Industries all around the world use evaporative cooling to keep their business running smoothly and information transmitted correctly. Have you ever heard of evaporative cooling? Do you know how evaporative cooling works? No? You may be surprised to learn that evaporative cooling could be affecting you in more ways than you think.
First, let’s ask the question, what is evaporative cooling? The definition of evaporative cooling is a reduction in temperature resulting from the evaporation of a liquid, which removes latent heat from the surface from which evaporation takes place. This is a natural occurrence and happens when heat is applied to water, changing the form from a liquid to a vapor. In evaporative cooling, this change occurs when air is pulled over a wet surface, causing the water molecules to evaporate. The resulting vapor is cooler than the ambient air quality and creates a free cooling sensation.
Now, how is the ordinary individual affected by evaporative cooling? The most common way is sweat! When we get hot or overheated, we begin to sweat. Once that sweat collects on our skin, the higher temperature will react with the sweat causing it to evaporate and cool our body down. Our body’s perspiration is a unique way of cooling ourselves by evaporation, but that’s not the only way you are affected.
Do you stream TV using the internet? Do you have a Netflix or Hulu account? Do you shop on Amazon? Send emails for work and/or personal? Store things on “the cloud” through your computer or phone? If so, you are most likely affected by evaporative cooling. Many people pull out their cell phones on a daily, if not hourly, basis for sending messages, receiving calls, shopping online, and browsing social media. Did you know that the information transmitted via cell phones and the internet migrates through a massive data center? Did you also know that these data centers must be kept at a specific temperature to keep the equipment functioning correctly? Keeping the facility at a particular temperature is of utmost importance, and the cooling method used is crucial to the process. Approximately 60% of global data centers use forms of evaporative cooling. The servers and computer equipment inside data centers produce substantial heat and need to be cooled to optimize performance and conserve energy. Data centers accomplish this by specifically utilizing evaporative cooling systems as a cost-effective and sustainable way to keep their equipment cool. Free, natural, and efficient cooling thanks to Mother Nature.
Are you a foodie or just enjoy eating regularly? That was a loaded question. We all eat SOMETHING, or we wouldn’t be around for too long. You may not know that livestock and even fruits and vegetables can be and are commonly kept cool with evaporative cooling. Whether it be poultry, swine, dairy cattle, or a greenhouse, evaporative cooling is used to keep animals and plants at their optimal temperature to flourish. Allowing plants and animals to get too warm will diminish their profitability – whether you need big, leafy greens or continuous milk production.
As of 2020, natural gas turbines produce about 40% of electricity in the United States. Many of those machines utilize evaporative cooling. Cooling the inlet air on a gas turbine leads to cooler, denser air, making the turbine more efficient. Chances are, you or someone you know uses electricity generated by a natural gas turbine that also uses evaporative cooling.
In parts of the world, specifically the Southwestern US, people cool the homes they live in with evaporative cooling and sometimes alongside traditional air conditioning systems. Most people are familiar with a conventional A/C unit and indoor air, but evaporative cooling is another way to keep your home cool and comfortable where your geographical location allows. Evaporative coolers are also frequently used to cool air industrial and commercial spaces as well when the use of A/C is not sustainable or practical.
The examples above are just a glimpse of how evaporative cooling affects most of us daily. From turning on the lights to storing your family vacation photos on the cloud to enjoying a delicious Thanksgiving turkey, evaporative cooling in these industries allows each one of us to enjoy life as we know it.
You should now have a better understanding of how evaporative cooling affects you in the most common settings. For an overview of each evaporative media product, click here to check out our evaporative media overview video.
Evaporative cooling media has many benefits. For any questions on evaporative media and how Kuul plays a part in each of these industries, please contact our Customer Service team at kuulsupport@portacool.com or (800) 695-2942.
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