Read how do swamp coolers work.
An evaporative cooler produces effective cooling by combining a natural process - water evaporation - with a simple, reliable air-moving system. Fresh air is pulled through moist pads where it is cooled by evaporation and circulated through a house or room by a fan. As this happens, the temperature of the air in the air stream can be lowered by as much as 20 degrees.
Probably because evaporative coolers add moisture to the air and blow it around, they are sometimes knows as "swamp coolers." Evaporative coolers can work wonderfully well, provided the air they are drawing in is dry.
Air conditioning, on the other hand, became popular because of its ability to cool the air, no matter what the humidity might be. Even on humid days, room and central air conditioners can lower the temperature to a thermostatically controlled temperature. They also use as much as four times as much electricity than swamp coolers do, and they are more expensive to install and maintain. Air conditioners can require ozone-damaging refrigerants, and they recirculate the same air over and over.
For more information we strongly
suggest taking the time to read our
evaporative cooling buying guide.
