How does a desert air conditioner work?

Man, especially in hot and dry regions, has always searched for means to help him reduce the feeling of extreme heat. Since ancient times, he has resorted to using various means to which he was guided, such as using fans made of palm leaves or feathers, and other means, until the Industrial Revolution came, beginning with the invention of electricity, which He opened all fields for scientists to transform everything that was manual into automatic, and among those great electrical inventions were air conditioning methods such as the electric fan, the window air conditioner, the Freon gas air conditioner, and the desert air conditioner.

The desert air conditioner is one of the most widely used forms of electric air conditioners in hot, dry areas such as desert areas, so it is named after it. It works to transform hot, dry air into cool, moist air.

The desert air conditioner is a six-sided cube containing a fan, straw fillers, water pipes, an electric pump, an electric motor, and operating buttons. One of the six faces of the cube is a window of blades that allows cool, moist air to escape into the room. The upper face of the cube represents the ceiling of the air conditioner. The lower face is a basin to collect water and there is a water float in it to control the level and quantity of water according to the need of the air conditioner. The remaining three faces are Metal plates with straw fillings attached on the inside and on the outside are divided into small rectangular openings in order to allow hot, dry air to pass from the outside to the inside.

Before starting operation, the desert air conditioner must be connected to a water source through a small water hose that works to keep water always available in the air conditioner basin, and the operating buttons are in two parts, the first is connected to the electric motor and then to the water pump that raises water from the air conditioner basin through fine pipes to On top of the straw fillings, then water begins to fall on these fillings very slowly until they are completely wet with water. Then this water returns to the air conditioner basin, and so the process is repeated continuously.

The fan works synchronously with the pump as soon as the current reaches it from the motor, so it draws air from the outside through the rectangular openings on the three sides. It is hot and dry, and when it passes over the wet straw fillings, a heat exchange occurs, and the air gains coldness and moisture from the water. Once the second section of buttons is pressed Operation The fan pushes cool, moist air into the room and so on.

The desert air conditioner is preferable to be used in dry areas, not humid areas, because the efficiency of its work depends on the air being dry in order to give it the required moisture through heat exchange after passing it over wet straw. The desert air conditioner has a low electrical cost compared to other types of air conditioners, in addition to giving the air moisture, which is what Other conditioners don't do this.