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Robbins Heating & Air Conditioning, Inc. Blog

Is It Worth It to Convert Your Swamp Cooler?

Swamp coolers, also called evaporative coolers, have long been a popular choice for AC systems in homes in New Mexico.

In our area, the dry climate means that, for most of the year, water can evaporate into the air with ease. And that’s how your swamp cooler works—evaporation. Air blows over a damp pad, and warm dry air becomes cool moist air as the water evaporates into the air.

No One Needs a Swamp Cooler in a Swamp

A “swamp cooler” would actually do very poorly in a swampy area, due to all the moisture in the air. And, unfortunately, there are a couple of months out of the year during which swamp coolers do poorly in our area as well: monsoon season.

Monsoon Season Is Here

Monsoon season typically starts in July. With it come some startling storms that have a major effect on our climate. The humidity levels in the air go up and up. And those of us with evaporative coolers tend to notice a difference in how well our systems perform.

The air is already full of water vapor, which means it can contain little more. Water from the swamp cooler pad cannot evaporate into the air, which means decreased performance, or a system that just blows warm humid air into your home.

Add-Ons and Upgrades

Some people are prepared for monsoon season with window units that use refrigerant rather than evaporative cooling. However, these window units are ineffective at cooling an entire room and rather inefficient.

Retrofitting your evaporative cooling system to refrigerated AC may make things a lot easier. It’s a big step to take at first. But these systems don’t cost much more to run than evaporative coolers, as long as you get a high-efficiency model. They are much easier to maintain, and they are not an eyesore in your home like window units tend to be!

Robbins Heating & Air Conditioning, Inc. offers evaporative cooler services and AC replacements in La Plata. Don’t waste your time with the run-around. Give us a call and let us do it right the first time!

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