Evaporative cooling is an exceptionally efficient and cost effective means of cooling industrial buildings, production facilities, warehouses and data centres.  

It is highly effective in all weather conditions and its cooling effect is highest when the outside temperature is hotter – precisely when it is most needed. It also provides 100% fresh air, maintaining good air quality inside the building.

When temperature and air quality are an issue in a large industrial building, housing processes that generate high levels of heat and toxic emissions, a well-designed evaporative cooling system can be the perfect solution.

What are the health benefits that evaporative cooling offers your staff?

Evaporative cooling systems can help you ensure that the air your staff breathe inside your buildings is actually cleaner than the air outside of it.

Traditional air conditioning systems re-circulate air around a building, which means bacteria, pollen, dust and all manner of other harmful or irritating particles are continuously inhaled by staff. As evaporative coolers work by continuously pulling outside air into the building and then pushing it out again, these systems only use the air once. This means fresher air all day round for your staff.

A series of tests carried out for Colt as part of the VDI 6022 certification, have confirmed that installing Colt CoolStream systems reduced the concentration levels of the harmful Cladosporium bacteria in the air (known to cause infections with skin, sinuses and lungs). Levels of the bacteria in the air were found to be more than 97.7% lower after passing through CoolStream. Large concentrations of this bacteria can also negatively affect asthmatics and people suffering from respiratory diseases.

In addition, the concentration of Aspergillus fumigatus in the air, which is linked to chronic pulmonary infections in immunosuppressed individuals, was found to be 85% lower in the ‘cleaned’ air supplied by CoolStream.

In total, eight different groups of bacteria genus were tested and all were reported as showing reductions in concentrations in the air of harmful bacteria – some levels were reduced so much that it was below measurable limits. So in effect, the air supplied to the building will be cleaner than the fresh outside air.

Evaporative Cooling offers integrated filtration within the unit allowing for the highly effective removal of dust, another respiratory concern. Standard filter modules complying to ISO 16890 up to ePM1 are available with automatic contamination monitoring.

Also, unlike traditional air-conditioning which often results in low humidity air, the use of Evaporative Cooling to cool the workplace avoids symptoms associated with dry skin and eyes. Because the temperature of the air supplied is not as low as refrigerated based systems there isn’t the same risk of dry air and uncomfortable draughts.

What this means for your staff:

  • Fresh, filtered air throughout the entire year, regardless of seasonal changes when dust or pollen particles may be more present in the air
  • Healthier workplaces, where air which could potentially get clogged with illness-causing bacteria is filtered out of the building continuously
  • No more dry air, which can cause sinus problems and dry skin. Evaporative coolers do not rely on ‘drying out the air’, which means a more comfortable, healthier working environment.

How do I know Evaporative Cooling is safe?

A common question regarding water based cooling systems, such as evaporative cooling, is about the control of legionella bacteria.

Legionella is transmitted through inhalation of aerosol droplets containing the bacteria, and there are two key risk areas that water based systems need to address:

1. Waterborne: Water temperature is a key factor in controlling the growth of the bacteria in the system. Minimising the quantity of legionella bacteria in the system’s water is the first step in controlling the risk of infection.

Ideally, Evaporative Cooling systems should only use drinking water, exchange the water regularly, monitor its temperature and foresees a drying cycle that kills all legionella bacteria once a day. We advise an Evaporative Cooling system that includes additional safety features in case of errors, where in case of power outage the unit bleeds off all the water and dries itself.

2. Airborne: risk of breathing in legionella bacteria if the cooling system atomises water bearing the bacteria.

We have addressed this in our CoolStream system by controlling the maximum speed of the air as it goes through the wet desorption medium, so that it is too slow to carry water droplets.

Improved Energy Efficiency and Sustainability:

Colt’s CoolStream evaporative coolers are up to seven times more efficient than conventional air conditioning systems.
In one hour, CoolStream S.T.A.R systems consume only around 1 kW and 50 litres of water per 3m³/s of supplied air, providing up to 30 kW of cooling, depending on the configuration chosen.

CoolStream systems run on water only and require no chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) or similar refrigerants that are harmful to the environment and contribute to climate change. As a result they have no F-gas compliance issues.

If you’d like to find out more about Colt’s evaporative cooling systems, how they work or whether they are suitable for your building, contact Colt at climate.uk@coltgroup.com or call us on 02392 451111. Alternatively visit us at http://www.coltinfo.co.uk/climate-control.html