Evaporative Air Cooler Vs Humidifier: Which One is Right for Your Home?
When buying an air-cooling gadget for your home, it is natural to find your mind debating between an evaporative cooler and a humidifier. Should you buy both or one of these would serve the purpose? Well, let’s compare their features and benefits to help you make the right decision.
Evaporative Air Cooler
Also known as desert coolers or swamp coolers, an evaporative air cooler is the perfect option to beat the heat during summers or hot, dry climate. It uses the natural process of water evaporation to cool the air. Instead of circulatingstale air in the room, it releases excess heat outdoors and pulls in natural, fresh air to reduce the temperature.You can put it anywhere in the home, even with doors and windows open.
It uses effective and energyefficient technology to save power and thereby, electricity bills. The low energy consumption makes it costefficient. It also eliminates PM 10 particles and dust from the air through the process of filtration.
An air cooler also doubles up as a humidifier. It adds a layer of moisture in the air and takes away the feeling of dryness that you can feel on your skin or in eyes. If you are using an air conditioner or live in harsh cold climates, dryness is a common issue and an air cooler can tackle it easily. It is also very effective in dry locations where the humidity level is below 60%.
Some models are also available as a portable evaporative air cooler. It has all benefits of a regular air cooler but comes with portability feature. This means you can move it to both indoors and outdoors as per your convenience and climate conditions.
Humidifier
When the temperature dips low to the freezing point or becomes too arid, it increases dryness in the air. As a result, you feel its effects in the form of static electricity, dry skin, bleeding nose and eyes or itchy throat. This happens due to low humidity.
A humidifier increases the moisture in the air and takes away the feeling of dryness considerably. It also reduces the chances of falling sick from conditions related to cold and flu.
However, a humidifier is not designed to reduce the temperature or cool the air. You will still need a cooling or heating unit along with a humidifier, depending on the climate of your region. Moreover, moisture from a humidifier act as a breeding ground for dust mites and allergens.
The Verdict
An evaporative air coolercomes with four benefits rolled into one – cooling, ventilation, filtration and humidification. There are several models which adapt into humidifiers for the winter season or dry climates. You just need to put them on a lowfan setting to increase the wetness in the air. If you buy an air cooler, it can easily substitute as a humidifier.
On the contrary, a humidifier cannot function as an air cooler. You will still need to use an air cooler during the summers or hot weather conditions.
So, the verdict is clear here. An evaporative cooler is a right choice for your home!