Is Using Water to Cool a Room Effective?

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Using water to cool a room can be somewhat effective, particularly in dry climates, due to the latent heat of vaporization, which absorbs heat from the air. Simply spraying water on surfaces may not yield significant cooling results and could increase humidity levels, making the environment uncomfortable. The effectiveness of this method largely depends on the relative humidity; in humid conditions, it may not provide relief. Instead, using a heat exchanger could be a more efficient way to utilize the temperature difference without creating a wet environment. Overall, while water can absorb heat, the method's success is contingent on climate conditions and humidity levels.
Renaatier
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Hey all,

Bear with this stupid question. So I noticed that my apartment is currently 85 degrees, and my tap water is currently 65 degrees. I looked up the volumetric heat capacities of water and air, and found that water has approximately 3200 times the Joules/(Kelvins * cm cubed). So if my apartment is like 6400 cubic feet, would it not be at least semi effective to douse my entire apartment with 2 cubic feet of water, spraying it on all the walls, carpet, floors, to maximize how fast it absorbs the heat? Before I go dumping water in my apartment out of desperation and making a fool of myself, I was wondering what you all thought on the subject.

-Renaatier
 
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rcgldr said:
It depends on the relative humidity. Wiki article:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Evaporative_cooler

I would consider the heat/humidity exchange about even an even trade in terms of comfort levels, in my climate. I know that a certain amount of heat from the air would be absorbed in the process of vaporizing the water...

But I'm still wondering about the other component--the process of thermal entropy involved from dumping the cooler water all over my hot apartment. Since the temperature difference is sizable, and water has a much larger volumetric heat capacity, would it be effective at absorbing the heat from the air in a noticeable way?
 
Renaatier said:
I would consider the heat/humidity exchange about even an even trade in terms of comfort levels, in my climate.
Is your climate very dry? Because if not, you really won't like the end result...
But I'm still wondering about the other component--the process of thermal entropy involved from dumping the cooler water all over my hot apartment. Since the temperature difference is sizable, and water has a much larger volumetric heat capacity, would it be effective at absorbing the heat from the air in a noticeable way?
The temperature difference is not the key, it's the latent heat of vaporization of the water that absorbs most of the heat. In any case, this works well for very dry climates. Devices that do this are often called swamp coolers: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Evaporative_cooler
 
If you just wanted to use the temperature difference from the water maybe a heat exchanger would work, with the added benefit of not getting your appartment sopping wet..
 
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