My Phoenix Trip Report

[aj661]

Originally Posted by Magnum Mike

Chiller systems, you might be referring to evaporative cooling systems. They work fine and they are more economical to run than cenral A/C, as long as the humidity is below 25%. My parents have one in a section of their house, and when it's 105 outside, with 10% humidity, it works just as well as their central A/C.

Not swamp coolers, but I'd never heard of them. One sample link from Googling "chiller systems" ArctiChill - Chillers and Process Cooling Systems, medical chillers, HVAC chillers and process chillers

[Ponderosa]

Chillers are the cooling equivalent of boilers, radiators and steam heat in the east. They are the system of choice in office buildings and some apartment complexes. Chillers "chill" water when electric rates are low or when needed and send the cold water to heat exchangers (radiators) usually located in false/drop ceiling. The air speed and vent openings are controlled by individual thermostats in the rooms allowing for precise and personal setting of cooling (building managers sometime override this). Cooling water is recirculated to the chiller when it is re-cooled by conventional a/c methods with the heat being exhausted to the environment. Chillers can be scaled to hundreds of tons of cooling capacity.

Advantage: The only practical solution for commercial purposes. Can you imagine the design challenges, number of compressors, pounds of freon and miles of copper tubing you would need to put a conventional system on a high-rise?

Disadvantage: I have no idea how they bill you in an apartment for such a system