You don’t need to spend thousands of dollars to cool down your deck or patio. You just need to use the power of evaporative cooling! Under the right conditions, outdoor water misting systems can reduce air temperature withing a specific area by twenty degrees or more. Basic water misting systems do not require pumps, relying solely on house water pressure. Misting nozzles create the cooling vapor with water pressures well under 100 PSI.

Water misting systems are most effective at high temperatures and low humidity levels. They’re great for the desert, but not for the tropics. You won’t achieve much of a cooling effect if you live in a swamp. (If you’ve ever been to Las Vegas in the summertime, youve probably enjoyed a cooling mist at one establishment or another.)

Take a look on eBay and you’ll find a slew of entry level outdoor water misting systems starting at about twenty bucks. These basic systems are intended to be used underneath portable canopies, and consist of a short run of 3/8″ supply hose, a handful of misting nozzles, a compression fitting to hook up to your outside spigot, and a bunch of hose hangers. Pretty simple stuff.

Do these misting systems deliver $20 of cool? That’s for Andrew Jackson to say.

For 10X the price, you can take the show on the road with portable misting systems that combine that basic setup with a 12V pump and a five gallon spackle bucket to provide hours of cooling goodness. Five points to the first Gnomie that finds a portable solar-powered misting system. (If it isn’t out there today, it’ll be there tomorrow.)

It should come as no surprise that serious stationary misting systems will set you back more than a deuce. Upscale home and commercial systems use higher quality lines and nozzles, along with 110V pumps and timers. The more nozzles and tubing, the larger the covered area.

Putting on a special event during these dog days? Inflatable misting systems are all the rage at summer sporting events, county fairs, and carnivals. What could be cooler than a big blow-up misting station filled with refreshing vapor on a hot August day?