Call (561) 779-3213 to find out whether an evaporative cooling system suits your Wellington barn, lanai, workshop or business. Advice only, no equipment sales.
A swamp cooler cools air by passing it over a wet pad: the water evaporates, the heat for that change comes out of the air, and a fan moves the cooler, more humid air into the space. In Wellington the humidity narrows the temperature drop and the added moisture has to leave somewhere, so the honest answer starts with the structure and how much outside air it already moves.
Wellington is an incorporated village with its own Building Division at the Wellington Municipal Complex on Forest Hill Boulevard, so any permit question goes to the Village, not to the unincorporated county. Much of the village sits in the Wind-Borne Debris Region, with local design pressures running roughly 140 to 160 mph, which matters for anything bolted to a roof, wall or frame. The land is low and flat and drained through canals and the water control district, so where a unit's drain and overflow go is a real design question here.
Randolph Scott Bell is a Florida Certified General Contractor (CGC1528750), a RESNET Certified HERS Rater (RTIN 4516301), an Energy Star v3 Verifier and a LEED Accredited Professional, with a B.S. in Engineering from Aalborg University in Denmark and an MBA from the University of Miami. Evaporative cooling is a separately developed design in his energy-consulting offer.
More on this service: the evaporative cooling hub and the consulting hub. The same advisory work in nearby towns: Royal Palm Beach and West Palm Beach.
Also in Wellington. If the cooling question is part of a bigger job, the same village has construction for the permit and the building work, roofing if a structure's roof has to carry or be cut for equipment, property management if an association has to approve the change, and land services if drainage or the pad needs site work first.
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It depends on the space. Wellington air is humid for much of the year, so a direct evaporative cooler cools less than it would in a dry climate and adds moisture to the space it serves. It fits open or well-ventilated structures, such as a covered patio, a barn aisle or a workshop with doors open, better than a sealed, air-conditioned room. A short call sorts out where it fits.
Wellington is an incorporated village with its own Building Division, separate from unincorporated Palm Beach County. Whether a given unit, its electrical supply, water line or roof or wall opening needs a permit depends on the equipment and where it goes, so check with the Village Building Division before work starts. This page is advice only; the contractor you hire pulls any permit.
Barns move a lot of outside air, which gives the added moisture somewhere to go, so they are among the more natural candidates. The questions are airflow through the aisle, water supply and drainage, dust and keeping pads clean. Animal-health and barn-design decisions belong with your vet and your barn designer; the advice here covers the cooling side.
Usually not. An evaporative cooling system for home use is better thought of as a partner for a lanai, garage, workshop or other ventilated space, because it does not dry the air the way an air conditioner does. If your cooling bills are the real worry, a HERS rating or a blower door test may show where the heat is getting in.
As an advisory question, yes. A commercial swamp cooler turns on cooling load, airflow, water supply, upkeep and how the space is used, for example an open-air service area, a warehouse bay or event space with open sides. The advice covers whether it is a sensible option and what to ask a supplier or installer.
Much of Wellington sits in the Wind-Borne Debris Region, and local design wind pressures run roughly 140 to 160 mph, so anything fixed to a roof, wall or frame needs to be anchored and approved for that load. Equipment and its anchoring are specified by the installer and checked in permitting, not by this page.
It can. Wellington is low and flat, with drainage handled through canals and the local water control district, so a unit that drains or overflows needs a place for that water to go that does not pond against a slab or a neighbour's line. Where the drain runs is one of the things worth settling before anyone buys equipment.
Pads or media need regular cleaning or replacement because minerals and growth on a wet surface lower performance and can affect air quality. The water line, pump and drain also need checking. The pad is not a rated air filter and should not be treated as one.
No. This is consulting, feasibility and owner's-representative advice only. Equipment is supplied and installed by the contractor or manufacturer you choose, and permit needs are checked with the Village of Wellington.
No price is published, because the work depends on the building and what you need to decide. Call (561) 779-3213 to talk through your project.
Randolph Scott Bell: a Florida Certified General Contractor (CGC1528750), a RESNET Certified HERS Rater (RTIN 4516301), an Energy Star v3 Verifier and a LEED Accredited Professional, with a B.S. in Engineering from Aalborg University in Denmark and an MBA from the University of Miami.