Not all cooling systems are the same. Depending on where you live, different air conditioners will provide different results that can impact comfort, your budget, your indoor air quality, and your energy efficiency. That’s why today we’d like to focus on an underdog in the HVAC industry, the evaporative cooler (also known as the swamp cooler).
Swamp coolers in Albuquerque, NM are unique in the fact that they can cool your home at a hyper-efficient rate without the use of refrigerant. These systems rely on cool moisture, which can have a big impact in environments that are dry and hot.
Keep reading as we get into the details of how swamp coolers work, why they’re so great in our area, and how one could benefit your home. We don’t talk about technology that we don’t absolutely recommend for homeowners, so it’s time you understood why we recommend these systems.
How a Swamp Cooler Works
Forget about the swamp cooler name for a second and focus on the term “evaporation.” If you can imagine the feeling of a cool breeze wafting over lake or ocean water on a summer’s day, that’s similar to how this kind of system works. By running hot air over water, the heat can be soaked up into the water, leaving the air refreshing and cool.
A swamp cooler uses damp pads that are soaked in water to cool the air that runs through the system. As the air is cycled through, the damp pads absorb the heat so that the air remains both dry and cool. This is why these systems are so efficient, they just rely on air, electricity, and water!
The Efficiency of a Swamp Cooler
Swamp coolers use around 15 to 35 percent of the energy that an air conditioner of the same size would use. While an air conditioner has to keep refrigerant pressurized, as well as evaporate and condense it, a swamp cooler just has to cycle air throughout the system and keep the pads moist.
This means an evaporative cooler will be much more energy efficient than an air conditioner when they’re running to keep a home cool on a hot day. The only problem comes with humidity.
The One Downside to a Swamp Cooler
It’s important that we’re honest with you. In doing so, we need to talk about the one negative quality of a swamp cooler. These systems don’t work as well when there’s a lot of humidity in the air. Remember, these systems work by using cool water to absorb the heat. If the air is already saturated with moisture, then those damp pads are also going to warm quickly and the heat won’t transfer from the air as easily.
However, think about how often it gets muggy here in New Mexico. Swamp coolers tend to be super effective in our climate because the vast majority of heat waves we deal with are filled with a dry heat. As long as things don’t feel like they do in Florida, a swamp cooler should work perfectly for any home in our area.
Contact First Rate Plumbing Heating and Cooling Inc for quality work, exuberant service.