Architectural Designs

Will making a channel of cold water cool down my house or will the humidity make it hotter?

To cool down my house, I plan on making a huge river that runs from my tap, circles my entire room several times until going down the drain. The water from the tap is always cold because it comes from underground, so I figured it can absorbed the heat from my room before going back into the sink. Imagine a web of water on the floor of my room (don't worry about practicality or waste of water), it's the concept I'm worried about. Will the water make my room more humid and therefore warmer? Or will this actually work?

Public Comments

1. If it is a dry condition of air, exposing the air to a body of water will make it cooler. This is because the air provides the latent heat of vaporization to the water molecules, and the water molecules mix within the air once evaporated. It is a perfect idea to expose your room air to water if your room air is naturally dry. Good idea for cooling in Utah, bad idea for cooling in Florida. In fact, devices called swamp coolers are designed for economical cooling in arid regions for exactly this reason. It does make the air more humid, but it reduces its temperature. The most temperature reduction you can get is from the natural temperature to the adiabatic saturation temperature. Adiabatic saturation temperatures are ALWAYS colder than the actual temperature, unless the relative humidity is initially 100% in which case they are equal. The only reason why it is a bad idea in a humid condition of air is that adding humidity makes it feel hotter than it would be otherwise, because our skin uses evaporation cooling via sweat to reject heat. If you do desire use of semi-cold water to cool you house without addition of humidity, keep the water in copper pipes, such that there is thermal contact, but no mixing.