New Models of Evaporative Coolers

Evaporative coolers, also known as swamp coolers, are an energy efficient alternative to air conditioners for regions with hot dry summer weather. Evaporative coolers can cool your home for about one-third the cost of air conditioning. They work best in areas that are hot and dry such as the Southwest, Intermountain West, and parts of the Midwest. Evaporative coolers use evaporating water to reduce the air temperature in your home, and in doing so they also raise the humidity of your indoor air. Though this increased humidity is desirable for families in the driest areas, it can be a problem if your home is already too moist.

A new generation of evaporative coolers introduces less humidity into your home. These two-stage coolers include the normal wetted pads through which air passes as it is pulled into the home. But they also include a closed heat exchanger that pre-cools the air without adding moisture. This two-stage cooling produces drier air than traditional evaporative coolers.

Many newer single-stage evaporative coolers are also constructed with plastic housings and pumps. These promise to be longer-lived than older steel coolers, and they are easier to clean when the inevitable dirt and mineral deposits collect.

Finally, the best new evaporative coolers use less water because of an important evolution in their drain-down systems. This periodic flushing removes dirt accumulation that reduces the evaporative cooler’s energy efficiency. Older and cheaper units incorporate either a timed flush, which empties the sump of several gallons of water at a time, or a constant trickle that runs out a drain whenever the system is running. The best new coolers incorporate a water quality sensor that measures the mineral concentration of the water. These systems flush themselves only when needed.