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Swamp Coolers & Evaporative Coolers for Air Cooling: Design & Usage Guide
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InspectAPedia tolerates no conflicts of interest. We have no relationship with advertisers, products, or services discussed at this website.
Swamp coolers: this article explains the use of an evaporative cooling system or "swamp cooler" including cool air delivery design considerations when using under-floor ducts for cool air delivery in buildings. Swamp coolers or evaporative cooling systems work well in dry climates - usually, as we explain here. The discussion of cool air duct location and routing includes general air conditioning duct design concepts that also apply to all air conditioning and cooling designs.
Green links show where you are. © Copyright 2013 InspectAPedia.com, All Rights Reserved. Author Daniel Friedman.
Evaporative Cooling Systems or "Swamp Coolers" - How They Work
 The articles at this website describe the basic components of an air conditioning system
and then we discuss how to estimate the rated cooling capacity of an air conditioning system by examining various data tags and components.
The limitations of visual inspection of A/C systems are described.
We continue to add to and update this text as new details are provided. Contact us to suggest text changes and additions and, if you wish, to receive online listing and credit for that contribution.
Evaporative coolers, also called "swamp coolers" rely on the evaporation of water to cool building air, rather than the movement of a refrigerant through cooling coils.
Cooling towers, swamp coolers, and even a simple window fan blowing air across a pan of water and into a room are types of evaporative cooling systems.
Swamp coolers systems may use less energy than a refrigerant-gas and compressor type air conditioner but they'll only work where the ambient humidity is low enough to make it easy to evaporate water, such as in Arizona and other areas of the Southwest and Mexico.
Our sketch (left), courtesy of Carson Dunlop, shows three types of evaporative cooling systems or "swamp coolers".
All three evaporative cooling system approaches are similar: dry outdoor air is blown across an evaporative cooling device that uses water evaporation to cool the incoming air.
The differences among these swamp cooler designs are principally how the water to be evaporated is delivered to the evaporative cooling device (drum or pad bottom is immersed in a water reservoir pan, or a pump delivers water to the top of the evaporative pad), and the type of evaporative device itself: a rotating drum or an evaporative pad.
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Delivery of Cool Air Using an Evaporative Cooling System
 The link to the original Q&A article in PDF form immediately below is followed by an expanded/updated online version of this article.
The question-and-answer article below paraphrases, quotes-from, updates, and comments an original article from Solar Age Magazine and written by Steven Bliss.
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Topic: Under-floor ducts for cool air delivery with (for example) an evaporative cooling system
Question: We plan to build a pilot energy-efficient home in our city. We have a long and somewhat severe cooling season, with a humidity level that is relatively low (10-15 % RH). An evaporative cooling system or swamp cooler should suffice, but there are several drawbacks: dust, open windows, safety, noise, and the like.
I would like to duct the cool air delivery system under a wood-framed floor, supplying cool air through floor registers, and exhausting it out through a roof cupola. (See sketch above, courtesy of Solar Age Magazine). I am sure that an attic fan will be necessary to drive the warm air exhaust out of the building.
Do you see any obvious problems with the scheme I have described? -- Jimmy Moore, Odessa, TX
Answer:
Single-stage direct evaporative coolers, also called "swamp coolers" do provide a cost-effective means of cooling houses during hot, dry periods. Their main drawback is moister indoor air - the cost for a lower dry-bulb temperature.
Due to low energy use (for a small fan and water pump), swamp coolers are popular in the U.S. in parts of the West and Southwest. For example, our photograph at page top shows a swamp cooler system whose operating components are mounted on a Tucson Arizona rooftop.
Delivering Cool Air Through Floor Ducts?
 Delivering cooled air through the floor and exhausting it through the roof runs counter to the tendency of warm air to rise and cool air to fall in a building. But an exhaust fan in the roof should pull air upwards through the entire house.
Two warnings:
Make sure that the exhaust fan capacity in cubic feet per minute (CFM) is matched to the volume of air that is being supplied from the cooling system upwards from the floor ducts and air registers.
Carson Dunlop's sketch (left) shows a different approach for a closed air duct system that changes its duct operation depending on whether warm air or cool air is being delivered into the building.
You would probably not use this duct design in an evaporative cooling system because the evaporative cooling approach depends on continuous introduction of dry outside air into and through the building during the cooling system, but the sketch makes clear a duct system intended to deliver cool air in a building needs to operate differently than ducts intended to deliver warm air during the heating system if airflow is to be optimized.
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Using a Rooftop Cupola to Exhaust Swamp Cooler-Delivered Cool Air?
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 Provide an air duct between the top floor ceiling grille and the roof exhaust cupola. This will keep moist (and possibly cooler) air out of the attic, where it might condense at night and cause moisture problems in the structure and in the attic insulation. (See Attic Moisture or Mold Sources and see Mold in Fiberglass Insulation. Readers ducting cool air through a crawl space should also see CRAWLSPACE MOLD ADVICE.)
Carson Dunlop's sketch (left) warns of another safety consideration: a whole house fan or an attic exhaust fan (such as we describe above), can cause back-drafting at fireplaces and atmospheric-vented gas heating appliances - backdrafting can in turn cause dangerous, potentially fatal carbon monoxide hazards in buildings. The hazards are described at COMBUSTION GASES & PARTICLE HAZARDS and the remedies are described at COMBUSTION AIR for TIGHT buildings.
Finally, remember to provide a means of closing off the rooftop exhaust during the heating season. Otherwise your warm house air will simply escape by natural convection currents carrying it up and outdoors through your rooftop-mounted exhaust system even if the fan is not running. See WATER & ICE IN DUCT WORK for a case history where just this problem occurred in a building. |
When is Evaporative Cooling Effective
 See Solar Age Magazine "Notebook" 2/84, for the conditions where evaporative cooling is effective. In that issue, author Jerry Germer reviews use of the psychrometric chart that relates moisture, temperature, and indoor relative humidity to discuss the conditions that make people comfortable indoors, and how to relate indoor comfort to the outdoor climate, particularly to temperature and humidity in those two environments.
Our photo (left) shows an evaporative cooler or "swamp cooler" in use blowing cool air into an outdoor mechanic's work area at Canyon Auto Sales in Tucson, AZ. Photo by the author and Andy Gieseke, Canyon Auto.
Swamp coolers or other evaporative cooling systems can cool a building interior using less energy than a conventional air conditioner or heat pump system except during times of very wet or humid weather such as the "monsoon" season in southern Arizona. During wet and very humid weather evaporative cooling simply cannot evaporate enough water to produce good cooling. Some building owners install both evaporative cooling or swamp coolers and a conventional refrigerant-based air conditioner or heat pump, running the latter only when necessary due to humid conditions.
Mr. Germer mapped eight heating and cooling "design zones" onto areas of the psychrometric chart and then described eight indoor air conditioning approaches and related them to the outdoor climate. For areas or times of the year when temperature and humidity outdoors, and thus also relative humidity, fall within multiple zones on the Germer chart, multiple of the 8 zones and 8 indoor air conditioning strategies below might be usable.
- Active solar or mechanical heating: this zone has outdoor temperatures too low for passive building environment conditioning strategies.
- Passive solar heating: direct solar gain, indirect solar heat gain, hybrid systems, combined with air infiltration and temperature conduction control - we describe passive solar heating at PASSIVE SOLAR DESIGN METHOD and further at PASSIVE SOLAR HEAT PERFORMANCE.
- Dehumidification: high outdoor (or indoor) humidity requires using some method to remove the excess humidity in order for building occupants to be comfortable. In the 1984 article Germer pointed out that passive dehumidification had not been well developed. See HUMIDITY LEVEL TARGET.
- Mechanical air conditioning: temperature & humidity combinations in this climate zone cannot be managed by passive means and so mechanical air conditioning (see AIR CONDITIONING & HEAT PUMP SYSTEMS) or active solar cooling will be needed.
- Ventilation: although temperatures and humidifies may be high, occupants may be made comfortable by direct evaporation of sweat from the skin if enough air velocity is available - in other words, fans can do the trick.
- Thermal mass: these air conditioning systems are usually found in hot-dry climates with dry cool nights, such as southwestern United States and parts of Mexico, particularly at higher elevations (see PASSIVE SOLAR DESIGN METHOD and see THERMAL MASS in buildings as well as THERMAL MASS in UPSTAIRS). Radiant cooling and night-flushing of internal mass with cool outside air stores coolness (the ability to later absorb heat) for the next day, and similarly, during the warmer day, the same thermal mass can store warmth to even out cooler nighttime temperatures indoors.
- Evaporative cooling: low energy "swamp coolers" (discussed in this article) can be used under conditions of low humidity such as in Arizona and higher elevations of Mexico.
- Humidification: moisture needs to be added to very dry air for indoor comfort. See HUMIDITY LEVEL TARGET. We prefer local or room humidifiers after seeing duct, mold, concerns with some centralized humidifier add-ons to heating and air conditioning systems.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) about swamp coolers & evaporative cooling systems: installation, troubleshooting, repair, effectiveness
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Technical Reviewers & References
Related Topics, found near the top of this page suggest articles closely related to this one.
- Solar Age Magazine was the official publication of the American Solar Energy Society. The contemporary solar energy magazine associated with the Society is Solar Today. "Established in 1954, the nonprofit American Solar Energy Society (ASES) is the nation's leading association of solar professionals & advocates. Our mission is to inspire an era of energy innovation and speed the transition to a sustainable energy economy. We advance education, research and policy. Leading for more than 50 years.
ASES leads national efforts to increase the use of solar energy, energy efficiency and other sustainable technologies in the U.S. We publish the award-winning SOLAR TODAY magazine, organize and present the ASES National Solar Conference and lead the ASES National Solar Tour – the largest grassroots solar event in the world."
- Steve Bliss's Building Advisor at buildingadvisor.com helps homeowners & contractors plan & complete successful building & remodeling projects: buying land, site work, building design, cost estimating, materials & components, & project management through complete construction. Email: info@buildingadvisor.com
Steven Bliss served as editorial director and co-publisher of The Journal of Light Construction for 16 years and previously as building technology editor for Progressive Builder and Solar Age magazines. He worked in the building trades as a carpenter and design/build contractor for more than ten years and holds a masters degree from the Harvard Graduate School of Education.
Excerpts from his recent book, Best Practices Guide to Residential Construction, Wiley (November 18, 2005) ISBN-10: 0471648361, ISBN-13: 978-0471648369, appear throughout this website, with permission and courtesy of Wiley & Sons. Best Practices Guide is available from the publisher, J. Wiley & Sons, and also at Amazon.com
 Carson, Dunlop & Associates Ltd., 120 Carlton Street Suite 407, Toronto ON M5A 4K2. (416) 964-9415 1-800-268-7070 info@carsondunlop.com. The firm provides professional home inspection services & home inspection education & publications. Alan Carson is a past president of ASHI, the American Society of Home Inspectors. Thanks to Alan Carson and Bob Dunlop, for permission for InspectAPedia to use text excerpts from The Home Reference Book & illustrations from The Illustrated Home. Carson Dunlop Associates' provides:
- Commercial Building Inspection Courses - protocol ASTM Standard E 2018-08 for Property Condition Assessments
- Home Inspection Education Courses including home study & live classes at eleven colleges & universities.
- Home Inspection Education Home Study Courses - ASHI@Home Training 10-course program.
Special Offer: Carson Dunlop Associates offers InspectAPedia readers in the U.S.A. a 5% discount on these courses: Enter INSPECTAHITP in the order payment page "Promo/Redemption" space. InspectAPedia.com editor Daniel Friedman is a contributing author.
- The Home Reference Book, a reference & inspection report product for building owners & inspectors.
Special Offer: For a 10% discount on any number of copies of the Home Reference Book purchased as a single order. Enter INSPECTAHRB in the order payment page "Promo/Redemption" space. InspectAPedia.com editor Daniel Friedman is a contributing author.
- The Home Reference eBook, an electronic version for PCs, the iPad, iPhone, & Android smart phones.
Special Offer: For a 5% discount on any number of copies of the Home Reference eBook purchased as a single order. Enter inspectaehrb in the order payment page "Promo/Redemption" space.
- The Illustrated Home illustrates construction details and building components, a reference for owners & inspectors.
Special Offer: For a 5% discount on any number of copies of the Illustrated Home purchased as a single order Enter INSPECTAILL in the order payment page "Promo/Redemption" space.
- The Horizon Software System manages business operations,scheduling, & inspection report writing using Carson Dunlop's knowledge base & color images. The Horizon system runs on always-available cloud-based software for office computers, laptops, tablets, iPad, Android, & other smartphones.
- [4] Jerry Germer, Marlborough NH, wrote the 2/84 "Design Notebook" article to which we refer and is the author of a variety of excellent building design books (Planning Your Addition, Bathrooms: Plan, Remodel, Build) available by Amazon.com, at the InspectAPedia bookstore, and from other book sellers.
- [5] Mara and Andy Gieseke, Tucson AZ, are contributors to InspectAPedia.com including photographs used at SIDING EIFS & STUCCO, Cracks at Control Joints in Concrete and ROT, FUNGUS, TERMITES, and are family members of website publisher Daniel Friedman.
Books & Articles on Building & Environmental Inspection, Testing, Diagnosis, & Repair
 The Home Reference Book - the Encyclopedia of Homes, Carson Dunlop & Associates, Toronto, Ontario, 25th Ed., 2012, is a bound volume of more than 450 illustrated pages that assist home inspectors and home owners in the inspection and detection of problems on buildings. The text is intended as a reference guide to help building owners operate and maintain their home effectively. Field inspection worksheets are included at the back of the volume. Special Offer: For a 10% discount on any number of copies of the Home Reference Book purchased as a single order. Enter INSPECTAHRB in the order payment page "Promo/Redemption" space. InspectAPedia.com editor Daniel Friedman is a contributing author.
Or choose the The Home Reference eBook for PCs, Macs, Kindle, iPad, iPhone, or Android Smart Phones. Special Offer: For a 5% discount on any number of copies of the Home Reference eBook purchased as a single order. Enter INSPECTAEHRB in the order payment page "Promo/Redemption" space.
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- Carson Dunlop, Associates, Toronto, have provided us with (and we recommend) Carson Dunlop Weldon & Associates' Technical Reference Guide to manufacturer's model and serial number information for heating and cooling equipment
Special Offer: Carson Dunlop Associates offers InspectAPedia readers in the U.S.A. a 5% discount on any number of copies of the Technical Reference Guide purchased as a single order. Just enter INSPECTATRG in the order payment page "Promo/Redemption" space.
- Complete List of Air Conditioning & Heat Pump Design, Inspection, Repair Books at the InspectAPedia Bookstore.
- Modern Refrigeration and Air Conditioning, A. D. Althouse, C.H. Turnquist, A. Bracciano, Goodheart-Willcox Co., 1982
- Principles of Refrigeration, R. Warren Marsh, C. Thomas Olivo, Delmar Publishers, 1979
- "Air Conditioning & Refrigeration I & II", BOCES Education, Warren Hilliard (instructor), Poughkeepsie, New York, May - July 1982, [classroom notes from air conditioning and refrigeration maintenance and repair course attended by the website author]
- Refrigeration and Air Conditioning Technology, 5th Ed., William C. Whitman, William M. Johnson, John Tomczyk, Cengage Learning, 2005, ISBN 1401837654, 9781401837655 1324 pages
 Air Conditioning SEER - New DOE Air Conditioner and Heat Pump Efficiency Standard- Asbestos HVAC Ducts and Flues field identification photos and guide
- Fiberglass: Indoor Air Quality Investigations: Fiberglass in Indoor Air, HVAC ducts, and Building Insulation
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