Swamp coolers instead of air conditioning being installed in some new construction homes

[RhondaHonda]

The listing says central air. Maybe they put it on the roof to keep scrappers from stealing the outdoor unit?

That’s a pretty cheap house for new construction. Is it in a dirt road? The driveway just stops.

 

[doitmyself]

Here is one- unless I am mistaken in thinking this is a swamp cooler. But why would they mount a AC on a pitched roof with ample space at ground level.

https://www.realtor.com/realestateandhomes-detail/1810-Camino-Lebanon_Rio-Rico_AZ_85648_M10913-26847

Probably to avoid the dirt/dust in the air at ground level.

Evaporative cooling pads are used in the livestock and greenhouse industries. Exhaust fans on the opposite side pull air thru the wet pads.

 

[dishdude]

That looks like a rooftop A/C unit to me, common here in older homes but pretty unusual in newer builds.

 

[mr_boring]

This is purely anecdotal, but my mothers side of the family came from Arizona - and they claimed they could cool a house down into the 70's with a swamp cooler during the day and that it would freeze them out at night. I'm modern, and if my house was 75+ I'd be miserable, but 50+ years ago (they lived there in the 60's) but they all said it was great. When it's 105 outside 75 is pretty nice, but it ain't 68 nice.

Me, I'd get a second job at Domino's if I had to just to be able to afford to keep my house at 68.....

 

[thescreensavers]

Tried a reverse image search that house, cant see the duct in the photo but since its on the roof good chances are its a swamp cooler.

 

[Chris142]

All we have at my house is a swamp cooler

 

[Speedbird001]

Hell no... I've used them overseas (Deployed to the usual arm pit locations); but they were outdoors and ambient was +100 deg F on a regular basis.... it was much better than nothing, but aside from that application or similar industrial setting or HUGE sports complex scenario where a/c is not an option; no-way!

 

[k1xv]

I think, in this day and age, unless your electricity rates are sky high, you are best off to install a high efficiency heat pump for both cooling and heating.

 

[dishdude]

Tried a reverse image search that house, cant see the duct in the photo but since its on the roof good chances are its a swamp cooler.
View attachment 206713

View attachment 206715

That's an air conditioning unit, it's an AZ thing you wouldn't understand

 

[Nick1994]

Here is one- unless I am mistaken in thinking this is a swamp cooler. But why would they mount a AC on a pitched roof with ample space at ground level.

https://www.realtor.com/realestateandhomes-detail/1810-Camino-Lebanon_Rio-Rico_AZ_85648_M10913-26847

That's A/C, they're usually on the roof for some reason here in the desert. A lot of newer houses have the condensing unit outside on the ground and the evaporative coil in the attic though. When they're on the roof they're a "package unit" which has both the condensing and evaporative coils all in one package, with the compressor.

Evaporative coolers are always tan colored too. First one is a MasterCool, second is the cheap ones with straw pads

 

[UncleDave]

Here is one- unless I am mistaken in thinking this is a swamp cooler. But why would they mount a AC on a pitched roof with ample space at ground level.

https://www.realtor.com/realestateandhomes-detail/1810-Camino-Lebanon_Rio-Rico_AZ_85648_M10913-26847

Could be either. They do that in AZ.

Arizona is so dry I've seen trees chasing dogs there - perfect climate for a swamp cooler 80% of the summer.

Dont look at it as one or the other look at it as two completely independent cooling systems one cheap, the other relatively expensive.

 

[4WD]

We may as well call them shop coolers in the Houston area …
No substitute for HVAC - but a nice add to shop or patio …

 

[4WD]

Only if you dont operate them properly. They should be dried out fully every use.

Yup - I run them about 20 minutes with water pump off …

 

[UncleDave]

We may as well call them shop coolers in the Houston area …
No substitute for HVAC - but a nice add to shop or patio …

Great for a garage.

 

[2strokeNorthstar]

Swamp coolers work ok as long as there isn't any humidity..............right?

Yes, just ok. The make your house humid and sort of smelly but you save some $$. They can and do get overwhelmed in extreme heat or any kind of humidity. I would not buy a house in the SW with only a swamp cooler

 

[edhackett]

Here is one- unless I am mistaken in thinking this is a swamp cooler. But why would they mount a AC on a pitched roof with ample space at ground level.

https://www.realtor.com/realestateandhomes-detail/1810-Camino-Lebanon_Rio-Rico_AZ_85648_M10913-26847

House on a slab, ac/heatpump roof mounted with ducting in the attic. Cheapest possible construction.
The unit is likely one of these or a similar model:
https://www.goodmanmfg.com/products/packaged-units/heat-pumps/gphm3

Ed

 

[AZjeff]

Our first Az house had a swamp cooler. I learned how to service it and keep it operating correctly. I wouldn’t have one again if you paid me $500 a month to use it. If you’ve never had one you just can’t understand them. They do cool air well under ideal conditions. They also continually add humidity. When the humidity outside is in the teens and your house is in the 20s or whatever it feels clammy. And since they’re pulling air in from outside guess what happens in the middle of the night when a skunk discharges somewhere upwind. You wake up to a house full of skunk and have no way to get it out. It would happen several times a summer where we lived before. All water here has minerals so pads and plumbing get clogged up. They’re maintenance intensive. Yuck.

@GON that’s a Goodman ac unit.

 

[ripcord]

Our first Az house had a swamp cooler. I learned how to service it and keep it operating correctly. I wouldn’t have one again if you paid me $500 a month to use it. If you’ve never had one you just can’t understand them. They do cool air well under ideal conditions. They also continually add humidity. When the humidity outside is in the teens and your house is in the 20s or whatever it feels clammy. And since they’re pulling air in from outside guess what happens in the middle of the night when a skunk discharges somewhere upwind. You wake up to a house full of skunk and have no way to get it out. It would happen several times a summer where we lived before. All water here has minerals so pads and plumbing get clogged up. They’re maintenance intensive. Yuck.

@GON that’s a Goodman ac unit.

So what I hear you saying is that swamp coolers stink.

 

[GON]

Gents, thanks for all the very helpful information. I did a Google search and what was posted in this thread answered questions and provided supplemental information the search didn't provide. The search implied very little difference between a swamp cooler and a air conditioner. Now I know the rest of the story.

Thank you!

 

[Bailes1992]

I've worked in the building services engineering industry since I started as an apprentice electrician in 2011.

I worked on a project a few years ago where the client has requested one of these in a comms room full of networking equipment in lieu of simple extraction.

Had to explain to the client why this might be a bad idea in a room full of networking equipment and other sensitive electronics.

In the end they agreed to a basic extraction system AND A/C despite all the equipment within the comms room capable of running in temperatures up to 45 degrees Celsius and the rest of the building designed to stay at 19 degrees Celsius. After 12 months we went back to do end of defects period snagging and servicing and the A/C unit had less then 15 minutes of run time because it never got warm enough in there for it to kick in.