<![CDATA[Grist - Comment Feed for Swamp coolers]]> Grist Comment Feed en Comment #1 by axolotl http://www.grist.org/article/swamp-coolers/ Tue, 01 Aug 2006 11:14:35 -0700 http://www.grist.org/article/swamp-coolers/1 More power to ya, SW

Seems like the southwest is the place to be for alternative energy experimentation. They've got dry enough air for swamp coolers, the best and most sunlight in the country, and New Mexico is in the top ten for wind energy generation capacity.

]]> More power to ya, SW

Seems like the southwest is the place to be for alternative energy experimentation. They've got dry enough air for swamp coolers, the best and most sunlight in the country, and New Mexico is in the top ten for wind energy generation capacity.

]]> Comment #2 by Payton Chung http://www.grist.org/article/swamp-coolers/ Tue, 01 Aug 2006 11:40:26 -0700 http://www.grist.org/article/swamp-coolers/2 What they don't have

...is water, which is essential to life. Drat.

]]> What they don't have

...is water, which is essential to life. Drat.

]]> Comment #3 by Biodiversivist http://www.grist.org/article/swamp-coolers/ Tue, 01 Aug 2006 12:37:42 -0700 http://www.grist.org/article/swamp-coolers/3 Luckily

swamp coolers use very little of it, damn you Chung and your penchant for reality :=|

Axolotl,

Interesting moniker. My youngest has two of them for pets.

In the end, it all comes down to biodiversity. Help acquire and protect ecological hotspots, give to a conservation organization: http://www.saveourbiodiversity.com

]]> Luckily

swamp coolers use very little of it, damn you Chung and your penchant for reality :=|

Axolotl,

Interesting moniker. My youngest has two of them for pets.

In the end, it all comes down to biodiversity. Help acquire and protect ecological hotspots, give to a conservation organization: http://www.saveourbiodiversity.com

]]> Comment #4 by ac5p http://www.grist.org/article/swamp-coolers/ Tue, 01 Aug 2006 23:35:22 -0700 http://www.grist.org/article/swamp-coolers/4 Air conditioners = bad

Swamp coolers are better.

Since the invention of air conditioners there have been a lot more people moving to hotter places and running them all the time.  All that coal burning to keep the ACs on will only make it hotter.  How about solar panels in hot places and people in cool ones?  

]]> Air conditioners = bad

Swamp coolers are better.

Since the invention of air conditioners there have been a lot more people moving to hotter places and running them all the time.  All that coal burning to keep the ACs on will only make it hotter.  How about solar panels in hot places and people in cool ones?  

]]> Comment #5 by amazingdrx http://www.grist.org/article/swamp-coolers/ Tue, 01 Aug 2006 23:59:55 -0700 http://www.grist.org/article/swamp-coolers/5 Geothermal cooling

Geothermal cooling, using the temperature of the  ground, which is 60 degrees even in the southwest, is a better idea than evaporating ever scarcer water to provide cooling.

Direct circulation of a cooling fluid, water with anti-freeze (just in case of cold snaps in this age of global climate disaster)for instance, through pipes underground and through the concrete mass of the building's walls and floor will provide the cheapest cooling in all but the very hottest regions.

In these hotter regions a heat pump pulling heat out of the building mass and depositing it in these underground pipes will do the job at the second best efficiency.

And the beauty of these systems is that circulation and heat pump compressor energy can come from solar panels, as peak cooling load coincides with maximum solar energy availability.

This approach could cut cooling energy load by maybe 80% nationwide?  How much would that cut total energy use and especially peak energy use that crashes the grid on the hottest summer days?

There are already heat adsorption solar heat collector powered cooling systems in the southwest too. A good alternative for larger buildings like malls, hospitals, schools, and factories.

 

http://amazngdrx.blogharbor.com/blog

]]> Geothermal cooling

Geothermal cooling, using the temperature of the  ground, which is 60 degrees even in the southwest, is a better idea than evaporating ever scarcer water to provide cooling.

Direct circulation of a cooling fluid, water with anti-freeze (just in case of cold snaps in this age of global climate disaster)for instance, through pipes underground and through the concrete mass of the building's walls and floor will provide the cheapest cooling in all but the very hottest regions.

In these hotter regions a heat pump pulling heat out of the building mass and depositing it in these underground pipes will do the job at the second best efficiency.

And the beauty of these systems is that circulation and heat pump compressor energy can come from solar panels, as peak cooling load coincides with maximum solar energy availability.

This approach could cut cooling energy load by maybe 80% nationwide?  How much would that cut total energy use and especially peak energy use that crashes the grid on the hottest summer days?

There are already heat adsorption solar heat collector powered cooling systems in the southwest too. A good alternative for larger buildings like malls, hospitals, schools, and factories.

 

http://amazngdrx.blogharbor.com/blog

]]> Comment #6 by ffletcher http://www.grist.org/article/swamp-coolers/ Wed, 02 Aug 2006 02:28:49 -0700 http://www.grist.org/article/swamp-coolers/6 Desert Nights Are Cool Too

There are a lot of swamp coolers out in the desert.  Palm Springs has a lot of them as well as the high pressure mist generators.  I think amazingdrx is right on target regarding ground source heat pump.

Another neat idea I learn about from talking with a professor from U of California at Riverside is night cooling in the desert.  As I understand it because it is so dry in the desert the night sky is especially good at soaking up heat on a radiant basis.  The radiant temperature of the night sky can be like 30 degrees F cooler than the air.

]]> Desert Nights Are Cool Too

There are a lot of swamp coolers out in the desert.  Palm Springs has a lot of them as well as the high pressure mist generators.  I think amazingdrx is right on target regarding ground source heat pump.

Another neat idea I learn about from talking with a professor from U of California at Riverside is night cooling in the desert.  As I understand it because it is so dry in the desert the night sky is especially good at soaking up heat on a radiant basis.  The radiant temperature of the night sky can be like 30 degrees F cooler than the air.

]]> Comment #7 by irelyndsgrandpa http://www.grist.org/article/swamp-coolers/ Tue, 29 Aug 2006 08:49:58 -0700 http://www.grist.org/article/swamp-coolers/7 Swamp Coolers

Swamp (evaporative) coolers are very efficient in dry climates and are very economical to operate.  They are actually easy to service and/or repair if you have grown up with them, but with so many people moving into the southwest US from moist climates that don't have a clue about swamp coolers, they find themselves at the mercy overpriced service people that charge $60 to $100 just to get their cooler ready for the summer.  This is something that would cost the do-it-yourselfer under $20 in parts (pads).

Finally there is hope for people that would like to do it themselves and save hundreds of dollars every year, year after tear.  That ray of hope is a book that has been published that teaches anybody just how easy it is to service, repair and enhance the performance of their cooler themselves.  

The title of the book is Easy Cooler Care.  Unfortunately it is not stocked in any stores.  It can be special ordered from all the major book store chains and from Amazon.com or it can be ordered directly from http://www.easycoolercare.com, which also has some updated information about coolers and useful cooler links.

I hope you find this information useful.

Irelyndsgrandpa

]]> Swamp Coolers

Swamp (evaporative) coolers are very efficient in dry climates and are very economical to operate.  They are actually easy to service and/or repair if you have grown up with them, but with so many people moving into the southwest US from moist climates that don't have a clue about swamp coolers, they find themselves at the mercy overpriced service people that charge $60 to $100 just to get their cooler ready for the summer.  This is something that would cost the do-it-yourselfer under $20 in parts (pads).

Finally there is hope for people that would like to do it themselves and save hundreds of dollars every year, year after tear.  That ray of hope is a book that has been published that teaches anybody just how easy it is to service, repair and enhance the performance of their cooler themselves.  

The title of the book is Easy Cooler Care.  Unfortunately it is not stocked in any stores.  It can be special ordered from all the major book store chains and from Amazon.com or it can be ordered directly from http://www.easycoolercare.com, which also has some updated information about coolers and useful cooler links.

I hope you find this information useful.

Irelyndsgrandpa

]]> Comment #8 by Johan http://www.grist.org/article/swamp-coolers/ Tue, 01 Jan 2008 23:08:14 -0800 http://www.grist.org/article/swamp-coolers/8 article on wikipedia

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Evaporative_cooler

]]> article on wikipedia

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Evaporative_cooler

]]> Comment #9 by Pangolin http://www.grist.org/article/swamp-coolers/ Wed, 02 Jan 2008 04:19:13 -0800 http://www.grist.org/article/swamp-coolers/9 Leaky, moldy, building destroyers.

Not to harsh everybody's fun time but swamp coolers are an abomination. They are leaky, moldy, building destroyers and should be removed wherever they are found. The things should be outlawed outside of Nevada, Arizona and New Mexico.

Your average swamp cooler is bolted to or god forbid, on top of a house with an electric line and 1/4 inch water line feeding it. The water line invariably leaks and provides happy hunting grounds for cockroaches and termites. The electric feed isn't much better sometimes even consisting of a lamp cord. Proper installation is rare as hen's teeth.

When roof mounted swamp coolers provide a hole in the roof that household heat blows through in winter. In the summer the cooler invariably rusts the sides of the duct and then blows fine rust particles into the faces of residents. The roof mounted swamp cooler is also ideally situated to leak and rot the building.

Most swamp cooler pads are black with mold. That's because only a minority of people are willing to replace the pads on the schedule required and landlords NEVER do. This provides a handy source of mold spores and humidity to blow into every nook and cranny in your house.

Lets not talk about the things that grow in swamp cooler reservoirs. The less you know the better.

In areas with sufficient nighttime air cooling replacing the inevitably black roof with a reflective metal roof will do wonders to keep houses cool during the day. The thermal mass of tile roofs actually delays the time when houses will cool down in the evening as several tons of tile will continue to radiate stored heat downward.

Where possible geothermal HVAC systems should replace existing thermal management systems. Ice storage systems are a good interim step allowing significant energy savings by rejecting heat during the night for use as a cold reservoir during the day.

Put the Carbon Back

]]> Leaky, moldy, building destroyers.

Not to harsh everybody's fun time but swamp coolers are an abomination. They are leaky, moldy, building destroyers and should be removed wherever they are found. The things should be outlawed outside of Nevada, Arizona and New Mexico.

Your average swamp cooler is bolted to or god forbid, on top of a house with an electric line and 1/4 inch water line feeding it. The water line invariably leaks and provides happy hunting grounds for cockroaches and termites. The electric feed isn't much better sometimes even consisting of a lamp cord. Proper installation is rare as hen's teeth.

When roof mounted swamp coolers provide a hole in the roof that household heat blows through in winter. In the summer the cooler invariably rusts the sides of the duct and then blows fine rust particles into the faces of residents. The roof mounted swamp cooler is also ideally situated to leak and rot the building.

Most swamp cooler pads are black with mold. That's because only a minority of people are willing to replace the pads on the schedule required and landlords NEVER do. This provides a handy source of mold spores and humidity to blow into every nook and cranny in your house.

Lets not talk about the things that grow in swamp cooler reservoirs. The less you know the better.

In areas with sufficient nighttime air cooling replacing the inevitably black roof with a reflective metal roof will do wonders to keep houses cool during the day. The thermal mass of tile roofs actually delays the time when houses will cool down in the evening as several tons of tile will continue to radiate stored heat downward.

Where possible geothermal HVAC systems should replace existing thermal management systems. Ice storage systems are a good interim step allowing significant energy savings by rejecting heat during the night for use as a cold reservoir during the day.

Put the Carbon Back

]]>