Can You Combine Evaporative and Reverse Cycle Air Conditioning? A Guide to Maximising Your Comfort Year-Round

The two systems function in different ways, with air conditioning requiring a sealed area and evaporative cooling needing a flow of air. Using each at an appropriate time is a highly effective way to improve efficiency and drive down energy bills. It can also be much more environmentally friendly. 

To fully understand why you can have evaporative and reverse cycle air conditioning working in partnership with each other, we need to have a basic understanding of how each works. 

Dispelling the Myths Surrounding Evaporative and Reverse Cycle Air Conditioning  

If you google, ‘Can you have evaporative and reverse cycle air conditioning?’, you’ll most likely return a bunch of negative answers – mainly on various HVAC forums. This is because, as already mentioned, the two systems work in opposing manners. 

This is one reason why many people mistakenly think you either have to have one or the other. Before we dig into the multiple benefits of running them in parallel with each other, let’s talk about their differences.

How does evaporative cooling work?  

A ducted evaporative cooling system works through a cooling unit that’s usually placed outside the home – typically on the roof. This unit uses a fan to draw air in, which then passes through wet cooling pads. This has the dual purpose of filtering the air and adding moisture. The latter cools the air, which is then delivered via ducts to the rooms of the building.

The air now carries more moisture. This is an extremely effective way to cool internal air – especially in hot, dry climates. It’s the same method of cooling yourself in a hot car by opening the window or getting out of a warm pool and the air feeling a bit cold.

Evaporative cooling works best when windows are left slightly open. This ensures the air can cycle freely in and out of the room/building, providing a constant fresh flow of filtered, cooled air.

How does reverse cycle air conditioning work? 

Reverse cycle air conditioning works differently. While it also provides a flow of air into the home, this system cools (or heats) the air to the required temperature by passing it through a compound, known as a refrigerant. You might also hear the system referred to as a heat pump. 

The system works best when doors and windows are kept closed, allowing the ambient temperature to remain as constant as possible.

The Benefits of an Evaporative and Reverse Cycle Air Conditioning System

Both systems have their pros and cons – and this is what makes a combination system so advantageous.

The pros of evaporative cooling are:

• It’s extremely energy efficient: The system utilises the power of Mother Nature to cool the air. This requires far less energy than a traditional air conditioning unit.
• It costs less to run: This reduced energy requirement equals lower energy bills.
• It reduces your carbon footprint: Less energy use and needing only water – rather than a chemical compound – to cool the air is extremely planet-friendly. The only by-product of evaporative cooling is water.
• It continually filters and delivers fresh air into the building: The air is continually replaced, reducing the chance of pollutant build-up, odours and other unwanted aerosols that can become suspended in the air.

The pros of reverse cycle air conditioning are:

• It can be used to both cool and heat the home: Cooling is achieved by absorbing heat within the home and pumping it outside. Heating is done through a process that both absorbs heat from the outside air and compresses the refrigerant, which causes it to warm up. The resulting heat is absorbed into the air and travels via the ducts into the home.
• It uses much less energy than traditional air conditioning: The best reverse cycle systems utilise cutting-edge technology. This leads to incredible efficiency – comparable to up to 10 times per energy unit consumed than traditional air conditioning.

Both systems are excellent ways to drive down monthly energy bills and do your bit for the planet. 

Having a combination system is especially advantageous in the Australian climate. You benefit from the dramatically lower costs of evaporative cooling during the hotter, dryer months. Use it during the warmest hours of the day – but if the humidity rises, you can choose to crank on the air conditioning. You might also use this option during the night, when humidity is typically greater. 

During the winter, reverse cycle heating is far more cost-efficient than virtually any other type of heating – and burns less energy.

Discover More About the Perfect Air Cooling & Heating Partnership at iBreeze 

Quality climate control within a residential or commercial property often requires expert advice. Every building is different, as are individual requirements. We’d be delighted to understand your needs and provide a personalised assessment and quote for your air cooling and heating.

Contact us today for a no-obligation discussion.