Swamp Coolers vs. Refrigerated Air (Albuquerque, Santa Fe: appointed, home, heat pump)

[Zoidberg]

According to PNM's web site, swamp coolers use more water than refrigerated air, even bearing in mind the water used in the electricity generation to run them.

Also not factored in, the cost of transporting and purifying the water used in the swamp cooler.

That said, swamp cooler is still less bad for the environment.

[onelilredrose]

I've lived in two seperate houses with either a swamp or AC. The house we currently have with swamp, stays pretty cool, and I work nights and sleep during the day...so i really NEED a cool bedroom! I think there have been two days this summer that I have woke up during the day because my room was not cool enough. But when I moved to another room in the house with a east facing wall, it felt cooler. The house we had with an AC had the same problem with certain rooms being warmer than others, so I did not see any benefit to having an AC.
One thing I did miss when we had an AC (that I absolutely LOVE now that we have a swamp again) is opening all the windows in the house when we have a cool breeze after a rain or at night when the air cools off and you get to listen to all the sounds of nature outside. I could not do this when we had our AC, as it would seem like the unit would not cool off for almost a half day later. When I finally called (a very expensive) tech to come out and tell me the unti was defective (it was a new unit), he only told me that when I open the windows, it throws off how the unit works, so if I wanted a steady temp, the windows needed to stay CLOSED! I need fresh air in my house or it starts to feel stale, so, shortly after that we sold the house, and our next house HAD to have swamp!
AND we have a house that's twice the size of our previous house with AC, and our elec. bill is almost half what it was with the AC. Which I find amazing considering our previous house had 1 AC in it and our new home has 2 swamp units!

[designer]

I have both types of units so I think they both have their places but I
am now talking to realtors about listing my house and all of them have
said the refrigerated has a absolute edge on enhancing the sale of houses
in the area where I live.
That goes for newer or older houses they have all stated an that's in
southern NM. I know for the maintenance arguement I can say while
the swamp is relatively inexpensive it does require a little more work.
I replace the pads every summer and really have to scrub all the minerals
out of the system. I've had to replace belts and pumps and the float
assemblies. As I mentioned these items are not real expensive but they
do take some attention. With my refrigerated unit I've done nothing but
turn it on or off. Also my unit has a energy saver and timer on it so I can
really control the operating costs. As I mentioned before they are both
pretty good but when it comes to value of a house refrigerated will win out
in most areas.

[mortimer]

designer advised:

> ... when it comes to value of a house refrigerated
> will win out in most areas.

Yup. Conservation does not pay in terms of resale.

I found that in the case of a house we recently moved
from in the Phoenix area that not having a pool and not
having a lawn reduced the value of our house for resale.

We lived in it for seven years, so not having a lawn
or even irrigation was worth it to me. Many people
spent $10k on landscape, irrigation, etc when the
initially moved in. I plopped a bunch of cactus arms
and some cheap 6" plants in the granite 'lawn' and after
three years, it looked comparable to the $$$ yards.
Never irrigated in seven years other than to establish
the plants.

Ironically, after about three years, cactii send out
radial roots that tap into neighbor's and greenbelt
irrigation systems. Now many of those plants are
actively being overwatered.

We also didn't miss having the maintenance and upkeep
of a pool.

Although our house value was less, our house cost was less,
so I guess it's a wash. The new place in ABQ is swamp.
I would have paid to install a new swamp had the home not
come already configured as such.

Such an investment would have 0% payback on resale, but
for all the good things mentioned in previous posts,
would have been the right decision.

[norm]

If we buy a house with a swamp cooler:

1. If we want a/c can a swamp cooler be converted or does it have to be taken out and replaced with central air?

2. Would we do just a well by keeping the swamp cooler and putting an a/c unit in our bedroom?

[ABQConvict]

Originally Posted by norm

1. If we want a/c can a swamp cooler be converted or does it have to be taken out and replaced with central air?

The unit will have to be replaced but your ductwork should remain intact.

Originally Posted by norm

2. Would we do just a well by keeping the swamp cooler and putting an a/c unit in our bedroom?

You could do that but it would only be necessary if your swampcooler/ductwork is insufficient for cooling the bedroom or you you can't sleep unless the temp is under 65-70 degrees.

The great advantage of swampcoolers is that they bring in fresh outside air, and cool your house sufficiently. You can't turn your house into an icebox with one but you will be comfortable for the 5 to 6 months out of the year that you will need it.

ABQConvict

P.S. My experiment with going swampless this summer failed a few days ago ;-)

[jrod2828]

Norm,

I've always wanted to have a buddy named Norm so I could yell his name everytime he walked into the room. Unfortunately, that never happened. I don't know a Norm.

So here goes...

NORM!!!

that's all I have to add to this thread. I have zero experience w/ swamp coolers.

[Towanda]

NORM!!!!!!



(That was fun!)

I am swampless and not happy about it at this point.

[honu1]

Norm,
I'd say just replace it. I know there are die hard NM folks who swear by swamp coolers. However, I have experienced summer vacations in NM where I thought I would drown in sweat when relying on a swamp cooler. When I lived there, I made sure to get a place with central A/C. Of course, some tolerate the heat better than others. Obviously I not one of those.

[Albuquerque101]

I didn't realize that it was that easy to switch out your swamp cooler unit and replace it with a refrigerated one. Can anyone give a guess as to how much that would cost (for a home that is approx 1800 sq ft)? If it is not terribly expensive, I don't think that the type of air conditioning a house has will be as big of a factor when I'm looking for a home.