Swamp Coolers vs. Refrigerated Air (Alamo, Hope: real estate, houses, crawl space)

[jghoo]

Originally Posted by 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.

Well I just put a 3.5 ton (signifying the rating not the weight) on a 1500 sft house. Its supplies heat and air conditioning The actual cost of the unit was $1700. The cost to have two thieves park their truck in front of my house for 12hrs was an additional $4000.

It is very nice in the house now no added humidity and as cool as i like.
Last month the gas and elect to my home was $100 -/+.

[Albuquerque101]

Thanks -- very helpful.

[TigerLily24]

I made a very deliberate decision to buy a house with a swamp cooler rather than AC and so far I am very, very happy. I appreciate the little bit of added humidity that makes the air feel more 'natural' to me. My house stays in a very comfortable 75-78 degree range all day even with the temps outside exceeding 100 and this with the fan running on low most of the time. I've only had it on since the beginning of June, so I don't know yet what the impact is on my water usage, but, right now, I am very satisfied with my decision to go with the swamper.

[mortimer]

Mortimer, replies to everybody:

jrod2828 said:

> I've always wanted to have a buddy named Norm ....

I'm getting the idea that jrod2828 is pretty easy to please (except when it comes to a house). That's good for the wife.

Swampless Towanda said:

> ... not happy about it at this point.

Are you considering a portable?

In another thread:

mrgoodwx, now a Senior Member reported:

> ... hit 90 degrees ... the airport ... the average is about 30 times per year ...

Airport : above 6,200 ft and below 6,400 ft (I miss topozone).
Towanda: perhaps 6,950 ft (at Avenida Eldorado and Rt-285).

She might be 3-4 degrees cooler on average than the airport. Eldorado is downsloping from the NE to the SW (down to Galisteo (under 6,200) and lower still to Cerrillos (under 5,800). Not having been there, I would assume that it is much like the Albuquerque foothills with cooler days and warmer nights than those places.

BTW, Towanda: How was that full moon rising just after sunset last night?
If you missed it, there will be a nearly full waning gibbous moon rising about an hour after sunset. This is surely a glass of wine on the porch moment.

honu1 claimed:

> ... 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.

In New Mexico if you experience that, it is because of operator error and not a failing of the system.

jghoo

> ... cost of the unit was $1700. The cost to have two thieves park
> their truck in front of my house for 12hrs was an additional $4000.

Every installation I have ever heard of for a heat pump like that was in the $6,000 to $7,000 range. The unit might have been $1,700, but the expertise to put it in is easily worth the $4,000. As long as it is working for you, you don't sound like you got ripped off.

yukon can probably testify to this; sometimes people come in to ask a bit of accounting advice. yukon might be able to answer the question off the top of their (green eyeshaded) head, but it still costs $100/hour to get your question answered. Professional services cost money.

TigerLily24 lives in a ...

> ... house with a swamp cooler ... a very comfortable 75-78 degree ...

If this is your first swamper, you might be disappointed by Monsoon Season performance when temps are 90-91 and your house is 80-81 and a bit muggier than you like it.

It's real important to turn off the pump once the rain starts coming down.

Also, don't leave it on when you are not at home.

> ... don't know yet what the impact is on my water usage, ....

If you notice a jump, it is a fixable mechanical problem. The area around your cooler should be dry. If it is moist, you might be losing gallons-an-hour without seeing any water flow. Swamp coolers use water, but absolutely nothing like a little patch of grass.

[Towanda]

Originally Posted by mortimer

In another thread:

BTW, Towanda: How was that full moon rising just after sunset last night?
If you missed it, there will be a nearly full waning gibbous moon rising about an hour after sunset. This is surely a glass of wine on the porch moment.

We missed it last night, and I am not sure how we could have because earlier we mentioned we wanted to look at it with hubby's new telescope.

We WILL remember to look at it tonight .... I want to get a picture of it for my blog site ... and I have the wine (Santa Fe Vineyards) ready.

[jghoo]

mortimer,

since you commented. I called the hvac guys thieves because after they completed the job and disappeared I had to flash the roof that they didn't bother to do. I had to reform the return air frame in the ceiling. I had to correct shoddy framing on the ductwork throughout the house.


Just clarifying

[mortimer]

Towanda, on lunar stuff:

> We missed it last night, ... wanted to look at it with hubby's new telescope.

Don't bother. The moon is far better to observe when it is between new and one-quarter. You get far better shadows and relief in that phase.

Better to look tonight for Mars and Saturn. You can enjoy looking at those objects even during a bright moon.

jghoo clarified:

> ... completed the job and disappeared ... flash the roof ... reform the return air frame ... correct shoddy framing on the ductwork ...

Consider me clarified.

It sounds like it cost you far more than $4,000 for the labor. Such work as you described is worth $thousands$. Even if you did it yourself, you still paid for it (with your time).

Most people, me included, would have had to pay for that work in cash.

BTW, the $6,000 you have in the a/c system costs you $30 per month for the rest of eternity. This is something that people considering a/c to replace an existing swamp cooler should consider.

You have an investment of $6,000 that you could have otherwise earned, say 6% on, or $30 a month, forever. The additional utilities are also a factor.

Any investment in better insulation, windows, a/c, solar power, come with a fixed cost that must be amortized. If you truly amortize the $6,000 over a reasonable period like 10 years, it's far higher than $30 per month. I'm only calculating the value of the annuity payment.

[honu1]

Mortimer, since you thought to point this out and comment I will add that it wasn't just my naivete as most locally owned businesses I encountered also had staff who were also wilting. If it were merely my inability to operate a system, I could accept that. However, when I encounter multiple places, over multiple years which seemed to be ineffective cooling, I'd bet my money that A/C units just cool better. As I said before, I think it depends on what is comfortable to each person, and being in a room over 78 degrees is not particularly comfortable for me.

[Alinka]

It is currently (just before 6:00) 73 in my house. This is using a 10 year old Mastercool in a house that is probably about 30 years old. When I had the former ec replaced the estimate to convert was $12,000. The ducts are not the best and I was told they needed to be "worked on".

At the time, this was planned to be a transition house and so considering that, the neighborhood, and the cost, I chose the ec.

For me, 73 is fine, but it has reached 78-80 during the monsoons and that is uncomfortable imo.

[norm]

Thanks for all of the information and entertainment, I guess I will only look for a house that has central air.

jrod,

When you walk into that room the correct thing to say is Hi Norm ready for another beer.