Big HVAC is shaking: Beat the heat with a wet towel and spite for $240B [video] (opens in new tab)

This is evaporative cooling. It works well enough if the humidity is low.

Big HVAC is not shaking.

Big HVAC sells giant towels (fill) with fans blowing on them in a steel enclosure, they’re called evaporative cooling towers.

https://h2ocooling.com/cooling-tower-fill/

Evaporative cooling works a lot better if you reject the heat outside of the conditioned space, like outside for example. That’s why there are commercial and industrial pre-packaged cooling towers that are widely available, vs a paper towel and box fan.

https://baltimoreaircoil.com/products/cooling-towers

https://www.evapco.com/products/cooling-towers-factory-assem...