When you use a mist system it is important to understand how much water you are using, so you can assess your water usage and determine which type of system will work best for your situation and needs. When determining the water usage in misting systems there are three things that you will have to look at. The water pressure, the type of nozzle you use and how many total nozzles are in the system.
Water Pressure Determines the Quality of Your Mist
The amount of cooling power a mister will have is determined by the size of the water droplets that come out of it. When the water droplets evaporate it causes the air to cool down around it. Bigger droplets will take longer to evaporate than smaller droplets do and if they do not evaporate quickly enough, you will have water drops and not mist. You can determine the size of your droplets according to where you live and what the weather is like. If you are in a dry hot climate having water droplets might feel nice because when the water comes into contact with your skin it will immediately evaporate and cool you off. But if you are in an area that is already humid having large droplets of water falling on you makes you more uncomfortable. A misting system that has low water pressure will put out larger droplets than one with high water pressure. Higher pressure systems produce a more evenly cooled area overall.
The Mist Nozzle Should Compliments Your Water Pressure
When choosing the size of your mist nozzle you will need to take the water pressure into account. The nozzle is designed to balance the pressure and the flow of the water to produce the cool mist. Higher water pressure allows for more mist to come out of the nozzle. Since most nozzles will not produce a consistent mist with low water pressures you will need to determine what your water pressure is before choosing a nozzle.
Determining the Number of Nozzles
To determine how many nozzles you will need in your mist system you will need to decide how much of an area you want to cover and what type of angle you want on your nozzles. The number of nozzles you use in your system will depend on what your water pressure is, the flow rate and what type of pump you are using. If you use too many nozzles the system will not work properly because the water pressure will be too low. There is a balancing act that must be worked out to ensure the system works at its peak capacity.
