Swamp Cooler
In earlier times during hot seasons, people would often sleep inside a room containing bed sheets or blanket. These sheets were soaked in water and hung inside the room. With the use of electric fans, the warm air would push through the moist sheets to cool the place. That traditional concept has been improved and became the evaporative coolers that we’ve known today. Since evaporative coolers work in providing moisture to the air and blowing them around the room, they also sometimes referred as a swamp cooler.
An evaporative cooler is an air conditioning alternative, as it uses a low-cost technology while it provides effective cooling. The process is by means of water evaporation, unlike to the traditional air conditioning units that use high-cost refrigeration. This low-cost alternative consists of a fan or blower, electric motor, water pump and pads. To provide cool air, the warm air will be pulled through the moist pads where it is cooled and then blows throughout the room. The pads are made particularly from wood shavings, but they can be made from other materials as long as they can absorb moisture but resist mildew. The water pump is needed to continually dampen the pads, and continually operate the swamp cooler.
However, the use of evaporative cooler is limited than the traditional air conditioning. The advantage of air conditioning units over this type of cooler is they can used in any weather conditions, either in low or high humidity. But swamp coolers can only be effective in places where there is hot and arid climate. In the United States, these coolers work well in the dry southwest part, like in Arizona desert.
But under the right condition, the use of a swamp cooler can provide you great benefits. If you are in the place where it is hot and there’s a low humidity level, you can find this cooler very useful. Compared to air conditioners, they only require less installation cost without effecting harm to the environment. The monthly operating and maintenance cost is low as well and you can save a lot when it comes to electric bills. A standard air conditioner usually runs four times the energy and brings some negative effects to the environment because of the ozone-damaging refrigerants they produce when operated.
In arid places, the evaporative cooler can lower the temperature as much as 30 degrees. However, ensure that you find the proper size of the device when you plan to install one. Small units cannot produce enough air to cool a large room or area, and large unit will not be as well as effective. Be sure to select the right size of cooler that is suitable for intended purpose. Since the swamp cooler is rated by CFM (the cubic per minute of air that the device can blow to cool the entire room), you can easily determine the appropriate size you need for a certain area. All you have to do is determine the exact cubic feet of space you want to cool, divide it by two and you’ll then get the CFM rating for the suitable size of cooler you need.
