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Old 07-03-2007, 12:02 PM
 
Location: Bayside, NY
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Why do houses have swamp coolers instead of air condtioners?
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Old 07-03-2007, 12:53 PM
 
Location: Metro Milwaukee, WI
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Quote:
Originally Posted by norm View Post
Why do houses have swamp coolers instead of air condtioners?
They are much cheaper to run / operate than air conditioners.

Because the climate in the desert can support them (you can only effectively use them in areas where the humidity levels are consistently well below 35%), you'll see alot of them because they are much more cost effective.

In Phoenix, where high temps are a 6-month way of life, you'll see many houses which have both AC and swamp coolers. Swamps for when the humidity and temps allow, and AC for the 110+ degree plus weather or the higher humidities in the monsoon (when swamps don't cool nearly as well).
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Old 07-03-2007, 03:22 PM
 
Location: Bayside, NY
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Thanks for the reply. Based on some of the posts I see here someone from the northeast like me would be more comfortable with a/c.
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Old 07-03-2007, 05:02 PM
 
Location: Metro Milwaukee, WI
3,198 posts, read 12,678,044 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by norm View Post
Thanks for the reply. Based on some of the posts I see here someone from the northeast like me would be more comfortable with a/c.
Yeah, even here in Albuquerque where it is rarely hotter than the 95-to-102 degree range - nowhere near as hot as Phoenix, Tucson, or Vegas - I know I personally would prefer A/C to my swamp cooler. Don't get me wrong...the swamp works well enough most of the time and it is very nice on my wallet as _yb pointed out. However, it only cools to about 20 degrees cooler than the outside, so if it is 101 at 5pm, it'll only be around 80 in the house.

But again, I am from Milwaukee where it is rare to get over 90 degrees, so to me, our summers down here are quite toasty except for when the monsoon season is in full force.

You can live with a swamp for sure, but if you are used to 80s, 70s, etc., for much of the summer, AC is probably even nicer (and less labor intensive).

Take heart though...most new construction in ABQ, Las Cruces, El Paso, etc., often comes with AC over swamps.
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Old 07-03-2007, 10:31 PM
 
Location: Albuquerque, NM
1,418 posts, read 4,903,968 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by EnjoyEP View Post
Yeah, even here in Albuquerque where it is rarely hotter than the 95-to-102 degree range - nowhere near as hot as Phoenix, Tucson, or Vegas - I know I personally would prefer A/C to my swamp cooler. Don't get me wrong...the swamp works well enough most of the time and it is very nice on my wallet as _yb pointed out. However, it only cools to about 20 degrees cooler than the outside, so if it is 101 at 5pm, it'll only be around 80 in the house.


.

I agree, but swamp coolers are so much cheaper, but requires much more annual keep up. Besides, Albuquerque cools down at night...when it really matters. I can't stand PHX when it is still 85 degrees at night.
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Old 07-04-2007, 01:25 AM
 
Location: Haines, AK
1,121 posts, read 4,473,075 times
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Default financial impact

I wish my place had a refrigerated air unit in addition to the evaporative cooler, this 100+ stuff is miserable. I can't believe I lived in PHX as long as I did, but then I didn't carry around so much "insulation" then either.

One thing to keep an eye out for as regards installing an AC unit is the electric bill, it will be MUCH higher than with a swamp cooler. The city of Albuquerque is pushing AC units to cut down on water usage, but what it's really doing is shifting the cost from them to you.

In addition, PNM (the local power monopoly) is trying to bill customers who've converted to AC for the cost of upgrading the local power grid in certain neighborhoods. The old network worked OK when an average house had maybe 50 or 100 amps of electrical service installed, but you can at least double that for a normal house these days if it has refrigerated air. They've had to add a bunch of new transformers in older neighborhoods to prevent brownouts on local circuits. I've heard numbers in the $2000 to $3000 range, and thats just PNMs cut, not the cost of installing the AC unit. Buyer beware....
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Old 07-04-2007, 09:00 PM
 
Location: Albuquerque
5,548 posts, read 16,034,599 times
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rotorhead reported:

> Albuquerque is pushing AC units to cut down on water usage ...

These are the same geniuses who think that turning the water
off when you brush your teeth makes a huge difference, but
are afraid to declare the front lawn a big water waster.

I don't know how much water a properly maintained swamp
cooler uses, but it can't be anything like the usage of a lawn
sprinkler system.
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Old 07-05-2007, 01:40 AM
 
Location: Haines, AK
1,121 posts, read 4,473,075 times
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Default maybe 700 gallons a season

I've seen numbers in the neighborhood of maybe 700 gallons a season. As I recall, it was a huge range, like from 300 to 3000, with 700 being supposedly the average. Of course, there are all sizes of swamp coolers and some people run them 24/7 and some rarely if at all. When you multiply it by the half-million or so in ABQ proper, it does add up. However, those number pale next to the water used for landscaping.

My water-wasting pet peeve is golf courses. How can it make any sense at all to have hundreds of acres of lush,irrigated turf in the water starved desert for the exclusive use of maybe a couple hundred people a week? They make all kind of noise about using reclaimed water in the future, but I've never heard of any golf course, anywhere, that's followed through on that idea. They measure golf course water usage in ACRE FEET, for Gods sake! The idea of a turf course makes sense in places like Alabama or Scotland, where you have to mow like crazy before the grass buries you, but here in ABQ where we get maybe 10-15 inches of rain a year?

Personally, I'll never, ever, give up my little lawn as long as there's a single real turf golf course still out there watering away.
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Old 07-05-2007, 10:19 AM
 
Location: Albuquerque
5,548 posts, read 16,034,599 times
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Default maybe 700 gallons a season

rotorhead informed:

> ... re [Swamp cooler water use] maybe 700 gallons a season ...

That sounds about right - more if you don't plug the leaks.

> ... those number pale next to the water used for landscaping

Yup. One large lawn will use that daily.

> I'll never, ever, give up my little lawn as long as there's a
> single real turf golf course ....

meanie
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Old 07-07-2007, 01:58 AM
 
Location: Haines, AK
1,121 posts, read 4,473,075 times
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Default its not mean, its about equity

It's not about being mean, there is a principle involved in that statement. I'm not a fan of any grass in front yards, and I don't have any myself. What's the point of pouring huge amounts of precious water on turf thats solely ornamental in nature? I rarely if ever see anyone out on their front lawns except to mow and maintain them. Backyards are however a different story. Here in the desert your backyard should be your oasis of green, the place where you can relax in the shade of your big trees and let the kids and the dogs run around and play in the sprinkler. With the block wall being the default fence around here its easy to define a backyard space thats green, cool and useable everyday. It's the only appropriate use of the ultra-high water use planting like rye and bluegrass, and then only if you either don't want or can't afford low water use turf like blue gramma or buffalograss.

I see golf courses as the ultimate expression of wastefulness and selfishness here in the drought-stricken SW desert states. The amount of water used by even a small golf course is staggering, and its ALL irreplacible aquifer water to boot. How can you possible justify planting and maintaining (often at public expense) thousands of acres of water-hogging turf for the sole use of a handfull of golfers a day? How often do you see a golf course used for kids soccer games, or a pickup game of touch football, or flying kites, or walking dogs, or anything except golf? Almost never, and its on purpose. The "elite" fraternity of golfers don't want anyone else out there, it's hard on the grass. Yes, there are occasional exceptions like the UNM north course, but its only grudgingly allowed, and never at the expense of the golfers convienance. The fact that golf is a favorite sport of the rich, powerfull and politically well-connected means that we're heading for an ugly showdown at some point in the future concerning the fate of all that useless grass. I can see a future where soaring population growth and declining water supplies are going to make desert golf courses a symbol of the bad old days, of inappropriate use and profligrate waste.

They say you never appreciate what you have until its gone, and I'd say that goes double for drinkable water. We're really going to miss all that pure, sweet aquifer water long after we've pissed it away irrigating golf courses. Is it hypocritical for me to say that I'm keeping the lawn in my backyard come hell or high water?...of course. But as long as we're paying tax money to water golf course, it'll be just a tiny little drop in the bucket.
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