Swamp Cooler Operation (Rio Rancho, Alamogordo, Alamo: vs, to move, garage)

[jazzlover]

Originally Posted by nmnita

wow, $30.00. Ours certainly was a lot more than that when we lived in NM. It wasn't as high our refridgerator air, but more than $30.00. It was more like $75.00. Our air here runs about $150 or so during the hottest months but we have an all electric house, no gas of any kind.

Nita

I misspoke slightly--the figures I quoted are per month in the summer, not for the summer as a whole. Still, it's pretty cheap cooling. By the way, when I got home tonight, the outisde temperature was 97°. I turned on my swamp cooler and checked the air outlet temperature after about 20 minutes--thermometer read 65°, a 32 degree reduction. Relative humidity outside was about 17%, inside about 27%.

[DOUBLE H]

I live in the same general area as jazzlover and I sure do like the old swamp cooler I have! My combined gas and electric bill was $53.52 this month. I will take that, thank you very much! And I was around here both day and night for the most part, going out of town for a couple days. The climate here in the Grand Junction area is fairly comparable to Alamogordo.

[Cathy4017]

The climate here in the Grand Junction area is fairly comparable to Alamogordo.

Thank you for the warning!!

I thought Grand Junction (though it is high desert) would be colder and snowier than Alamgordo.

Alamo is perfect in three seasons--just not the infernal late spring and summer. We reached 102 briefly yesterday. It's hot after dark and in the mornings now. No breeze or coolness at all.

[jaxart]

Originally Posted by Cathy4017

I thought Grand Junction (though it is high desert) would be colder and snowier than Alamgordo.

It is in terms of the year as a whole, but in summer it has a similar hot time before the monsoons begin affecting that area too. It's much like Alamogordo in topography too, with nothing much by way of shade trees but easy access to the high country just a half hour away. There is a big difference between Cloudcroft and Grand Mesa - the latter covered with small lakes that are renowned for the large size of their trout.

We reached 102 briefly yesterday. It's hot after dark and in the mornings now. No breeze or coolness at all.

Until this morning I've been able to cool my house overnight using a large fan down to 65F by morning, then with the house closed tight all day, rising to 75F by nightfall. But this morning the outside temp only got down to the 60s and my inside temp is at 70F, meaning I'm heading to the hills for my bike ride this morning, even though it's pretty cloudy right now.

[Cathy4017]

Enjoy your ride.....

70 indoors isn't bad at all, very comfortable (to me). It's already 81 here.

[DOUBLE H]

I forgot about the winter! Would sure have liked to have forgotten last years, that's for sure! Yea, from early December to early march it rarely hits 50, usually 35 to 40. Summer IS hot, usually have a dozen days where we we hit 100. One exception was the Summer of '94. From April 20th to Labor day weekend we only had 3 days where the temperature was under 90, and we went over 100 a few dozen times. Grr! Yea, thinking about last nights posts it's somewhat similar, only somewhat!

[Cathy4017]

This past winter was hard on some people, that's for sure.

I loved it, and hated to see it end. It was the first real winter since I moved here. But I also don't have to get out and work in it.

[mortimer]

Originally Posted by nmnita

wow, $30.00. Ours certainly was a lot more than that when we lived in
NM. It wasn't as high our refridgerator air, but more than $30.00.
It was more like $75.00. Our air here runs about $150 or so ...

There is a big difference in efficiency in refrigerated air systems. A lot can
be gained by having good ductwork balancing. I never spent more than
$170 in any month ( July was the worst ) in Phoenix in a 2650 sq ft house.
I had a neighbor in an identical house that regularly spent over $400 in July.
My November bills were around $40.

Another neighbor usually ran around $200, but after replacing her original
builder's unit with a good one, her bill dropped about 20%.

Here in NM, my refrigerated neighbors spend about $100 more
than normal in July.

My electric bills go from $35 to about $45 in July due to swamper use.

[jazzlover]

Originally Posted by mortimer

There is a big difference in efficiency in refrigerated air systems. A lot can
be gained by having good ductwork balancing. I never spent more than
$170 in any month ( July was the worst ) in Phoenix in a 2650 sq ft house.
I had a neighbor in an identical house that regularly spent over $400 in July.
My November bills were around $40.

Another neighbor usually ran around $200, but after replacing her original
builder's unit with a good one, her bill dropped about 20%.

Here in NM, my refrigerated neighbors spend about $100 more
than normal in July.

My electric bills go from $35 to about $45 in July due to swamper use.

Mechanical refrigeration of all types has gotten more energy-efficient in the past few years, but there is a limit. Mechanical refrigeration, by its very premise, is inherently somewhat inefficient. Evaporative cooling, where the climate permits it, is extremely efficient--allowing evaporation to cool the air, and only needing a fan blower to circulate the air and a small pump to provide water to the cooling pads. It's the "green" way to cool in arid environments and it actually adds humidity to the air in the house--an advantage in an arid environment.

[catman]

At noon the temp here in Ft Worth was 95 F with a dewpoint of 68 F, so an evaporative cooler wouldn't work very well...I envy you guys in arid environments! Going outside at night is like drowning in warm water. I'll move to NM or the Alpine, TX area as soon as I can!