With the advent of highly efficient central air conditioning units, swamp coolers (evaporative coolers) are rapidly becoming a thing of the past. A swamp cooler is a cooling system that does not use refrigerant for residential cooling. Instead, a swamp cooler relies on the science behind evaporation to cool a home.
Swamp coolers use a large fan to draw ambient air through absorbent mats soaked with a continuous stream of water. As the air is drawn through the mat, the evaporation of the water cools the air which is then blown into the home through a system of ducts.
Swamp coolers were popular in certain areas of the country 30 years ago because they used much less electricity than a central air conditioning system. Swamp coolers don’t have compressors or high pressure pumps that draw large amounts of electricity. A swamp cooler only has a low pressure pump and a fan which use less electricity than a central air conditioner.
However, swamp coolers have some serious limitations. For one, they are only effective in very hot, dry climates which limits them to certain parts of the country. For another, they need maintenance on a monthly basis to replace the pads and to clean the system. Their cooling capacity is limited and becomes even more limited if the humidity level rises or when it is raining.
Despite the drawbacks, many homeowners have relied on swamp coolers due to their lower energy consumption, but that advantage is nowhere near as much as it used to be. Modern energy efficient central air conditioning systems use 30% less energy than those sold only 15 years ago and only half as much energy as systems sold 30 years ago.
The bottom line is that when it comes to HVAC system replacement or installation, the reduced energy savings offered by swamp coolers is no longer enough for most homeowners to favor a swamp cooler over a central air conditioning system.
