids’ room. It’s definitely not useful for hot weather as after sometime, the air gets warm and stuffy.


Now, we’re back to sleeping together in the master bedroom. Hope this helps.

[mummychua]

i got one before. yup very noisy to start with. you need alot of ice to feel cool but the coolness will be gone as quickly as the ice in our weather. so after awhile i use it like a normal fan but the wind power isnt as good as a $60 fan i just got. plus it die just after the one-year warranty.


so my take, dont buy a air cooler. unless you have the freezer space to make ice.

as for it using lesser electricity than portable aircon. yes, if you running it as a normal fan. but if u will to add the electricity used to make ice then im not so sure.

[sleepy]

Best Denki salesman said to work effectively, air cooler needs to have air circulation. Thus it doesn’t work well in enclosed area especially if we are keeping windows shut due to haze. It will not cool down the room.

But for people without aircon at home, a brief coolness while ices are melting, I suppose better than nothing?

[atrecord]

I am fairly confident in saying that air coolers are not useful at all. I was once toying with the idea too, many hot seasons ago. Then at my workplace, where there was a non-aircon reception area, the staff was complaining of temperature too and so management bought an air-cooler. Ended up totally no difference. It was stored away after 2 weeks. I of course gave up the idea myself too.


Then a few years after that, when I needed to find a solution for a room in my parents’ place (4 rm flat with aircon in living and one bedroom only), after much consideration we got a portable aircon. The house has all casement windows in all rooms + living room. The room has 3 ‘units’ of casement window and one was to be sacrificed for the exhaust. The installer used wood to block almost two-third or three-quarter of that window unit, and the remaining was a plastic strip that came with the portable aircon. These were screwed together in place to the window’s frame, with the window pushed out and staying permanently open. So the whole space left by the window was blocked completely by the wood + plastic strip.

Portable aircon can work for casement window too.

But boy, was it noisy… I asked the installer how to make it less noisy, and he said it was not possible for portable aircon. He explained that unlike multisplit aircons, where compressor is found outside the room/house, and the room only has a blower, portable aircon blower is together with the compressor. The compressor is the motor that works the aircon. If need aircon, the motor needs to work = noise is a must.

And even for a portable aircon, it was barely sufficient to cool down a bedroom to around 26 deg C, used together with a box fan. Ok, I bought the lowest-spec one (I think 6000 btu) at i think around $300 when on offer, and the old 28-yr-old HDB room is considered larger than newer ones, but what I’m trying to say is that air-cooler will not likely lower the temperature sufficiently to your expected (or accepted) comfort level.

[st2]

I was at Harvey Norman today and looking at tower fans and air coolers. Asked about one brand, I think it’s Conrad or something, starts with a C, whereby you can put ice or cold water into the compartments. The salesman told me that the windows need to be open as it will be humid. If you are using it in aircon room, then no issue.


He said, big standing fans will fare better as the wind will be stronger.

I think better stick to good old fashion floor, wall or standing fans.