Swamp Cooler VS A/C (Tucson: condo, house, heat pump)

[Juan Alberto Culvert]

I have lived in Tucson for 10 years, the first five I had swamp cooler, the other five an A/C. I must say that if I had to choose between one or the other, i would much rather prefer the swamp cooler. Here are the reasons: (1) It's much cheaper to run a swamp cooler than an A/C system. (2) Swamp coolers cool the home much faster. (3) When swamp coolers are on, you can leave windows open (actually, you have to, for them to work better); so the home is always having fresh air coming thru it. (4) While it's true that for about one month it's more comfortable to have an A/C, reasons 1-3 far outweigh reason 4.

[observer53]

It may be a little less humid in Tucson than in Phoenix during the "monsoon" months, which is the only time a swamp cooler presents any problem vs. A/C. It's a matter of personal tolerance whether the S/C works well enough when the dew point is over 50.

[Jukesgrrl]

But what about the maintenance of a swamp cooler? I don't know a single person who has one who doesn't spend a significant amount of time on their roof. That isn't possible for everyone -- how easy is it to get a professional to do it for you? And what is the cost? It certainly IS better on the environment, but how realistic for people who can't, or won't, be do-it-yourself-ers?

[Bummer]

Originally Posted by Juan Alberto Culvert

I have lived in Tucson for 10 years, the first five I had swamp cooler, the other five an A/C. I must say that if I had to choose between one or the other, i would much rather prefer the swamp cooler. Here are the reasons: (1) It's much cheaper to run a swamp cooler than an A/C system. (2) Swamp coolers cool the home much faster. (3) When swamp coolers are on, you can leave windows open (actually, you have to, for them to work better); so the home is always having fresh air coming thru it. (4) While it's true that for about one month it's more comfortable to have an A/C, reasons 1-3 far outweigh reason 4.

I could not agree more, JAC.

One of the rewards of living in the Desert Southwest is the great weather and the abundance of fresh air. Why would anyone choose to seal themselves in their home year 'round when it is really only necessary during July and August?

I have Dual Cooling and would never consider a home without it.

[rbohm]

Originally Posted by Jukesgrrl

But what about the maintenance of a swamp cooler? I don't know a single person who has one who doesn't spend a significant amount of time on their roof. That isn't possible for everyone -- how easy is it to get a professional to do it for you? And what is the cost? It certainly IS better on the environment, but how realistic for people who can't, or won't, be do-it-yourself-ers?

i used to sell both systems years ago, and i can tell you that it depends on what system you use for evaporative cooling. for instance the standard metal coolers require more maintenance as they age what with hard water deposit build up, and the usual rust issues that crop up as these cooler age. replacing the pads is easy to do, if you get the miracle breeze pads from arizona maintenance the pads are a bit harder to stuff in as they are thicker, the plus there being that the pads hold more water than the thinner pads do. if you get a mastercool, aerocool, convair or breezair cooler(we have a convair and a breezair on our house) maintenance is easier in that the pads are reusable each season as long as you use the bleed off system to help get rid of the excess minerals in the water. the convair is the only exception in that is used the aspen pads. the mastercool and aerocool units are metal, but they have a wet and a dry side. if the wet side rusts out you can replace just that part rather than the whole cooler. the mastercool and aerocool are single inlet coolers, and that limits their ability to cool an average house, even when the unit is properly sized for the house. the breezair unit is a four panel unit that can really cool the house, even in the more humid time of the year the breezair gets the house pretty close to what the average a/c unit can do. if given proper maintenance, an evaporative cooler can go though the summer with little attention needed. some people will replace the aspen pads twice during the summer, but if you get the thick ones, they last the summer nicely.

the big reason why a/c is expensive to run is because you have to run multiple motors, and a compressor, where as with an evaporative cooler you have two items to run, the motor and the pump.

[joskel]

If you buy a home with evap cooling, you may want to add refrigerated cooling later. One of the easiest retrofits is the 'mini-split' unit. It is one of the easiest methods and you can purchase units that have heat pump capability too. Some contractors with whom I have talked do not know anything about it or tell me I have to have a compressor for each blower unit. NOT TRUE. Two guys also told me they were more expensive to operate. NOT TRUE, either.

These systems allow for zoning, require no duct work, only need a 3" exterior hole for the lines to run through. It is an easy way to retrofit an existing house. There are several companies here that install them. Check the info on the link above and others you can find on a search. It is well worth a consideration, especially if you decide to add AC to an existing house. There may be some tax credits still available for these also.

Don't forget to insulate as much as you can while doing any reno. A house built prior to the '80's likely has no insulation anywhere, nor thermal windows. Cut the heat gain as much as possible in the summer and prevent heat loss as much as possible to prevent heat loss in the winter. Even in an older home, there are affordable insulating means worthwhile.

[razorbladesmiley]

Originally Posted by ashmatical23

I"m thinking of buying a house that has a swamp cooler. It is an older house, 1953 it was built and does not have A/C

I've never lived with a swamp cooler before. Will I die in the summer? Does anyone know how much it is to add A/C?

Thanks

you can buy an A/C unit and put it in the window.

i'm living in an older house with a swamp cooler and its been in the high 90s this week, where we've had it going on pretty much every day. my girlfriend bought a window A/C unit to put in our bedroom. its cool enough where she sleeps with a little portable fan going. she works nights so she sleeps during the day and has not complained about the heat bothering her ... so i've yet to find motivation to install the A/C unit.

[Tamarind]

I rather a swamp cooler. My old apartment had a swamp cooler and it worked totally fine, the only downside was there was no vent in in the bedroom, so I had to use an a/c in there.

With a swamp cooler I don't feel sucked dry like I do with an a/c, and I can keep a window open. And it's cheaper! That said, our monsoon season was pretty mild last summer. I don't remember there being any problems with it when it did rain, but we'll see how it works out this year.

[ruready1st]

Swamp coolers are nice except if you have allergies or allergy related asthma. You have to have a vent or window open for circulation or they are not always properly maintained and mold grows. They require more maintenance than an A/C unit. They increase humidity in the home and dust mites love that too.

Bought a nice townhouse that had both swamp and A/C and thought if we cleaned out the whole system, new pads, etc... it would be a great energy saver over the A/C. Plus, no more static electricity. Unfortunately, I couldn't survive the times we tried to use it for any length of time. I got too sick. We had to close it off and go only with A/C.

When we moved into a brand new home, to solve the unhealthy A/C air in our well sealed home, we got a whole house air filtration system. It had a MERV 40 filter and UV light to clean the air. I never felt so good as when I was at home in Tucson.

I think having both (A/C & Swamp) is perfect and I envy people who can use them successfully.

[FedupwithNJ]

Whya re the coolers & a/c units always on the roof?