Industrial Evaporative Coolers: The Best Cooling Solution for Large-Scale Operations

Large warehouses, distribution centers, and manufacturing facilities are notoriously difficult to cool. Low insulation, high ceilings, metal roofs, and hot machinery create spaces that get 20-30°F hotter than the outside air. If your buildings are located in hot, dry places like Texas, Arizona, or California, that can spell trouble for your business and your employees.  

Fortunately, advanced industrial cooling systems like industrial evaporative coolers can help you safeguard your people and your profits. In this blog, we’ll examine the pros and cons of large evaporative coolers and see how they stack up against traditional cooling systems like HVAC and fans.  

Effective cooling boosts productivity and profits 

In an industrial work environment, every degree of heat matters. Hot temperatures have a negative effect on your workers, your equipment, and your bottom line.   

When you invest in efficient, and effective, cooling, the ROI is clear: 

• Higher productivity: Productivity drops by 4% for every degree above 80ºF. The right warehouse cooling solution puts temps in manageable ranges and boosts productivity. Use our calculator to see how much cooler temps can impact your business.  
• Increased safety: Overheated employees are more prone to accidents, heat exhaustion, and heat stroke, which lead to costly downtime and medical claims. Cooling helps people stay comfortable and careful. 
• Lower turnover: Comfortable environments reduce absenteeism and employee churn, cutting hiring and training costs. 
• Reduced equipment downtime: Overheated machines are more likely to fail. Effective warehouse ventilation and cooling help protect your critical assets. 
• Energy savings: Energy efficient systems like industrial evaporative coolers can save you big time on electricity and maintenance bills. Portacool evaporative coolers use up to $1 a day in energy and require little maintenance. 

 What’s an industrial evaporative cooler? 

Industrial evaporative coolers are high-performance cooling systems. They use the natural process of evaporative cooling to deliver powerful heat relief. Evap coolers take in hot air, pass it through water-saturated evaporative media, and blow cool air out.  

Unlike air conditioners, industrial swamp coolers don’t use harmful refrigerants or require expensive ductwork. They’re ideal for warehouses, factories, logistics hubs, and industrial plants with open bay doors and high heat loads. 

What are the benefits of an industrial evaporative cooler? 

Industrial evaporative coolers are a robust, scalable cooling solution for your warehouses and manufacturing facilities.  

We designed the Portacool APEX™ Series with your needs in mind:   

• Cooling power: The APEX 4000 and APEX 6500 deliver extreme cooling to spaces as large as 6,500 square feet.  
• Energy savings: Save on energy bills without skimping on performance. Portacools operate on up to $1 a day of electricity.  
• Seamless scheduling and syncing: With CoolSync™ Technology, you can manage your evaporative coolers from a phone or tablet using the Portacool app.  
• Portability: All APEX coolers have wheels so they can target your hottest spaces.  
• Easy installation and maintenance: You don’t have to hire professionals to install your coolers. Just connect your Portacool to a water supply and plug it in—it’s ready to go. Maintenance and troubleshooting are just as simple and cost-efficient. 

How do industrial evaporative coolers compare to HVAC and fans? 

Industrial evaporative coolers can complement existing HVAC systems or fans. They can also completely replace these traditional cooling methods. That’s because warehouse evaporative coolers help you get the best of both worlds: powerful cooling and energy savings. They also offer features that you can’t get with HVAC or fans, like cost-efficient cooling and portability.   

Real-world impact of industrial evaporative coolers 

Industrial evaporative coolers make a meaningful impact where HVAC and fans fail. For Mauser USA, the largest drum-making facility in America, the difference was game-changing.  

To cool their 150,000 square foot facility located in sweltering Texas, Mauser turned to Portacool. They bought 33 coolers to position throughout their plant and keep employees cool, even in the hottest zones near ovens and heavy machinery.  

“We rely on our Portacool evaporative coolers to help make a very hot environment comfortable for our employees.” – Mark Allen, Metal Division Plant Mannager, Mauser USA 

With industrial evaporative coolers, Mauser not only kept their employees safe, they also unlocked productivity gains. Their employees took less breaks and increased their output. 

Which industrial evaporative cooler is right for my business? 

No two warehouses or manufacturing plants are the same. When calculating your facility’s cooling needs, consider:  

• Facility size and layout: calculate square footage and identify hot zones. 
• Airflow needs: determine air change rates and CFM requirements. 
• Climate conditions: evaporative cooling performs best in dry and semi-humid environments. 
• Access to power and water: Portacool units require only 120V power and a water source. 

Generally, hot, dry regions will see the greatest temperature drop from evaporative cooling, but coolers can make a noticeable difference in any space that has open bay doors or access to outside air.  

Use the Portacool Buying Guide to explore your options and find the right APEX industrial evaporative coolers for your business.  

Investing in industrial cooling pays off 

With the right cooling strategy, your warehouse or manufacturing facility doesn’t just get cooler. It also runs smarter, safer, and more profitably. At Portacool, we believe in the power of cooling so strongly that we even cool our Texas facilities with our own products.  

It’s time to protect your workforce, cut costs, and boost productivity with the best cooling systems for industrial operations. Contact your local Portacool dealer and explore your cooling options.