Do EVAPORATIVE AIR COOLERS work / do anything?

Question

I'm thinking about getting one. I would prefer to keep doors and windows closed.

Answer 1

They don't work unless you have a place for air to escape .... ducts leading into the attic are a common solution.

However, they don't work worth a darn unless you live in a dry climate ... if the relative humidity is over 50 you will not feel any cooling effect.

Answer 2

They won't take the place of an air conditioner but they do a pretty good job.  If you live in a place of high humidity though, they may not work too well.  For the evap coolers I have seen, you need to have some doors or windows open to allow air movement or else the evap cooler will just increase the humidity in your house and soon that will be unbearable.

Answer 3

They work wonderfully AS LONG AS

1. There is a small vent for air (I crack two or three windows in my 1900 sqft house, about an inch each, and that's all it takes) and

2. You live in a very low-humidity area.  

I live in the desert southwest.  Our humidity is usually in the low teens, and in that setting the swamp (evap) coolers work like a dream - I even have to turn it off at night because it gets TOO cold.  

However, right now my swamp cooler has been on high for more than a month solid, and it still gets into the low 90s inside my house because we're having loads of rain (the remnants of Dolly are moving through, and July is our rainy season anyway).  Miserable.  Every ceiling fan in the house stays on 24/7, I've bought standing and box fans to keep air circulating, and I have finally given up and bought two small window AC units to put in my office (I work from home) and my bedroom, just to make it bearable.  Next year I will either have some form of backup AC (NOT evap) or will be spending the month of July in a hotel.  

So - if you can crack a few windows open just a bit and if your average humidity is very low (like below 30%), and if you can accept the fact that you'll be sweaty for a few hours when it rains (if it rains much where you are), they're well worth it.  

They're much cheaper than AC - my parents upgraded their swamp cooler to an AC system, and their electricity bill tripled.  They now keep the thermostat set at 78, and have got the electric bill down to only double what it used to be.  

As a bonus, maintenance is usually pretty cheap.  My motor burned out this year, and it cost $12 to replace it.  Pads were about $100, and they'll last for 2-3 years at least.

Answer 4

Tottaly depends on where you live.  In Arizona, yes, New York, No.

But they are no replacement for AC