If you live in a hot, dry climate, evaporative coolers (also known as swamp coolers) can keep your house cool for less money than an air conditioner. The lower the humidity in your home during the summer, the more effectively an energy efficient evaporative cooler can cool it. Large fans blow air through water-soaked pads in evaporative coolers. Aspen wood fibers, glass fibers, or specially prepared paper are used to make these absorbent pads. Water is pushed through tubes into a drip trough by a water pump in the reservoir, which then drips water onto the pads. Because the water in the pads evaporates, the temperature of the incoming external air is lowered. Warmer air is forced out through open windows or specialized vents known as up-ducts as cooler air is forced into the house. Evaporative coolers, unlike central air conditioning systems, which are most efficient when your home is sealed up, give a constant stream of fresh air to your home. By employing a fan-only control setting on cool evenings, an evaporative cooler can cool your house without using any water.
So, which is more expensive: a central air conditioner’s high electricity consumption or an evaporative cooler’s combined electrical and water usage? Evaporative coolers utilize just 18 to 25% of the electrical energy used by air conditioners, and they cost roughly half as much to install as air conditioners. Air conditioners with a Seasonal Energy Efficiency Ratio (SEER) of 30 to 40 work similarly to evaporative coolers. Air conditioners with a SEER rating of around 12 are the most efficient. The University of Arizona conducted research on the usage of evaporative cooler water. When compared to power-hungry air conditioners, they discovered that the amount of water consumed by these efficient low-tech equipment added only a minor cost to their operation. The average evaporative cooler used roughly 1500 kilowatt-hours of electricity per summer, costing about $150 at current prices, according to the study. Over the course of the summer, the cooler’s water consumption added an average of $54 to a municipal water bill, for a total of $204 in electricity and water. The study’s central air conditioners used an average of 6000 kilowatt-hours of electricity per summer, which is nearly $600 at current rates. Evaporative coolers are an appealing solution for families all around the sun belt because of the $400 savings year after year.
Evaporative cooling has the extra benefit of working best during the hottest part of the day. When the temperature outdoors rises, the humidity usually drops. For example, in the early morning, the temperature may be 70 degrees with a relative humidity of 60%. The humidity may have reduced to 30% by mid-afternoon, when the temperature has risen to 90 degrees. The dry weather makes evaporative coolers more energy efficient.
Low-energy cooling technologies, such as evaporative coolers, have a significant added benefit for both customers and utilities. Air conditioning adds a significant “peak load” in the summer.
How much does a swamp cooler cost to operate all day?
How much does a swamp cooler cost to operate all day? For a 24-hour period, swamp coolers will cost roughly $2 to run. It would cost about $60 to run a unit 24 hours a day, every day, for a month. At this rate, a central air conditioner costs around $330 per month.
Is it true that a swamp cooler consumes a lot of electricity?
Another factor to consider is energy efficiency. Overall, swamp coolers for house cooling have been found to be significantly more energy efficient. Swamp coolers will utilize 15% to 35% of the energy that most regular air conditioners do. They also don’t require any chemicals, unlike typical air conditioning. This may be more environmentally friendly. It should be noted, however, that they do require a steady supply of water to function. This might be a concern for homeowners that have a limited water supply or are subject to water restrictions.
How much does it cost per hour to run a swamp cooler?
Some homeowners choose to use a swamp cooler with a central air conditioning system.
During the hot, dry months, they use the cooler, and during the rainy, humid months, they utilize the other unit.
This is the most efficient use of both systems.
Swamp coolers don’t operate as effectively in high-humidity conditions.
When the unit is used as much as feasible, homeowners can save up to 75% on the electricity needed to run the central air conditioning system.
The ability to switch between the two systems helps homes to stay cool without using the central air system all of the time.
This saves money because the central air system is available when needed, but they can switch back to the swamp unit once the humid air has passed.
The swamp cooler uses a lot less electricity, which saves you money.
For example, if electricity costs $0.15 per Kwh (Kilowatts per hour), an A/C system will cost $1.13 per hour to run.
Running the cooler costs only $0.26 per hour.
That’s a significant amount of money saved.
Is it more cost-effective to use a swamp cooler or an air conditioner?
- Installing them is usually less expensive.
- When a home is sold, they’re frequently passed on to a new owner.
- In most circumstances, a swamp cooler (evaporative cooler) is less expensive than a central air conditioner.
In general, swamp coolers are less expensive to run than central air conditioning. That isn’t to say that an evaporative cooler is the greatest option for homes in New Mexico. In many circumstances, the added expenses and difficulties of evaporative cooling are not worth it (but the right contractor can help alleviate these issues). We’ll do a cost comparison here.
Is it safe to run a swamp cooler 24 hours a day, seven days a week?
You want to know if an evaporative swamp cooler can run continuously for the entire day. There are a few things to think about, such as the swamp cooler you have and the amount of humidity in the air in your environment. This post will provide all of the pertinent details and information to address your concerns.
A swamp cooler may run continuously for 24 hours, but you must make sure it has adequate water. Continuous flow coolers will operate automatically and can be left running all day. Manual swamp coolers require you to fill the reservoir with water and adjust the settings so that it can operate continuously throughout the day.
You now know that an evaporative swamp cooler may run continuously. You’ve probably got a few more questions regarding the most efficient ways to run your air conditioner. You’re undoubtedly curious about how much energy it consumes and how much it costs to run on a daily basis. This post will answer all of your questions in great detail, including how much water your swamp cooler will require. Continue reading to find out more.
Is it possible to leave evaporative cooling running all night?
Yes, you can leave an evaporative cooler running overnight. Some people have been known to leave the cooler on constantly for up to 24 hours. There is no problem with the system running continually, however if you live in a humid region, you might want to consider leaving it on overnight. Direct evaporative coolers, sometimes known as swamp coolers, add moisture to the air. If you live in a dry environment, leaving the system on overnight won’t make your home excessively humid.
A swamp cooler consumes how many watts per hour?
Wattage rating is one of the most useful measures when it comes to energy use. Wattage can even assist you estimate how much electricity it will cost to run a system. The amount of watts used by an evaporative cooling system can be used to estimate its power. A 60 watt light bulb, for example, uses less electricity and produces less light than a 100 watt light bulb. The same is true for cooling systems; a 60 watt cooler uses the same amount of energy as a 60 watt bulb.
The ordinary air conditioner, by comparison, uses roughly 1200 watts of power. Furthermore, a central air conditioner consumes approximately 3500 watts. Depending on the size of the system and the fan, an evaporative cooling system needs between 400 and 700 watts. The power usage can even be as low as 60 watts. That alone represents a significant reduction in energy consumption.
If you’re confused about a system’s wattage, check the fan motor information plate, which usually includes power consumption. The fan is the most important part. Although there is a water pump, it consumes very little energy. The amp can also be converted to watts. One amp, for example, is equal to 100 watts. The figures aren’t exact, but they’re close.
In a day, how much water does a swamp cooler use?
, According to Jeffrey Cook, a Phoenix architect, a 4500 CFM (cubic foot per minute) cooler requires 200 gallons of water per day in certain weather conditions.
- In a September 1990 television interview in Tucson, a Tucson Water Company employee indicated that an evaporative cooler capable of cooling a 1,500 square foot home uses about four gallons of water per hour or 96 gallons per day, which is 50% less than Cook’s estimate.
- Furthermore, according to the Arizona Department of Water Resources, a typical Tucson household cooler uses an average of 16 gallons per day all year.
- The University of Arizona’s Office of Arid Lands Studies and the City of Phoenix’s Water Services Department have launched a research study with money from the Arizona Department of Water Resources. Evaporative coolers were observed in 46 residences in Phoenix for this investigation. According to the early findings of this study, an evaporative cooler in Phoenix used roughly 7.6 gallons of water per hour of operation (4.4 gallons per hour for systems without bleed-off and 10.4 gallons per hour for systems with bleed-off).
- According to other estimates, the evaporative cooler consumes 9,000 gallons of water per year and 40 gallons per day.
- Another statistic is that each cooler consumes 30,000 gallons of water per year.
What is the cooling capacity of a swamp cooler?
Traditional air conditioners, such as window units, central air, and even those cumbersome portable units with unattractive pipes, are excellent for eliminating heat from a space. While air conditioning makes you feel cooler than previously, it is also an energy-intensive operation. Air conditioning is expensive, and it also creates a self-fulfilling prophecy: all that energy use contributes to global warming, which means we need to use more air conditioning, which consumes more energy, costs more money, and so on indefinitely. That’s before we get into the complexities of chemical refrigerants’ contributions.
Evaporative cooling (PDF) is a refrigerant-free, energy-efficient option. There are a variety of ways to benefit from natural evaporative processes, but one popular option is to construct or purchase an evaporative cooler. This gadget, also known as a swamp cooler, employs a fan to recirculate the air in the room across a cool, wet pad (also known as a wick) and then release the dampened air back into the room. People use those small spray bottles with the fan on top to spritz water in their faces when standing in line for a roller coaster in the thick of summer, right? On a broader scale, it’s effectively the same thing.
Do these swamp coolers, on the other hand, genuinely work? And if that’s the case, why aren’t they being used by everyone?
Sweating is an ancient, time-honored practice that is loosely based on evaporative cooling. It’s possible you’ve heard of it. Our bodies naturally cool themselves by shedding moisture via the skin, which is picked up by a pleasant breeze and returns us to a more comfortable temperature. The same effect can be achieved by running through a sprinkler quickly. A swamp cooler essentially accomplishes the same thing to a room’s air. However, as we discovered during our study, the initial ambient environmental circumstances have a significant impact on how well this works to make you feel cooler.
We put two portable business swamp coolers, the Frigidaire EC200WF and the Frigidaire EC300W-FA, to the test against our top recommendations for portable air conditioners. Slowly but steadily, the wetlands began to cool the space, though not as well as the (infamously ineffective) portable air conditioners. Swamp coolers, on the other hand, added roughly 2% to 3% to the humidity in the room for every 1 degree they decreased the temperature. This makes sense on a technical level; after all, that’s what they’re supposed to accomplish. Portable and window air conditioners, on the other hand, dehumidify a space as part of the chilling process, as we discovered in our experiments (which is also why that second-floor window AC is usually dripping on you). Both strategies can help you stay cool; they just go about it in different ways.
However, in a testing situation like the one we had in the coastal Northeast, we were practically putting these swamp coolers up to fail on a day when the humidity outside was already above 50%. With the air so saturated, the machines couldn’t do much more than over-humidify the space, making it more damp and uncomfortable without providing any significant cooling or comfort. It was the same dreadful sensation you get when your sweat refuses to disperse on a hot day. Humidifying the air as it moved through a fan in a dryer atmosphere, on the other hand, could have made a significant difference. An evaporative cooler, according to the US Department of Energy (DOE), can successfully reduce the ambient temperature by 5 to 15 degrees, but even the DOE is quick to point out that this procedure only works in low-humidity environments.
To put it another way, a swamp cooler isn’t the best choice for a city like Boston (where we ran our initial tests). However, if you reside in a hot, arid climate, such as the western United States, it can be a reliable and cost-effective option to cool down during summer. “An extra plus for me is that I can take it into my workshop or put it next to me on my porchplaces where an air conditioner wouldn’t work,” one Amazon reviewer from Arizona said of the Frigidaire EC300W-FA we examined. Although the Frigidaire EC300W-FA lowered the temperature by a few degrees, “it also increased the relative humidity in the room from 13 percent to 40 percent,” according to another reviewer. Many other reviewers in places like Las Vegas and Boise, Idaho, raved about how cool their swamp coolers made them feel, while also noting that a cool feeling isn’t always the same as genuine air conditioning.
You can make your own swamp cooler out of a 5-gallon bucket (video), a Styrofoam cooler (video), or even an old computer fan in an empty milk carton if you want to save even more money and are feeling inventive (video). The same fundamental components are used in all of these DIY evaporative cooler projects: an electric fan, a container or pump to produce water, and a wick or aquarium tube to transport the water to the fan. Some of these MacGyvered swamp coolers propose installing more piping to keep the airflow moving strong, so you’ll need some basic equipment for cutting. However, in the correct conditions, an hour of work and a hundred dollars could provide a viable alternative to purchasing a new air conditioner. “It takes a long to cool an entire room, but it lowers my room average from 25 C to 16 C during the day,” one DIYer said of his handmade swamp cooler.
In a city like Boston, a swamp cooler isn’t the best option (where we ran our initial tests). However, if you reside in a hot, arid climate, such as the western United States, it can be a reliable and cost-effective option to cool down during summer.
However, because time equals money, it may be more convenient to purchase a prefabricated swamp cooler. A DIY model will set you back around $80 more than the Frigidaire EC200WF we tested. The larger Frigidaire EC300W-FA will provide you nearly three times the tank space and nearly twice the fan power for an extra $70. The EC300W-FA can also be used outside to give your patio a gently misting breeze. Even in the worst-case scenario, any swamp cooler can be used as a massive fan. That’s better than nothing on a hot summer day.
At Wirecutter, it’s Chill Week! Learn more about how to stay cool this summer and make the best of it.
What is the best time to operate my evaporative cooler?
You can create a cool environment that lasts throughout the day if you can get to your thermostat when your alarm goes off (for the first time). If you run the swamp cooler when it’s already cool outside, you’ll get colder air than if you run it when the sun is up and out.
During the mid-morning hours, evaporative coolers can provide tremendous cooling power (before 10AM). If you have allergies, however, you should wait until later in the evening. Pollen counts are highest in the morning hours, which might have an impact on your home’s indoor air quality.
While the sun is at its brightest between 10 a.m. and 2 p.m., this does not necessarily mean it is the hottest time of day. The temperature outside normally reaches its highest point in the afternoon, just before the sun sets. While you won’t receive the same chill as if you ran your swamp cooler first thing in the morning, you’ll still get some respite.
Running your swamp cooler during the hottest portion of the day is not recommended. You’ll only be able to get the temperature down to a particular level. However, if it is extremely hot outside, turning on the swamp cooler is a must for comfort.
Running the swamp cooler in the evening is ideal. You can improve airflow for more comfort and relief throughout supper. Before going to bed, open the bedroom window to allow for some fresh air in the room.
Rather than using your cooler during the day, try running it at night to get the most cooling power. When you run your cooler at night, the air provided is cooler and contains fewer pollen.
The weather, the size of your unit, and the type of swamp cooler you employ all have a role in the effectiveness of your swamp cooler. While a basic swamp cooler can reduce outside air temperature by 10-20 degrees, versions such as Breezair and Mastercool can reduce it by up to 40 degrees.
