How these parts work together is relatively simple to understand once you understand the idea behind evaporative cooling. It’s something that we see all the time in nature; in fact, you see it every day in your own body. We sweat in order to cool the body by evaporation. As a breeze blows across your body and evaporates the sweat, your skin is cooled by the action. The same idea exists with the cooler components.
First, when the evaporative cooler is on, the pump circulates water from the bottom of the cooler to the top. It filters down into the pads where some of it is absorbed, but what isn’t absorbed is passed down to the bottom of the machine again where it will repeat the cycle of being circulated again to the top. Some of the water will be evaporated from the pads and the circulating water will eventually be used up, so the cooler also has to have a reservoir or other water source in order to keep the pads damp. If the pads ever dry out, the cooler will not be able to cool the air.
The pads have another function as well. They clean the air as it is being pulled through them. The pads trap particles in the air so that the air you get in your home is cleaner. As a result of being damp all of the time and acting as a filter, you will need to change the pads rather often. A minimum of once per season is the recommendation. But the cleaner the pads, the better they will function.
Of course, none of the cooler componets can be put to work without the motor that runs the fan that controls the air flow. Hot, dry air must be pulled through the damp pads where it is instantly cooled as it evaporates some of the water. That cooler air is then blown into the room.
This whole process is incredibly cost efficient and can save money over other forms of cooling. Regular maintenance of these parts will make sure that the cooler continues to provide cheap, clean, cool air for years to come.
