Apartment Air Conditioning

[Sunvixen]

Originally Posted by BillyBaroo

I think that would be ideal to have both. The swamp cooler works fine when humidity is low. The problem with them is they don't work well when the humidity gets high during July and especially August. That's because they work by introducing cool and moist air into the environment and since the air is already moist because of the high humidity, they don't work. So the air-conditioning is really only neccessary about two months out of the year.

Cool (no pun intended!)

So, when I look at homes for sale (NEW homes) it says cooling system: "refrigeration" is that air conditioning or a swamp cooler?

And why don't more homes have both? I have heard that the "swamp cooler" is MUCH less expensive to run. Is that true?

[BillyBaroo]

Originally Posted by Sunvixen

Cool (no pun intended!)

So, when I look at homes for sale (NEW homes) it says cooling system: "refrigeration" is that air conditioning or a swamp cooler?

And why don't more homes have both? I have heard that the "swamp cooler" is MUCH less expensive to run. Is that true?

Yes, I think refrigeration would be the same as air-conditioning. The swamp coolers are less expensive to run, I'm not sure why more homes don't have both. I have a feeling it might come down to water conservation. I don't know how many gallons a month a cooler uses, but there might be some people that think they waste a lot of water. Swamp coolers are cheap, so that would be the only choice for the poor that can't afford air-conditioning.

Using different methods of evaporative cooling is how the old timers survived in the desert during the days before air-conditioning. A lot of them would sleep on the porch and hang wet sheets around the perimeter so that there would be cooler air when the breeze blew through the moist sheets. Of course it used to cool off at night more than it does now. But I'm not sure what they did when the humidity was high. I bet they enjoyed those cooling summer rains though.

[AngelfaceAZ]

Originally Posted by Sunvixen

Cool (no pun intended!)

So, when I look at homes for sale (NEW homes) it says cooling system: "refrigeration" is that air conditioning or a swamp cooler?

And why don't more homes have both? I have heard that the "swamp cooler" is MUCH less expensive to run. Is that true?

Refrigeration means AC. From what I understand most of the new homes do not have swamp coolers because, while they are cheaper to run, they are more expensive to install. Also, most people want the AC and there are those 2-3 months out of the year where you just can't rely on the swamp cooler to actually "cool" you. Usually, if you are lucky, you can use a swamp cooler until the end of June before it gets unbearable.

[JoePAz]

Originally Posted by Sunvixen

What is the deal with the Swamp coolers? I stayed at a very nice home that had a swamp cooler AND central air. I was there during June and we never turned the air on and it was perfect. Yet I hear all kinds of bad stories about them. What gives?

They are nice, but have draw backs. My parents home use (dual swamp cooler/AC system) them and has since 1981. They advantages are that they are much cheaper than A/C. You pump water though some pads and evaporation of the water cools the air. This moist cool air is then pumped into the house. Cheap since all you need is a blower motor and small water pump. If conditions are right they provide alot of cooling for little money. They usally run them exclusivly and bear it in july and august. Their electric bills are about $100 a month even in the summer 2300 sqft cinder block house. They use well water so no water bill, but must pay to pump the water. They don't have gas. So that is a massive cost savings compared to A/C.

Downsides
1) windows open. To work you need the windows open as otherwise you can force the air in. A/C sucks air in and circulates. Swamp coolers draw in outside air and do not use inside air. So you need an escape for that air

2) Moist air is blessing and curse. In June they work great with 105F and 5% humidity. They are very efficeint in cooling due to evaporation and moist air increases the inside home humdity levels which is nice. The problem is that as humdidiy increases they are less and less efficient and make the inside of the house too damp. In August they can suck and just blow in warm damp air

3) more homeowner maintaince. Each year my father and would have to go on the roof and take out the old pads and put in new ones. The old ones get corroded from calcium build up in the water. Plus you often need to clean out the water basin in the bottom of the unit, and replace the pump. These parts are cheap (maybe $100 for a do it yourselfer) but it is a drawback. A/C unit pretty much run until they break. Then they are expensive to fix.

My current house does not have a swamp cooler and most newer homes do not. I believe the reason is their lack off efficent cooling in wetter months of late July and August.

[Sunvixen]

So, after reading up, it seems that you are trading electric usage for water usage, in a nutshell? Is that why they aren't more popular or have cities banned them?

I am curious where they got the the 19,000 gallon figure from.


Evaporative Coolers

Evaporative coolers use between one-tenth and one-third the amount of electricity of conventional air conditioners. They do not use CFCs or other ozone-depleting compounds. They are cheaper to operate than conventional air conditioning.

A 4,500 CFM direct evaporative cooler, adequate for a 1,500 square foot home, would cost about $800, installed. Installation is relatively simple and total investment cost is less than air conditioning. Replacement parts are inexpensive compared with a conventional air conditioning system parts. In addition, most maintenance can be performed by the homeowner.

A two-stage evaporative cooler with a cooling capacity equivalent to a three-ton conventional system retails for about $1,800, and total installed cost is estimated at about $3,900. According to the manufacturer, installed cost is lower than conventional high efficiency air conditioners, and the units can condition a 1,700 square foot house in Sacramento, California during peak cooling season for less than $30 per month (at 8 cents per kilowatt hour).

Evaporative coolers use about ¼ the electricity of a conventional air conditioner and add about 19,000 gallons, on average, to a homeowner’s water consumption.

[Birinder Mathur]

We have central air conditioning in the building but there are individual units to change to heating and cooling. Now winter has set in and the building staff states that they have changed to Heating but my aptt unit has some problem and I cannot get hot air to fight the cold. What can be the problem and how to rectify it.

[pandaundercover]

In Phx, I think central air is a must to look for. It's going to be the best way to stay cool in your home. Is it feasible to turn it off when you leave for work? Sure. If you're into coming home to a 100* house. So as others said, a programmable thermostat is a big deal. You can just program it be 85* or whatever when you're gone, and have it turn to 80 or so when you're home (or during off peak hours).

Swamp coolers aren't horrible, especially if all you have is a fan. But they're not very ideal at cooling a whole house or anything. They're rather good at cooling a ROOM. This was a problem in the 1200 sq ft house I grew up in, when the swamp cooler was in the kitchen window, through the garage. The air NEVER reached any of the bedrooms which were on the other side of the house, and we frankly, just slept in 90* heat most of the summers. But this also caused some of my fam to just sleep in the living room if we could, which was the room behind the kitchen, and got the most air after the kitchen. In the end, my experience with them, is, NEVER AGAIN. If I can control the situation and be in a place with central air, then that's what will be happening.