In Malaysia, air coolers are an excellent home appliance for providing relief from hot and humid weather.
While the cooling effect of an air cooler is not as good as an air conditioner, it is cheaper to operate, and it can function in open spaces and even outdoors.
Here I have summarized the top 7 factors to consider before buying an air cooler.
Top 7 tips on how to buy the best air coolers
1. Size
The first thing you need to consider is the size of an air cooler.
Air coolers come in different sizes and water tank capacities. And they have a rather large footprint in comparison to a stand fan or tower fan. So, you have to make sure that you have enough space to accommodate it and the size is correct for your room.
Always remember to check the actual dimension of width x length x height of the air coolers.
Many consumers forgot about these details and end up buying the wrong air cooler size.
2. Airflow
Similar to a ceiling fan, you should also pay attention to the airflow of an air cooler.
Airflow is how much wind it can deliver and is measured in CFM.
So, you should always get the air cooler with high CFM which means it can move more air and is more efficient.
3. Design
Most air coolers are box-shaped. Box-shaped air coolers tend to be bulky and less elegant. So, it may not be a good idea to place it in a modern living room. It has the advantage of being able to cover a larger surface area and has better airflow.
There are tower air coolers that are designed to fit in the smallest of spaces. They are usually slimmer and taller. But the blower coverage area will be more narrow and hence, weaker airflow.
4. Water tank capacity
One of the most important features of an air cooler is its water tank capacity. Because air coolers use the evaporation of water to cool the air.
With a bigger water tank, you will be able to use the air cooler for a longer period of time without having to refill the water tank.
It is recommended to buy an air cooler with water tanks that can last for more than 10 hours. So, you will not need to refill multiple times in a day.
5. Remote control
With remote control, you can easily control the air cooler without physically reaching it.
This is not a critical feature. But it is definitely a nice-to-have feature.
6. Castor wheel
Castor wheel is important for those who plan to move the air cooler a lot.
The weight of an air cooler increase significantly when the water tank is fully-filled. Therefore, you can easily push the air cooler with the castor wheel.
In contrast, if you are going to place your air cooler in a fixed location. You should get an air cooler without castor wheels. Air coolers without castor wheels look sleeker and are more stable.
7. Water supply connector
The water supply connector is an important feature for industrial and commercial air coolers. The large size of industrial air coolers means that they may deplete the water stored inside water tanks very quickly and need to be refilled frequently.
With a water supply connector, you can tap into a permanent water supply and refill your air cooler automatically throughout the day, enabling it to work well all day.
Other considerations
There are other factors that are less critical but you also can take into consideration such as:
- Inverter motor – air cooler that uses inverter motor will be more energy efficient than non-inverter models. And it will last longer too.
- Low water alarm – this is a convenient feature that will alert users to refill when the water level is at low level.
- Timer – If you use the air cooler while you sleep, a timer could be a great addition. Since running an air cooler for a long time may cause the humidity in the air to be too high, you can set it to only run for four hours or less.
- Air filtration – some air coolers come with basic air filter that is good for improving indoor air quality.
- Dual operating modes – there are air coolers that have cooling mode and normal mode. It is a to be able to use normal fan only mode since we may not always need to use the evaporative cooling mode.
- Dedicated ice pack chamber – most air coolers provide ice pack but not all come with a dedicated chamber to hold the ice pack. It is