Tips to maximise your air cooler’s performance during summer

As the temperature soars to a record high, you might have brought home a new air cooler to stay cool during this summer. However, bringing home an air cooler alone does not guarantee a cooler home. Since they lack the option to set the desired temperature, there is a need to follow certain steps to ensure efficient cooling during summer.

An air cooler is among the most budget-friendly ways to stay cool even during the heatwave being experienced across many parts of the country. But to make the most effective use of an air cooler and maximise your air cooler’s efficiency during summer, you need to ensure that it has adequate water and that the placement of the machine is correct.

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Are there any other ways to improve your air cooler’s efficiency? Well, here are some tricks to get the most out of your air cooler and stay comfortable in this record-setting heat.

Steps to maximise air cooler efficiency

1. Ensure adequate ventilation in the room 

2. Ensure effective placement

3. Maintain a consistent water level

4. Add ice for better cooling

5. Saturate the cooling pads before use

6. Use an air cooler with humidity control

1. Ensure adequate ventilation in the room

For maximum efficiency, you need to ensure that your air cooler has proper ventilation. In other words, an air cooler works best when it has consistent airflow and in a well-ventilated area, the air cooler will also be able to lower the humidity levels.

For adequate room ventilation, you should always ensure that the rear side of the air cooler is facing the external environment. You can further maximise cooling efficiency by closing any other source of ventilation or any form of disruption that might affect air cooling.

2. Ensure effective placement

Unlike an air conditioner, an air cooler does not work well wherever it is placed. You need to strategically place the cooling appliance to get an optimal cooling experience. Since they work based on the principle of evaporative cooling, meaning the more hot air flows inside, the faster will be the evaporation and resulting air is cooler.

So, it makes sense to place your air cooler closer to a window so it gets an adequate supply of external air to effectively cool your room. Once you place your air cooler near the window, make sure that you don’t open it too wide because that will only result in more hot air entering your room. You can always experiment by placing the air cooler closer to a window and adjusting the window to get the best cooling.

3. Maintain a consistent water level

One of the downsides of an air cooler is that you need to fill the water tank since the performance is directly proportional to air and water. While filling the water tank can seem like a chore, it is absolutely necessary to get the best result. 

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The best practice to maximise your air cooler’s efficiency is ensuring that the water level of your air cooler is full or adequate for evaporative cooling. By ensuring adequate water level at all times, you will indirectly extend the lifespan of your air cooler.

4. Add ice for better cooling

In addition to adding water, an air cooler can work wonders if it is added with ice. Most air coolers in the market now come with a dedicated ice chamber. As soon as you add ice to the chamber, the absorbent pad gets cooler and can reduce your room’s temperature faster. We recommend filling the ice chamber with ice cubes to get comfortable cooling and adding some more through the day or night for an even cooling experience. 

5. Saturate the cooling pads before use

The thumb rule to get the most out of an air cooler is to ensure that the absorbent pad (or honeycomb pad) is cool at all times. As a best practice, you can pre-cool the cooling pads on your air cooler by keeping the pump running while you fill the water tank.

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This will ensure that the cooling pad soaks the water before you use it and further reduces the temperature of sucked-in air. Once the tank is full, you can switch from pump to fan and get a cool breeze that lowers the temperature of your room.

6. Use an air cooler with humidity control

One of the factors often overlooked by Indian consumers is humidity, which is extremely crucial during summer. The evaporative cooling mechanism of an air cooler only adds more moisture to the air and for optimal cooling experience, you need to keep the humidity in check.

One of the ways to curb humidity is to ensure proper ventilation where the air cooler is placed. You can also get an air cooler with a built-in humidity control valve that sets the temperature of the room to a comfortable level.

In addition to the above-mentioned steps, you should also ensure that your air cooler is cleaned and maintained regularly for the best experience. Other practices like shutting the drapes in your room or switching off lights can also improve the cooling. The bottom line is that an air cooler will work the best when placed in a ventilated area and for enhanced cooling, you should look for a model with an in-built humidity control.