Swamp coolers

I live in the high plateau desert - the average humidity here during the summer is less than 15%, often less than 10%.  We have an off-grid solar home, so of course we have a swamp cooler, aka evaporative cooler.  Other cooling options would drain way too much electricity.  But even before we lived here, we had a swamp cooler because we lived in a relatively arid location. 

Swamp coolers work so well, and provide fresh, water-filtered air.  And they save energy - using 1/3 to 1/4 the electricity of other methods.  I often wonder why the municipalities in these arid regions aren't giving rebates or discounts when a house is cooled via evaporation.  I also wonder why people aren't choosing to install swamp coolers, or are removing them and installing central air.  Here are some of my guesses:

1.  Swamp coolers can be noisy, and the switch supplied with them is either on or off via a manual switch
2.  You have to have a way to vent the air out of the house to be cooled
3.  They can use a fair amount of water
4.  Many people don't have a clue how to use them and to maintain them
5.  The duct can cause heat loss to the house in the winter
6.  If you use less electricity, the municipality receives less utility taxes
7.  The heating-cooling industry would rather sell an expensive central air unit than a relatively inexpensive evaporative unit

Ok, so I'll address these points.

1.  Yes, they can be noisy.  You get used to it very quickly.  As far as that clunky switch, BUY A THERMOSTAT switch that is made for swamp coolers so they cycle on and off based on the temperature in the house.  Dial Mfg has several different models - I like the "SelectaStat II" model best even though it is the simplest.  They are absolutely wonderful and your home is so very comfortable.
2.  Opening windows to vent the air and cool each room is a must.  But in some locations an open window is an invitation to burglars.  When I lived in a city location, we used inexpensive screw-type window locks so the window would only open a few inches.  I also had a home with "up-ducts" - flapping ducts that are installed in the ceiling that vent the air to the attic.  Adequate attic venting is a must for these to work.  I like opening windows better.  If you use up-ducts you should put an insulation pillow into each one for the winter.
3.  I looked up how much water is used by a swamp cooler.  Obviously it varies by location, and by how often the cooler is on (do you have a thermostat??) during the summer months.   One web site said that water use can be from 3 to 15 gallons a day, more if you have a bleeder valve system or flush pump (to decrease hard water deposits - look into these if you have that problem).  My toilets in my old home used more than 15 gallons a day, and we didn't flush often (we are a yellow mellow, brown flush it down household).
4.  Go to a web site that tells you about cooler maintenance.  My tips:  new pads each year (and use aspen pads, IMO those others just don't work very well), clean out periodically during the season, soak the pads before turning it on the first time each day, use the low fan setting (in our very arid region the high fan setting dries the pads too quickly and it blows warmer air!), and vent the air to the places in the house you are using and close windows in the rooms you aren't using.  Pretty darned simple!
5.  Use a duct pillow to prevent heat loss in the winter.  Make one from old quilts or buy one - either way put it in as soon as you know you won't need your cooler until Spring.  Unfortunately, putting the pillow into the duct requires that you remove the diffuser.  Over time the screws will strip their holes, and the diffuser will fall onto your head (yes, this happened!).  Many years ago a company made a quick release kit for diffusers, making it easy to remove and replace.  It's no longer on the market, so you need to make your own.  In this house I built a frame around the diffuser out of 1.5" door trim that is just about the thickness of the diffuser.  Then I used some heavy duty plastic pieces that are made to attach metal closet organizers to the wall (shaped like a "U" with extended ends) - I screwed one end to the frame while the other end swivels over the edge of the diffuser and back, to either lock it or release it.  I used eight of these plastic pieces, two on each side.  It took about an hour to make, and it now takes 10 seconds to remove the diffuser, a minute to push the pillow into place, and 10 seconds to replace the diffuser.  Cool, huh?
6 & 7.  How to deal with governments and large industry?  That will be another rant, someday.

Last note. Our neighbors down here said that our swamp cooler would be ok except during monsoon season (what we call rainy season around here) when the humidity can get pretty high, e.g., 30% or more (if you live in a humid area, quit laughing).  We had a strong monsoon season this year, and yet the hottest the house got was 77 degrees, and that was rare.  We were still comfortable because we had air movement in the house.

Swamp coolers?  I say go for it.

Enough for today.