What is an Air Washer? Advantages and Disadvantages
Airwasher is a type of air conditioner. This device uses an evaporative ventilation system based on psychometrics. Airwasher has both cooling and heating capabilities. In addition to these capabilities, it can filter the air by means of special filters in terms of pollutants such as dust, smoke, bad smell and و and remove clean air.
In very dry climates, the air washer can work to increase humidity. Dry air can be annoying for people. It also dries the skin and may damage objects stored in the environment. The air washer removes particles from the air and controls the moisture level to increase comfort by injecting moisture.
Advantages of using Airwasher
Optimal electricity consumption and lower costs (electricity in summer and gas in winter) than compression systems with compressors
Optimal water consumption in air washers compared to water coolers
Providing the required humidity for the building and the residents in the dry summer heat
The cost of maintaining and supplying spare parts for air washers is much lower than systems such as air conditioners and chillers.
Due to the concentration of heating and cooling devices in one device, operational troubles and maintenance costs of multiple room devices (boiler and fan coil) are eliminated.
Removing boilers and pipes from the floor, thus reducing the pain of thick flooring and reducing dead loads on the building
Use of dead space above the false ceiling to distribute air by aeration ducts
Possibility of installing an air washer device centrally in remote areas of buildings and easy access for repairs and maintenance
Ability to control heat and humidity and use fresh air outside in summer and winter
Use of single-phase electricity, especially in apartment systems: Most compression systems (such as gas coolers) with a capacity of 36,000 BTU and above, use three-phase electricity. For example, for an apartment with about 100 square meters and above, if you use a split or duct split, three-phase electricity must be used. But if we use Airwasher, even for 300 square meter apartments, there is no need for three-phase electricity.
Reasonable and reasonable initial cost, especially in large spaces.
The larger the space of the building, the greater the difference between the initial price and the difference in electricity and energy costs between the airwasher (Zent) and the compression systems. For example, cooling and heating large spaces such as mosques, halls, factories and sheds using compression systems (such as unit packages or chillers or…) is very expensive. It should also be noted that the initial cost of purchasing and installing these devices is high, but with a cost of even one tenth of these systems, air washers can be used.
Air conditioners are heated and cooled quickly, ie they are suitable for spaces that are interrupted (schools, mosques, etc.). Also, in residential buildings, there is no need to keep the system on when the occupants are not present, which reduces energy consumption. Heat and cold are also distributed homogeneously and evenly in the building.
Disadvantages of Airwasher
Basically, Airwasher and Zent cooling does not have the quality of air conditioner, duct split or chiller cooling. Especially in very hot hours of the day or on very hot days in tropical cities, the cooling efficiency of the device decreases.
Water causes its own troubles, especially in the maintenance of devices.
For applications that have a lot of latent heat (such as cooking areas, places where a large number of people are crowded, and basically wherever there is water vapor), the air washer (and zent) cooling does not have the required quality.
In humid regions (such as north and south of Iran) can not be expected from these devices proper cooling.