Without a good cooling appliance at home, spending the hot summer days in India can be difficult. On top of it, the electricity bill is a major headache for every household.
In such a condition, you must acquire a good cooling device for getting comfortable with a balance to electricity usage. Air conditioners can be expensive in terms of capital and recurring costs. If you are tight on budget, you still have some good options like Ceiling Fan, Air Cooler, Tower Fan, and Table Fan.
An air cooler can be slightly expensive compared to fans but it has a huge advantage of cooling down the temperature that a fan is less efficient with.
But what about power consumption? Is an air cooler worth it? Or is a Fan better than it?
Based on numerous facts, we have analyzed every bit of resources and compared them. In this article, you will learn every detailed information about the power consumption of air coolers and fans.
Air Cooler and Fan – How Electricity is consumed?
Electricity consumed by a fan is much different than that of an air cooler. This is because of the different mechanisms and technology used by the two.
A fan simply recirculates the air inside the room, whereas an air cooler chills the air utilizing water evaporation as well as recirculating the air. Read along to know more about how these processes affect the consumption of electricity.
Wattage and power consumption of Air Cooler
In an air cooler, a powerful fan draws warm air from the room and passes it through water-soaked pads. The air gets cooled by releasing its latent heat to the water.
Eventually, the water is evaporated slowly increasing the humidity inside the room. A small submersible water pump recirculates the water that is kept in a sump inside the cooler.
So, here you can find two motors run the system- one in the fan and another in the water pump.
The fan motor draws power about 70 to 200 watts whereas a good water pump consumes around 20 to 40 watts of electricity. Combining these two, we find that a good air cooler draws a total of 90 to 240 watts of electricity on average.
The following air coolers consume 100, 190, and 105 watts respectively. These models are extremely popular and perfect for home use.
Electricity usage by a Fan
Fans, on the other hand, a fan consumes much less power than air coolers. This is because of two factors-
- There is no water pump needed for a fan. Hence, less electricity is needed to run it.
- Motors of the general ceiling and table fan are of different types and draw a power around 50 to 75 watts.
There are even energy-saving fans that reduce the power consumption to 20-35 watts saving a huge electricity bill. These can be very useful if you are looking for a cheaper cost. Some of the good quality fans that we like are-
Power Consumption for Air Cooler and Fan: Comparative Analysis
To evaluate how much energy is consumed by a fan and an air cooler, let us consider Bajaj Platini PX97 with rated wattage of 100 and Usha Technix 43 watts 5 Star Ceiling Fan.
On hot summer days, individuals need to run the cooling appliance for 18 hours/ day. Considering the electricity unit rate to be Rs 8/ unit, we can have the following data for 9 running months in a year.
| Parameter | Air Cooler | Fan | Saving with Fan |
|---|---|---|---|
| Daily Electricity Consumption | 1.8 units | 0.77 units | 1.03 units |
| Daily Electricity Cost | Rs 14.4 | Rs 6.16 | Rs 8.24 |
| Monthly Electricity Consumption | 54 units | 23.1 units | 30.9 units |
| Monthly Electricity Cost | Rs 432 | Rs 184.8 | Rs 247.2 |
| Yearly Electricity Consumption (9 months) | 486 units | 207.9 units | 278.1 units |
| Yearly Electricity Bill (9 months) | Rs 3888 | Rs 1663.2 | Rs 2224.8 |
From the above chart, it can be clearly seen that a fan is very energy efficient compared to an air cooler. A fan can not only save electricity but also has a cheaper investment cost.
While looking for a perfect cooling system, we strongly recommend using the energy-saving fan mentioned above. It will bring down a sharp cut in the electricity bill.
However, air coolers can still be advantageous in terms of the quality of cooling. Read the following tips to know-how.
Tips for selection of Fan or Air Cooler
- Evaporative air coolers can work like a charm in low humidity areas. In such cases, the evaporation rate of water increases and brings down the temperature to a very comfortable level. Fans can never do that.
- If you live in a place where humidity is too high, a fan can be your best choice. Air coolers do not work well in such areas. As the moisture level in the air tends to be saturated, water gets less likely to vaporize after some time.
- Energy-saving ceiling fans are extremely good at saving power. If you planning to buy a ceiling fan, then these are worth trying.
- If you buy an air cooler, monitor the water content in the tray. Whenever it is likely to empty, fill with the proper quantity. This will prevent the water pump to dry run improving its life. This method can also help in reducing electricity bills.
- The selection of an air cooler or a fan can be tricky. The power consumption is definitely the biggest factor. But, you must consider other factors like cooling efficiency and comfort as well.
Air Cooler Vs Fan: Conclusion
From the in-depth analysis of power consumption of Air Cooler vs Fan, you can understand that a fan requires less power to run. With such low power consumption, the electricity bill is automatically reduced. The electricity usage gets more optimized by using an energy saver ceiling fan.
But air coolers have a huge advantage to cool down efficiently by the evaporation method. Places with low moisture content like Delhi, Gurgaon, Chandigarh, Bengaluru, Kanpur, Allahabad are ideal for using an air cooler. Therefore, it is advised to choose the cooling appliance wisely according to the climate condition and of course the power consumption.
Also Read:
- Best Pedestal Fans in India: Complete Reviews
- Best Designer Ceiling Fans in India
- Tower Fan vs Air Cooler
- Exhaust Fan Vs Chimney
- Havells Nicola Ceiling Fan Review
- AC Power Consumption Calculator
Last update on 2024-07-27 / Affiliate links / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API