Air Cooler Buying Guide: How to Choose the Right Air Cooler

Every summer, Indian homes turn to air coolers for one simple reason — they offer relief from the heat without turning monthly electricity bills into a shock. When temperatures start to rise, and fans aren’t enough, air coolers become the obvious choice. In most Indian homes, the decision to buy an air cooler is already made — the real question is which one to choose. With a myriad of models and features available, choosing the right one that suits your space and needs is quite a challenge. In this comprehensive buying guide, we will discuss all the important things you should know and keep in mind when choosing an air cooler for your residential, commercial, or industrial space. 

Topics Covered in This Guide

1.      Why an Air Cooler Makes Sense for Indian Summers

2.      How Does an Air Cooler Work?

3.      Air Cooler vs Air Conditioner: Which One Is Right for You?

4.      Types of Air Coolers Explained: Desert, Personal, Window, Tower, and Commercial air coolers

5.      Which Air Cooler Is Best for Your Room Size?

6.      Understanding CFM and Air Throw

7.      Cooling Pads Explained: Honeycomb vs Wood Wool

8.      Key Features That Actually Matter

9.      Usage and Maintenance Tips

10.    Final Buying Checklist Before You Decide

11.    Why choose Intex air coolers?

1. Why an Air Cooler Makes Sense for Indian Summers

For the kind of heat Indian homes experience, air coolers are the practical choice. They are made for hot climates, long usage hours, and practical budgets. Unlike air conditioners, which cool sealed rooms instantly, air coolers focus on continuous airflow and natural cooling, making them particularly suitable for cities that experience dry heat. Another big reason air coolers remain popular is affordability — not just in purchase price, but in everyday running cost. A typical air cooler consumes less power, which makes it an ideal choice for all-day use in summer.

Also, summer heat isn’t just uncomfortable. It can make indoor spaces feel heavy, stuffy, and hard to breathe. That’s where air coolers stand apart. Unlike closed-room cooling, air coolers continuously circulate fresh and healthy air, helping rooms feel lighter and more breathable during long summer days.

2. How Does an Air Cooler Work? 

An air cooler works on a simple natural principle — evaporation.

When hot air passes over water, some of the water evaporates, and this process absorbs heat from the air. The result? Cooler air. That’s exactly what happens inside an air cooler.

• The hot air from the surroundings passes through the cooler’s wet cooling pads

• Water evaporates from the pads, reducing air temperature

• The fan throws this cooled air into the room

There are no compressors, gases, or complicated mechanisms involved. This is the reason air coolers are easier to maintain and also consume less power.

3. Air Cooler vs Air Conditioner: Which One Is Right for You?

This is one of the most searched questions online — and for good reason.

Choosing between an air cooler and an air conditioner isn’t just about cooling power. It’s about how you live, where you live, and what kind of comfort you prefer. Factors like climate, room usage, electricity costs, and ventilation play an important role in this decision. Let’s break it down practically.

An air conditioner is ideal if:

• You need instant cooling

• You live in a humid city

• You want precise temperature control

• Higher electricity bills are acceptable

An air cooler is ideal if:

• You want low power consumption

• You prefer fresh air circulation

• You live in a dry or semi-dry region

• You want a budget-friendly solution

4. Types of Air Coolers Explained: Desert, Personal, Window, Tower & Commercial

Air coolers are not one-size-fits-all. The right type depends on where you plan to use it, how many people need cooling, and how extreme the heat is. Let’s break down the different types of air coolers you’ll find in the market, their usage environments, and who they’re made for.

Desert Air Coolers

Desert air coolers are the most popular and most searched type of air coolers, given their superior cooling capability in regions with hot and dry climates, such as Rajasthan, Gujarat, and parts of northern India. They come equipped with powerful fans, large capacity water tanks, and large cooling pads, which allow them to run for long hours without the need for repeated filling.

These coolers are especially effective in dry and extremely hot climates, where evaporation works at its best. Because of their strong air throw, they can cool larger rooms or even semi-open spaces. An important thing to note is that they perform best when there is ventilation, meaning when fresh air can enter and warm air can escape.

Intex desert air coolers come equipped with high-speed fans, large water tanks, honeycomb cooling pads, and are inverter compatible, making them ideal for Indian summers and extended daily use.

Ideal for:
Large living rooms, halls, open-plan homes, shops, ground-floor areas, and regions with extreme summer heat.

Personal Air Coolers

Personal air coolers are the most compact and entry-level category. They are designed to cool a small area rather than an entire room, which means they are ideally suited for individual use. These coolers typically have smaller water tanks, moderate yet decent airflow, and a lightweight body that’s easy to move around. Because of their compact size, they don’t overwhelm the room with moisture and work quite well when placed close to the user. Simply put, personal coolers are for individual cooling. Personal coolers are also popular among students because they don’t require installation, are easy to move, and consume very little electricity.

Intex personal air coolers combine compact design with efficient airflow, low power consumption, and easy mobility—making them a smart choice for everyday personal comfort.

Ideal for:
Small bedrooms, study rooms, hostels, rented homes, personal workspaces, or spot cooling for one or two people.

Window Air Coolers

Window air coolers, as the name suggests, are designed to be mounted onto a window or wall opening, just like a window air conditioner. Instead of taking up floor space, they draw fresh air directly from outside and push cooled air into the room. These coolers are particularly effective in rooms that remain occupied throughout the day. Best suited for dry climates, window coolers can cool effectively, depending on the size of the room.

Intex window air coolers are a great option if you need powerful cooling for your home or workspace but have limited floor space. 

Ideal for:
Bedrooms, offices, or living spaces where floor space is limited, and long-duration cooling is required.

Tower Air Coolers

Let’s talk about Tower air coolers, which are designed for modern homes where floor space is limited but cooling needs are higher than those of a personal cooler. These coolers are slim in design and tall, so they do not take up much space while ensuring good air delivery across the room. Because tower coolers offer a perfect blend of aesthetics, performance, and convenience, they fit seamlessly into modern home interiors.

Ideal for:
Medium-sized bedrooms, apartments, living rooms with limited space, and homes looking for a sleek, space-saving cooling solution.

Commercial Air Coolers

Speaking about commercial air coolers, they are a completely different category, designed for large areas, heavy usage, and demanding environments. These units are meant to deliver very high air volume, powerful throw, and steady cooling across wide spaces.

They come with big fans, industrial-grade motors, large or nonstop water supply options, and sturdy bodies designed for long operating hours and tough environments. Unlike residential coolers, commercial coolers are more about performance and coverage than design. The commercial air coolers from Intex are a great choice if you are seeking superior cooling and dependable performance.

Ideal for:
Factories, warehouses, workshops, restaurants, banquet halls, schools, showrooms, gyms, and large commercial or semi-outdoor spaces.

5. Which Air Cooler Is Best for Your Room Size?

This is one of the most important things to understand if you are in the market for a new air cooler. Opting for a cooler that’s too small for your room means ineffective airflow and weak cooling, even if the cooler itself is working fine. On the other hand, buying an oversized cooler for a small room can lead to excess humidity, discomfort, and unnecessary water and power consumption.

Room size is the starting point, but it shouldn’t be the only decisive factor. Other factors such as the movement of air across the room, outside temperature, and the number of people in the room, are also important to consider. The best way to go about this is to consider the room size to pick the right category and then fine-tune your selection based on usage conditions.

However, you should also keep in mind that the height of the room, the number of occupants, sunlight, and ventilation can also impact air cooler performance. For example, a room with large windows on the top floor of a building will need more cooling than a shaded room. Similarly, cooling will be better in a room with cross-ventilation and vice versa.

Recommended Air Cooler by Room Size

6. Understanding CFM and Air Throw

If you have bought an air cooler in the past, you might have come across terms like CMF and air throw. If you understand them…great! However, many get confused. These numbers are directly linked to an air cooler’s performance, but they are generally not explained properly.  Let’s simplify these terms.

What Is CFM and Why Does It Matter?

CFM stands for Cubic Feet per Minute. In simple terms, it tells you how much air a cooler can move in one minute.

Higher CFM = more air circulation = better cooling coverage.

CFM = Room size (sq. ft.) x Ceiling height / 2 

So, for a 200 sq. ft. room with 10-feet ceiling height, you will need a 1000 CFM cooler.

A cooler with high CFM not only cools faster but also spreads air more evenly across the room.

What Is Air Throw?

Air throw is the distance the cooled air can travel from the unit before losing momentum. This becomes a key consideration if you are looking for a cooler for large rooms, long rectangular spaces, and areas where people are seated far from the cooler unit. So, it’s important to check the air throw of a cooler. Higher CFM generally translates to a longer air throw.

7. Cooling Pads Explained: Honeycomb vs Wood Wool

Never forget to check the type and quality of the cooling pads, one of the key parts of an air cooler and a decisive force behind its overall cooling performance. Remember when we spoke about evaporative cooling at the beginning of this article? So, these cooling pads are where the heat exchange happens. The hot air from the surroundings passes through the wet pads, water evaporates, and the air becomes cooler. Air coolers generally use two types of pads – Honeycomb cooling pads and Wood wool cooling pads.

Honeycomb Cooling Pads

Honeycomb pads are made from specially treated cellulose material arranged in a honeycomb pattern that maximises surface area for water absorption. This design allows them to hold more water for longer durations, which results in more consistent and effective cooling. Honeycomb pads typically last longer than traditional pads. Intex air coolers use Honeycomb pads that retain 45% more water, leading to 25% extra cooling. In the past few years, Honeycomb pads have become common as their performance and durability surpass older pad types.

Wood Wool Cooling Pads

Wood wool, also referred to as aspen pads, is made from shredded wood fibres or slivers. Cheaper than honeycomb pads, these were common in traditional coolers and are still used in many basic and budget models. You should note that wood wool pads need regular cleaning and require replacement every season. Since they don’t hold water as well, they don’t cool the air as effectively as honeycomb pads.

Honeycomb vs Wood Wool — Quick Comparison

Intex offers a range of technologically advanced air coolers with both honeycomb and wood wool cooling pad options, including compact units for smaller rooms and larger desert-style coolers for big spaces, giving buyers flexibility to choose as per the space and their needs.

8. Key Features That Actually Matter

Inverter Compatibility: While most air coolers today are inverter compatible, do confirm with the seller. If you happen to live in an area that experiences frequent power cuts, you definitely need an inverter-compatible cooler.

Multiple Speed Settings: Check if the air cooler you are considering has a multiple speed setting feature, so that you can increase or decrease the air speed to suit your comfort.

Air Deflection: Want even and multi-directional cooling? Go for an air cooler that has an air deflection system featuring deflectors for side, upward, and downward airflow.

Easy Mobility: If you are going to move the air cooler across rooms, make sure the unit you are buying has castor wheels for 360-degree movement.

Ice Chamber: Want quick and improved cooling on those scorching afternoons? Choose an air cooler with an integrated ice chamber. Just put ice or ice packs to enjoy extra cooling when you need it most.

Collapsible Louvres: The fully collapsible louvres make cleaning simple and maintenance easy, helping maintain efficient cooling performance season after season.

Water Level Indicator: A glance lets you know exactly when it's time to refill the tank. Say goodbye to guesswork and ensure your cooling is never interrupted.

Voltage Fluctuation Protection: Check for this feature if voltage fluctuation is common in your area. This protects your cooler’s motor against sudden power surges and drops in voltage.

9. Usage and Maintenance Tips

Proper usage and regular maintenance can significantly improve the cooling performance and lifespan of your air cooler. Follow these simple tips to ensure efficient and long-lasting operation.

Usage Tips

i) Place the air cooler near an open window or door to allow fresh air intake, which improves cooling efficiency.

ii) Fill the water tank with clean water before use and maintain the recommended water level for optimal performance.

iii) For enhanced cooling during extreme heat, add ice to the ice chamber if your air cooler has one. Alternatively, add ice directly into the tank.

iv) Use the appropriate fan speed setting based on room size and temperature to balance cooling and energy consumption.

v) Air coolers work best in dry and moderately humid climates, where evaporation is more effective.

Maintenance Tips

i) Clean the cooling pads regularly (once every 1–2 weeks during heavy use) to maintain proper airflow and cooling efficiency.

ii) Drain and replace the water periodically to prevent odour, algae buildup, or scaling inside the tank.

iii) Wipe the exterior and air vents with a soft, dry cloth to keep dust from affecting airflow.

iv) When the summer season is over, drain the water tank completely, clean the pads, and store the cooler in a dry place.

v) Inspect castor wheels, louvres, and electrical connections occasionally to ensure smooth operation.

Do check out our detailed DIY Air Cooler Maintenance Guide, which will help you improve an air cooler's cooling performance.

10. Final Buying Checklist Before You Decide

Before making the final purchase, ask yourself these questions.

i) What is my room size?

ii) What type of cooler suits my space and my cooling needs?

iii) How much is the water tank capacity?

iv) Which type of cooling pad is used in the cooler?

v) What is the air throw distance?

vi) Does it have multiple speed settings?

vii) Does it have added features like castor wheels for portability or an ice chamber?

11. Why Choose Intex Air Coolers?

Looking for the best air cooler for Indian summers? Intex air coolers are all about powerful cooling with low power consumption, making them perfect for long, hot Indian summers. Whatever your space or need, there’s an Intex cooler for you — from desert and personal coolers to window and commercial models. With a variety of tank sizes, modern designs, and handy features, our coolers deliver reliable performance every time. With over 30 models to choose from, Intex offers one of the most diverse air cooler ranges in the market, making it easier for you to choose the right one for your home, office, commercial, or industrial space.