If you’re looking for an efficient way to cool your home or business, don’t make the mistake of forgetting about evaporative coolers (also called swamp coolers). They can be a good choice here in Roaring Fork and Vail Valleys. That’s because our cooling demands are less because our temperature drops overnight.
A few quick words about how an evaporative cooler works. It takes outside air, passes it over water saturated pads that cools it, and a fan blows it into the structure (generally no ductwork) displacing the air that’s inside through open windows or other vents. Because no energy is used to cool the air it is energy efficient.
They come with some particular needs you have to be aware of. Unlike an air conditioner, you can’t just turn on a swamp cooler when the warm weather arrives in the spring. You need to call us at Climate Control Company to assure the proper startup procedure is followed because there are several steps to “de-winterize” the unit.
There are some limitations. Unlike an air conditioner, it does not take humidity out of the air. In fact, a swamp cooler adds moisture, which generally isn’t a problem because of our dry western air. But in some cases, that creates a mold problem or air that can smell musty. In addition, an evaporative cooler does NOT recycle air. It’s always bringing in outside air, which can be a problem when there is heavy smoke or dust in the air (for example, when wildfires are burning) creating problems with indoor air quality.
Another thing to know about swamp coolers is uneven cooling within some rooms. Climate Control Company has a great alternative or addition that can take care of the shortcomings. It’s a ductless air conditioner or a mini split heat pump system. It’s a great way to cool (or heat) a room or multiple rooms.
The units are very popular because of the small size and can feature as many as four units or zones connected to one outdoor unit. They are also easy to install requiring one small hole drilled through the wall.
So as spring arrives, count on our professional technicians at Climate Control for all of your repair, service and maintenance needs. We will be happy to get your swamp cooler up and running for the season, and if you want to supplement it with a new mini split system, we can take care of that as well.
