EcoRenovator - View Single Post - evaporative cooling for A/C condenser test with garden hose study

oil pan 4 · 06-22-18, 04:08 PM

The scope is to determine if evaporative cooling can boost home A/C efficiency.
Instruments used:
Flir i7 thermal imager
Fluke325 amp clamp

Control over Observations:
Gave the A/C unit a 10 minute warm up time to stabilize.
105F out side temperature
81F inside
52F discharge temperature on closest duct to air handler.
12.5 to 12.7 amps going to A/C unit.

Test procedure:
Have wife spray condenser with hose while I observe instrument readings. I gave it a 5 minute cool down rinse with the hose on it before I took readings.

The readings were:
105F outside
80F inside
48F cold air Discharge
8.3 to 8.5 amp system draw.

I checked it again 20 minutes after the water was off it and it was back up to nearly 13 amps.
You know A-B-A testing like on ecomodder.

Spraying cold water on the unit significantly reduced amp draw.
Now constantly spraying tap water on the condenser is bad for the coils over time and wastes a ton of water.
But I do have a whole home swamp cooler that I'm not using.
That could reproduce most of the gains from putting water right on the coils.
The temperature of the discharge air didn't change much because the system likely has a mechanical thermal expansion valve.

06-22-18, 04:08 PM	#1
oil pan 4 Land owner Join Date: Nov 2012 Location: NM Posts: 1,026 Thanks: 12 Thanked 127 Times in 107 Posts	evaporative cooling for A/C condenser test with garden hose study The scope is to determine if evaporative cooling can boost home A/C efficiency. Instruments used: Flir i7 thermal imager Fluke325 amp clamp Control over Observations: Gave the A/C unit a 10 minute warm up time to stabilize. 105F out side temperature 81F inside 52F discharge temperature on closest duct to air handler. 12.5 to 12.7 amps going to A/C unit. Test procedure: Have wife spray condenser with hose while I observe instrument readings. I gave it a 5 minute cool down rinse with the hose on it before I took readings. The readings were: 105F outside 80F inside 48F cold air Discharge 8.3 to 8.5 amp system draw. I checked it again 20 minutes after the water was off it and it was back up to nearly 13 amps. You know A-B-A testing like on ecomodder. Spraying cold water on the unit significantly reduced amp draw. Now constantly spraying tap water on the condenser is bad for the coils over time and wastes a ton of water. But I do have a whole home swamp cooler that I'm not using. That could reproduce most of the gains from putting water right on the coils. The temperature of the discharge air didn't change much because the system likely has a mechanical thermal expansion valve. Last edited by oil pan 4; 07-02-18 at 10:51 PM..