When spring has finally sprung, there's nowhere more popular than nature walks, arboretums, and gardens. Whether it's a couple out on a date, parents taking the kids somewhere they can see nature in full bloom, or just botanical admirers out for a hike, it seems like there's always someone on these trails. However, as spring gives way to summer they get progressively less popular. Because even with all the shade trees can provide, soaring temperatures can make these places much too hot for anyone but the most die-hard of nature lovers.
Fortunately, you can provide a little bit of relief for visitors by installing misting fans at key locations throughout any given route.
What Will Misting Fans Do?
Misting fans, as Wise Geek explains, use the principles of evaporative cooling to lower the temperature in a given area. The way it works is that tiny droplets of water are sprayed into the air, and these droplets evaporate before they've gone more than a few inches from the sprayer nozzle. That evaporation steals heat from the air, and it can result in an area that's as much as thirty or forty degrees
cooler! Then the fan blows the cool air out, extending the area it covers to provide maximum comfort for as many people as possible.
While a misting fan won't cover every inch of a nature walk (especially the ones that go on for miles), they can set up regular islands of comfort to be sure that guests have somewhere to beat the heat. And since these fans require a minimum of electricity and water access to function (moderate fans use no more than a few gallons of water an hour when operating at full capacity), these stations don't represent a huge drain on resources. In fact, if a nature walk already has an automated watering system in place, it may be possible to add these fans in with relatively little difficulty. And, even if there is not such a system in place, portable fans can be set out to offer strategically-placed relief.
Comfort Versus Care
There is no arguing with the numbers when it comes to misting fans, as the
Heat Relief blog shows. However, if you're going to use them in a natural setting, it's important to carefully consider what will be around your misting fans. Because if you put them near shrinking violets, or hothouse orchids, that will lead to some negative repercussions in the surrounding flora. If, on the other hand, your misting fans are next to a set of towering oak trees, then all that's going to happen is the air is going to be a little more moist near them.
Misting fans create pockets of cooler temperatures (which is why you install them in the first place), but it's also important to consider the effects of increased humidity, and what (if any) strain they will put on your electricity and water resources along the walk. Because while you want your guests to be comfortable so they can enjoy the scenery all around them, it's also important to be sure the fans won't negatively impact that scenery at the same time.
Beat The Heat, While Taking In The Green
It's important to stay cool while you're out in the heat, and
misting fans are one way to do that in an outdoor setting. They aren't the only potential solution, and they might not be right for every garden walk or hiking trail, but they are a solution that's worth thinking about. Especially as spring gives way to summer, and the mercury starts to really rise.
