May 15th, 2023 by Shauna Hammond

With warmer weather fast approaching and with much speculation of another summer of heat waves to come, it might be time to start thinking about the best cooling option for you. With a wide range of choices on the market including fans, air coolers and air conditioning units – how do you know which is the right choice for you? In this blog, we will break down the main difference to give you a better understanding and hopefully help you make the right choice for you this summer.

Fans

These tend to be the go-to option for most people when the weather begins to heat up for a couple of reasons – they are usually low cost, compact and can be easily purchased from most electronics or home stores. Fans are a mechanical device that moves air around, they use a motor to turn its blades, which in turn creates an airflow. The amount of airflow can be controlled by adjusting the speed of the motor or by using other features such as oscillation. However, it is important to understand that fans offer a cooling effect – and that they do not actually lower the temperature of a room.

How do fans work?

The way fans work is really quite simple, the blades quickly in order to generate a breeze and circulate air.  When the air created by a fan blows over your skin it helps to speed up the evaporation of your sweat When a fan blows air over your skin, helps to speed up the evaporation of sweat helping to make you feel cooler and more comfortable. The moving air created by a fan also carries away the heat that's generated by your body, which can also help to make you feel cooler and much more comfortable. In addition, fans can help to circulate air in a room which while not lowering the temperature can help to prevent the air from feeling stagnant and stifling.

Benefits of using a fan

So, if you are wondering what the benefits of using our fan are – especially if they do not lower the overall temperature. Well, fans tend to be the most popular options for domestic use for a couple of reasons first of all fans are much cheaper to buy than other options especially air conditioning units and living in England warm weather can be a relatively rare occurrence so making such large investments are not often practical. Fans also have the added benefit of being fairly compact, which means they can be easily stored away when they are not required. Finally, fans are incredibly low-cost to run – this is because they require very little power in order to run so that means that even when used for long periods of time you do not need to worry about running up large energy bills which is something many people are still very cautious about in the current climate.

The restrictions of using a fan

The most obvious restriction of using a fan is as mentioned above they do not lower the overall temperature, which means that they are restricted to just how much cooler they can make you feel. They are also not as ideal for use in large open areas without the use of multiple units making them most practical or use in domestic areas. Finally, some fans can be noisy making them impractical to use all night- however, this can usually be avoided by opting for tower fans which have much lower running volume.

Air Coolers

Air coolers are a slightly more recent addition, and you can think of these units as a mid-point between a fan and an air conditioning unit. Much like fans these units do not lower the overall ambient temperature of a room, however, they use some pretty clever features to improve on the cooling that traditional fans can offer.

How do air coolers work?

Air coolers use a method known as evaporative cooling. They use a combination of a water tank, filter and fan in order to offer improved cooling performance. The water from the tank slowly runs through the unit wetting the filter or pad, hot and dry air is then pulled into the unit and passes through the filter, as it does this the water evaporates and cooling the air and removing heat energy. This cooled air is then blown back into the room by an internal fan. Since the heat energy is reduced by the wet filter this makes the air that blows out of the unit feel much cooler than air that is circulated by a normal fan. Air coolers do their best work in dry climates as the cooling effect is more efficient when the air is dry – however, during periods of high humidity, these units can lose some of their effectiveness.

Benefits of using an air cooler

Perhaps the most obvious benefit of using an air cooler over a fan is that they largely improve the cooling performance offered by fans, which while not lowering the room temperature will certainly serve to make you feel most comfortable and can also help to make dry air during high temperature feel fresher and not quite as stifling. Just like fans, these units require very little power in order to run making them an energy-efficient and low-cost cooling option – this is because the evaporative cooling that occurs is a natural process so power is only required in order to operate the fan. These units are often very compact and modern in design too – this means that they can be easily stored away when no longer required. While running a slightly higher price tag than traditional fans these units still have a relatively low initial cost.

Restrictions of using an air cooler

While the cooling effect offered by these units was able to improve on the cooling offered by traditional fans they too have their restrictions. They are unable to lower the overall temperature of the room which means that there is ultimately a limit to how much cooler they can make you feel. They are also unable to cool large areas too due to their reliance on fans this means they are not necessarily the best option for commercial use unless used with multiple units. Air coolers also require more maintenance than traditional fans since they use water to create evaporative cooling, this needs regular changing, filters and wet pads also need changing and regular cleaning in order to prevent bacteria and odour from building up. However, these maintenance costs are relatively low and filters and pads need changing too often (this depends on the frequency of use)

Air Conditioning Units

These are the king of air-cooling solutions – they are undoubtedly the most optimum choice as unlike other options these units are actually able to lower the temperature of an area and are often used in commercial areas to cool large areas.

How do air-con units work?

Air conditioning units work on the principle of refrigeration. The unit contains a refrigerant, a chemical compound that has a low boiling point and can be easily converted from a liquid to a gas and back again. This refrigerant is contained in a closed loop that circulates through the unit. The cycle begins with the compressor that turns the refrigerant into a high-pressure gas. This gas then flows to the condenser, which is often located outside of the building or is connected to pipes which lead outside and consist of a set of coils. The hot, high-pressure gas is cooled by the outside air, and as it cools, it condenses back into a liquid. The liquid then flows to the evaporator, which is located inside the building and also consists of a set of coils. As the liquid refrigerant passes through the coils, it expands and becomes a low-pressure gas. This process absorbs heat from the air inside the building, cooling the air which is then blown into the room by a fan, while the warm, humid air is expelled outside through another set of coils. The process then repeats itself over and over again.

Benefits of using an air conditioner

Air conditioners are undoubtedly the best option for cooling as they are able to not only produce a cooling breeze but the process is able to lower the overall temperature of an area. Air conditioners are also more adept at making the air feel cleaner and fresher, this is because they are able to efficiently dehumidify the air while also removing dust, allergens and pollen from the air. They are also very powerful so they are ideal for cooling extremely large areas, making them a great option for commercial use.

Restrictions of using an air conditioner

However, air conditioning units certainly have their downsides too – while they are unbeatable in terms of the amount of cooling they offer, these units can be incredibly expensive both the initial purchase and installation costs are quite high, and running costs are also much higher as they require much more power in order to run. Like which air conditioning require regular maintenance to keep filters and coils clean and in working condition. These units are also incredibly bulky too which means that you need plenty of space to accommodate them. This means that unless you are looking to cool large commercial areas these units are largely not worth the initial costs for UK homes, especially due to the lower amount of hot weather when compared with countries where air conditioning units are more common.

So, there you have the main cooling methods, as you can see each has its strengths and weaknesses, so ultimately the choice comes down to what suits your needs for commercial areas where cost and space are not as much of an issue as air conditioners can be a fantastic investment for both customers and employees alike, however for domestic use both fans and air coolers are a great option thanks to their low cost and compact design. We hope this blog was able to shed some light on the different cooling options available and to better enable you to pick the right unit for you.