It is sometimes unbelievable how fast development in the caravan and camping industry is progressing in terms of ancillary equipment, which is also true for camper vehicle technology in general.

Of course, we do not go to major fairs every year, so maybe that´s why the different trends are so much surprising sometimes.

But let us start with one of our interests: The summer heat in the penultimate year had tampered us really hard that we seriously thought of the installation of air conditioning, especially because of the daily work on the laptop due to really high temperatures inside the caravan. However, the extra weight of an air conditioning system made it difficult for us to skip our targets. We just did not have any free extra weight capacity left as our year-round project work simply sets its limits. Then, during the CMT Stuttgart, we first heard of so-called evaporative cooling units for use in caravans or mobile homes.

There were three providers at that time, whose stands we visited and were able to inquire extensively. At the end, no decision was made during this fair.

Now we spent a few days at the ABF fair in Hanover, where we came across the presentation of Transcool evaporative coolers, a device that origins from Australia and has recently been imported. The first contact was made due to some ice sweets distributed on the stand, so we agreed for an appointment for a more detailed conversation on the next day, which we wanted to enrich with some questions as the guideline of the conversation. This we agreed on with Mr. Ralf Penkert, present at the booth, who also operates the online shopping portal penky.de. Since there are certainly a large number of interested readers on this subject, we have decided to publish our questions and the answers of Mr Perkert in this regard, sure, we want to limit ourselves to the essential points:

What is evaporation cooling?

Once water is evaporated by passing air, the air is getting cooled. You immediately feel the cooling of the skin by evaporation, for example, when you blow on your moisturized skin. A stronger cooling effect occurs, for example, if you wear a wet garment on the body and this is feeling cold in the wind. It also creates evaporation cold.

How is evaporative cooling technically usable?

The airflow to be cooled is passed through a special surface that kept moist like our patented TRANSCOOL cooling pad. The evaporation of water on the pad cools the outside air. The colder the water (by adding ice), the more cold the passing air gets, which is then generating mixes with the air in the room and thus achieves a pleasant air temperature.

Is evaporative cooling powerful?

Yes, because when the water evaporates, the air is deprived of a lot of heat energy.

Why is evaporative cooling ideal for caravans, campers, camping etc.?

There are only very low operating costs, since no compressors, no refrigerant pipes and no "power guzzlers" are needed.
Even on hot days, a pleasant room temperature is possible because the cooling capacity increases with increasing outside temperature
Windows and doors can stay open
Just water is used, no refrigerant
Reliable, simple technique
Especially on extremely hot days, the cooling cannot fail - in contrast to conventional air conditioners.

Is a comparable success achieved as with an air conditioner?

Evaporative cooling is the more efficient the warmer and drier the outside air is. In locations with a continental climate, a very high level of comfort can be achieved. Especially on the Atlantic or the Mediterranean, because here the humidity is usually lower than here in Germany. An air conditioning can even fail in very hot regions and no longer tolerated in many campsites cause you need too much electricity and disturb the neighbors.

What's on exceptionally hot days? Does the cooling fail then?

No, because when you need it most, evaporative cooling is also the most powerful. Often air conditioners on the hottest days have too low a cooling capacity or even fail. The TRANSCOOL air cooler is different: the hotter and drier the outside air, the more effective the TRANSCOOL air cooler. With evaporative cooling cannot be achieved consistently low room temperature. The room temperature increases with increasing outside temperature, but is always well below the outside temperature. But it's also more pleasant to be healthier than turning the caravan into a "fridge" with 20 degrees inside at an outside temperature of 40 degrees and consuming tons of electricity.

Is the humidity in the room increased by an evaporative cooler?

Just very poor, and the person feels simultaneous cooling of air as very pleasant. Modern air coolers, such as the TRANSCOOL air cooler, emit less moisture into the room than humans themselves do through breathing or sweating. However, the temperature of the air flow has also dropped considerably. Evaporative coolers are used so often worldwide because they create comfort.

Is evaporative cooling a proven technology?

Yes, many millions of devices are in use worldwide.

Meanwhile, it has become one more device in our equipment, although the local temperatures can expect no use in the short term, but it should go back to south soon. And the next summer with high temperatures is sure to come.

Please read as well:

Leisure fair abf Hannover shows novelties for leisure
Extensions - eye catching and special - the CMT