Is There Any Cooler That Works Like AC?
No cooler works like an air conditioner, because only a compressor and refrigerant remove heat and humidity from the air. If your air is dry and you can leave a door or window open, an evaporative cooler comes closest. If your air is humid, a tower fan is the realistic choice, because it cools you and not the room.
Find the line that matches what you see in your home:
- Your summers are dry, and you can leave a door or window open. Get the Honeywell evaporative cooler. It cools air by evaporating water through wet pads. It works at a relative humidity of 60% or less, and the cooling is strongest near the outlet. Keep the room open for cross-ventilation, because in a closed room it mostly adds moisture.
- The air feels sticky, or the room has to stay shut. Skip the evaporative cooler. In humid regions evaporative cooling reaches only the high 70s to mid-80s °F at best, and a closed room adds the moisture described above. Use a tower fan instead, which moves air across your skin to help sweat evaporate. The best tower fan page is for readers who want to compare more models before choosing.
- The room is large, and you want strong airflow across it. Get the Dreo Cruiser Pro, which measured 508.8 CFM and was rated best for large rooms.
- You want something for a bedroom, with a low setting you can sleep beside. Get the Lasko Elevation, which Lasko rates at 24 dB on low and which adjusts in height from 42 to 54 inches.
- The room is already in the mid-90s or hotter. Don't buy a fan or an evaporative cooler to solve it. EPA says: "Do not use electric fans for cooling when the room temperature is in the mid-90s or higher. When it is that hot, electric fans will not prevent heat-related illness." Move to an air-conditioned place, and take a cool shower or bath.
- You want true air conditioning. The best fans that cool like air conditioners page is for readers who still want to compare fans.
Buy a cooler as sold and run it on its own settings.
The agencies don't agree on where a fan stops helping, and none of their figures is a safe limit. Beyond EPA's figure above, a 2000 archived CDC press release says that when the temperature is in the high 90s, fans will not prevent heat-related illness. WHO says to use electric fans only below 40 °C / 104 °F and that above it fans heat the body. Treat all three as warnings, and treat a hot room as a reason to leave it.
Questions
Is there any cooler that works like an air conditioner?
No cooler works like an air conditioner, because only a compressor and refrigerant remove heat and humidity from the air. If your air is dry and you can leave a door or window open, an evaporative cooler comes closest. If your air is humid, a tower fan is the realistic choice, because it cools you and not the room.
How can I make a cooler work more like AC?
You cannot make a cooler work like AC, but you can match the cooler to your conditions. In dry air with a door or window open, an evaporative cooler cools air by evaporating water through wet pads. It works at a relative humidity of 60% or less. In a closed room it mostly adds moisture, so leave the room open for cross-ventilation.
Should I use an evaporative cooler in a humid home?
No, skip the evaporative cooler if the air feels sticky or the room has to stay shut. In humid regions evaporative cooling reaches only the high 70s to mid-80s °F at best, and a closed room adds moisture. A tower fan is the better choice, because it moves air across your skin to help sweat evaporate.
Can a fan or cooler help when the room is extremely hot?
No, a fan or evaporative cooler is not the answer when the room is in the mid-90s or hotter. EPA says not to use electric fans for cooling at those temperatures, because fans will not prevent heat-related illness. Move to an air-conditioned place and take a cool shower or bath. WHO says to use electric fans only below 40 °C / 104 °F.