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Swamp Coolers Out of the Question Here!

User
13 years ago

I finally looked up "swamp coolers" and found out what they were. No wonder they were never discussed in this area....

Those are evaporative coolers, and they are great where the climate is dry and the humidity is basically low. Definitely NOT here in south Alabama!

But I could see them being useful and cheap to operate in places like Arizona, if you had a source of water to evaporate. They say that sometimes it evaporates up to 15 gallons of water a day.

One way of cooling that I like in a hot and humid climate, would be what the structures in Asian jungles do. Sort of a peaked roof. The building on stilts. And around the outer and lower rim of the bottom floor are air vents, or maybe the sides of the walls roll up and allow a chimney effect of the hot air to rise to a central opening in the center of the roof. I onnce designed a house like this for a friend. I also designed a bed suspended on a platform in the center of the pyramid of walls, so that sleeping space was just under the roof opening. That is idea if you believe in the restorative powers of pyramids.

The spaces below this would be the utility core of the house. Maybe even the kitchen and the bathroom. Around the outer edges would be social areas, for sitting, doing your pleasurable tasks, an office, and totally open with movable walls made of screens.

Such a free flowing supply of air would work in a humid climate such as ours, and more so if it was in zone 9 where minimum temps were never below freezing. But changing the vents from sucking in fresh air to sucking in air from heating ducts would not be too hard to allow for.

Anyway, thinking about swamp coolers reminded me of this really pretty style of construction that works in some parts of the world.

Comments (8)

  • flgargoyle
    13 years ago

    They even used to make swamp coolers for cars! They hung in the passenger side window.

    My uncle's house in CT has an old A/C unit that uses well water as a coolant. It actually works, but does nothing to remove humidity, which those of us in the southeast know is the real problem.

  • wantoretire_did
    13 years ago

    they are great for Arizona and like climates. Don't have the drying affect of AC. But, NOT good in a humid atmosphere!!

  • Shades_of_idaho
    13 years ago

    We love our swamp cooler and it has burned up. DARN!! My skin is parched now. Waiting on new motor to arrive. Since we are very dry here with high desert climate a swamp cooler works really well and cost about $2.50 a month to run.

    ML I am so sorry for your stifling heat this year. I have a friend in Birmingham and she has suffered this year with the humidity. I do not know how you all deal with the heat. I remember living in Brooklyn and taking a shower and feeling like I could not get dried off and hard to get dressed with clothes sticking to me.

    Cooking dinner so time to munch on down.

    chris

  • User
    Original Author
    13 years ago

    Shades, it is stifling this year. When it rains even a little, the air has a haze in it. It could be like a heavy fog. Sort of like living underwater.

    sorry you lost your swamp cooler motor. I cannot believe it operates on just $2.50 per MONTH? Wow, what a bargain.
    I have ceiling fans in just about every room now, and that is the only way I can deal with it. My a/c is set on 81, and the unit struggles to get it to that. No need to set it for 72 or anything unreasonably low, because it simply cannot get it close to that.

    Besides, if it did, when you came inside it would shock your system. If I start feeling hot inside, I stick my head out the door for a while, and come back in. When the temp and humidity are both around 90 plus, even 10 degrees less is enough to keep you going.

    Stay cool.

  • mama goose_gw zn6OH
    13 years ago

    We've had a hazy, humid summer, too. It's been like August all summer--makes me miss the high desert, and the 'swamps.'

    My DH likes to keep the AC cranked up. In addition to the cost factor, I think it's too cool, so when he's not looking, I set the thermostat on 80 degrees.

    Thinking of jungle structures reminds me of mosquitoes, which we have to excess this year. We have to keep an eye on anything that holds stagnant water. And, we just had a massive rain storm that will have filled all the ditches, again.

  • TxMarti
    13 years ago

    We had a swamp cooler in the TX panhandle when I was growing up. I remember that it kept the house nice & cool then, but even the panhandle is more humid now than it used to be (not that I would ever call it humid) and most people have central air there now.

    When we lived near Lubbock in the late 1970's, we had a swamp cooler on the roof that was ducted into every room. Let me tell you I thought we were really uptown with that. lol But there were days that were humid and it didn't feel like it was cool. Most of the time it was great.

    No way could we have one here, though some people have them in their garage/shop where a refrigerated unit wouldn't work well since the doors are open all the time. This summer has been miserably hot and humid.

  • desertsteph
    13 years ago

    'I onnce designed a house like this for a friend.'

    I saw on a home tv program that back when they built 'things' in the center of houses (and thru the roof) for that reason. can't remember what the 'things' were called tho...

    I prefer a swamp cooler to a/c. they don't work as well during our monsoon season tho - mostly August. I'd like to have one but maybe best I keep the moisture out of the house because I'm allergic to mold...and my water supply isn't dependable since it's hauled here in a truck (when I need it I call them).

    I've kept my bedroom cooler this yr than most in the past because of my girl - she wears a fur 24/7. She's in her elderly yrs now and overheats quickly. The humidity is difficult for her also. like mother, like daughter... lol!

  • Vivi Luo
    5 years ago

    What are the benefits of using a Portable Evaporative Cooler?

    – Super Energy Efficient:

    Using portable air coolers is very cost-effective to cool your place without spending much money on electricity. Swamp coolers cost up to 50 percent less than air conditioners that use refrigerated cooling systems. Imagine that, a 36-inch swamp cooler working for 8 hours typically costs you less than $1! Because the operating costs needed are only for water and electricity. Even some swamp cooler designs don’t need any electricity.

    – Zero Emissions

    Since the system leaves a low level of carbon footprint, it produces no emissions. Unlike other traditional cooling systems, the evaporative cooler has no refrigerant gas or compressor. Furthermore, it releases no toxic chemicals in the air. Swamp cooling systems use no refrigerants that potentially harm the environment. Most refrigerant chemicals used in air conditioning systems deplete the earth’s ozone layer. As a result, they cause global warming to occur.

    – Prevent of Air Pollution

    The cooler is fitted with a filter to help filter out odor-causing pollutants and dirt from the indoor atmosphere. Consequently, the quality of indoor air in your rooms will be improved significantly. Apart from being eco-friendly, the cooler additionally safeguards the rooms of your home from air pollution. The Airy Plant is yet another highly innovative product widely used to purify air in an efficient way without energy.

    – Portable and Practical

    You can easily drag the cooler to any room. You can also pack the device easily, as it was designed to be moved around effortlessly.

    – Cost-Effective Setup

    Unlike the traditional air conditioners, you can set up your portable evaporative cooler in an inexpensive way. These systems are cost-efficient considering there is no need to set aside any amount for installing the device. You can buy the evaporating cooler from the online stores and simply install it in any of your rooms. After a certain period has elapsed, it is recommended that you clean the water tank, the motor, and filter components. Thankfully, you can perform the tasks with no prior expertise or experience.

    – Adds Moisture

    The evaporative cooling devices boost the level of moisture inside your home. Therefore, if you live in a region that experiences dryer climatic conditions, the cooler will come in handy. The standardAC systems have a major downside. Unlike the evaporative cooler, the traditional AC units take out moisture from the environment indoors. Note that eliminating moisture from the indoor atmosphere potentially causes breathing difficulties. Furthermore, it is likely to cause cracking or drying of skin.

    3. Is there any shortcomings of using Evaporative Air Coolers?

    – Since Evaporative Cooling Systems increase the level of humidity inside homes, do not use them in areas of humid climates. When compared to the traditional AC systems, Evaporative Coolers cool down your home to higher temperatures. Moreover, they require basic maintenance at least once every month.

    – Portable air coolers are designed to use water continually. In the locations having limited supply of water, homeowners might be wary of adding the cooler considering their water-use impact.

    – In areas experiencing low-humidity, evaporating water in the air allows homeowners to enjoy a highly energy-efficient and natural cooling method. Swamp Coolers work using this concept. These coolers cool the exterior air by letting it flow over water soaked pads. This, in turn, causes water in the pads to evaporate in the cooled air. The cooler air which reaches temperatures of between 15 °F – 40 °F is then guided into the house. The warmer air, on the other hand, is pushed outside through the windows.