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You can almost hear them coming – the dog days of summer are well on their way. Here at Patio Heat and Shade, we have dedicated ourselves to the pursuit of outdoor patio comfort and have amassed a stable of patio comfort experts who know how to keep you cool when the sun becomes relentless.
We asked our experts for the best ways for families (and guests) to keep cool during the hottest of days and to my surprise they all came back with the same response: Patio Misters are one of the best ways to keep your family cool in summer.
There are three basic ways of getting cooler during the summer months:
We all know about evaporation… but we do really know how it works? The engineering brainiacs that work for the misting companies sure do.
The best patio misters include a high-pressure pump connected to a water source, and increase the water pressure by as much as 10 times the normal rate. When you increase the water pressure above 700 psi (pounds per square inch) the water molecules are atomized, pushing the smallest possible droplets through the nozzles. These droplets are blown into the outside air using a small fan in the misting system, dispersing the droplets far from their original source.
Once the water droplets leave their high-pressure homes and are introduced to the outdoor air, they begin to flash evaporate. The process of evaporation requires a source of energy… and in this case they suck the energy they need from the hot air molecules. The fine water droplets begin to cool when the air molecules expend their energy, turning the water liquid into a gas. This same process happens to the millions of droplets released into the air as the misting system continues to spray, and the surrounding air can be cooled by more than 30 degrees Fahrenheit!
Since this process relies on the qualities of the air (specifically how hot the air is and the humidity level), the absolute best place to use a patio misting system is in a hot, dry space (think Arizona or Nevada), but even temperate climates will see significant benefits to misting systems.
Obviously, the greatest advantage of a patio mister is the drastic (up to 30° Fahrenheit) drop in temperature of the surrounding air… but there are other significant benefits that only a patio mister can provide.
The fine mist that a high-pressure patio mister creates helps to keep away insects like flies, bees, and mosquitoes from your outdoor oasis, and who doesn’t like a mosquito-free play space?
Patio misters also help you keep you healthy by reducing dust, smoke and other pollutants.
You’d think so, and if you went to your nearest dollar store and picked out a $5 patio mister, I’m pretty sure you’ll get wet. High quality patio misters don’t work that way; the fine droplets created by the best patio misting systems evaporate quickly (cooling the air) without making you or the things around you feel wet.
Now that you’ve got so much knowledge about patio misters, how they work and what to watch out for, let’s see which systems our brainiac patio experts suggest as the best of the best:
Firstly, let’s start with the pump, which should be as far away from your relaxation space as you can place it, because all pumps make noise. How much noise? Some can be as noisy as a room A/C unit, so plan accordingly. Your pump will need water and a 110v AC outlet and can be placed up to 400 ft. way from your mist line without significant pressure loss. Our suggestion is to mount the pump in your garage and route the high-pressure tubing through your attic to your outdoor patio.
When considering where to place your mist line and mist rings, try to keep it elevated to about 8’ – 10’ off the ground. This gives enough space for the evaporation to take place before the water droplets reach the ground… but if you place the mist rings too high you’ll get an interesting fog effect, but the cooled air is too high to significantly affect your family’s comfort.
Although there are professional misting systems specifically designed to keep mosquitoes at bay (they use a fine mist of botanical insecticide), we’re talking about good ole’ plain H2O misters. Water vapor misters used in a residential setting primarily for cooling absolutely do have the effect of driving away bugs (like the mosquito, bee, and fly varieties) while they are in use, but the insect levels will return to normal as soon as the system is inactivated. Insect-free fun while cooling off at the same time? Yes please!
Although there are many factors to take into account when estimating water usage of a misting system (type of nozzle, number of nozzles, frequency of use, your home’s water pressure and the water pressure of the misting system), we can give you some ballpark guidelines to help you decide on which patio mister is best for you.
A good rule of thumb is to say one gall of water per hour per nozzle (using a standard misting nozzle). So, if you’ve got a 5-nozzle system you can count on using about 5 gallons per hour. Consider that on average a shower uses 25 gallons of water every 10 minutes, you can see how water-efficient misting systems can be for your home.
You’ll find all kinds of patio misters being marketed for residential use, but generally there are three types of misters: low-pressure, medium-pressure and high-pressure misting systems. Generally, the higher the pressure the finer the mist (and the more efficient the evaporation and cooling). Here’s the differences:
Using the water supply from your house (typically 40-60 psi), these are the most affordable and easiest to install of the misting systems. They produce larger droplets than medium- or high-pressure systems, which means the evaporative effect is lessened and more residual water droplets will be left behind. Avoid these systems if you live in a climate with more humid summers as the air is already highly saturated and the less-fine mist is likely to condense and pool up.
The water supply from your house feeds a pump which pressurizes the water output (anywhere from 160-250 psi). Although the pump requires an electrical connection, installation is almost as easy as that of low-pressure systems. Because they use a pump, medium-pressure systems require a higher up-front cost than low-pressure systems (and higher operating costs) but produce much more effective cooling.
These are the top tier systems of the misting world. Though they are the most expensive (due to their inclusion of larger, more powerful pumps achieving anywhere from 750-1,500 psi) misting systems, they provide rapid, powerful cooling without leaving residual moisture. Commercial settings (outdoor seating areas at restaurants) are their most common uses, but the super-fine mist they produce is the best outdoor cooling you can get. Unlike the low- and medium-pressure misting systems, however, you will have to have your high-pressure system professionally installed.
Developing between 160-200 psi, the Mist Works MKBB-12 is our go-to system in the medium-pressure range. This is a fantastic mid-level option that will cool your family “pack” throughout the dog days of summer.
Our experts rely on Fogco for high quality, reliable high-pressure misters, and you can see why. The Fogco 6N40116 high pressure misting kit, ready with 20 nozzles and the 6050116 beast of a misting pump, generates 1000 psi which creates the fine water droplets necessary to cool your family quickly, without leaving behind liquid residue.
Creating between 700-1,000 psi, the Mist Works MKRCD.50/25-1 high pressure misting system is one of the most dependable systems on the market. Creating fine water droplets that will cool the air quicker than medium-pressure systems, it’s what you need to do the job right!
Fogco whisper-quiet mist pumps are built with high quality components and have stood the test of time for over a quarter of a century. The Fogco 5C20116 high-pressure misting kit develops 1,000 psi, while the 10 included nozzles will efficiently cool a large backyard oasis.
We’ve seen how patio misters can drop the air temperature around you by as much as 30°F, while keeping away bugs and cleansing the air at the same time. One of the things we love about patio misters is that their benefits aren’t unidirectional… if you’re using shade, you must be under it to cool off, or be in the path of the fan. With a patio mister, a large area can be cooled allowing the kids to play yet another round of their favorite game, while staying cool and comfortable.
Here at Patio Heat and Shade you’ve got a friend in the business, a friend who is willing to put their decades of patio comfort knowledge to the test to help you spec out exactly the right patio misting system for you. We carry a variety of misters and misting components, but remember, we’re here to help you if you’re unsure as to which solution is best… give us a call, we promise to treat you like family.