Stay Cool for Less
One of the most economical ways of staying really cool indoors and out is by swapping your AC for a swamp cooler, which cools by evaporation and uses a frugal 100 watts or so of power. Yes, you read that right! Not kilowatts: watts!
That's about the same as a regular incandescent light bulb uses, so if you're worried about the cost of energy this summer, you can save yourself an absolute ton of money by ditching he AC and running swamp (evaporative) coolers instead. They're also cheaper to buy, so you save even more!
They do a great job of keeping you cool and while they don't have the same power as air conditioning to drop the temperature down into the 60s (and why would you want it that cold anyway?), they can do a respectable job of dropping the room's temperature by a good 20-25 degrees. Now when its in the 90s, that can mean the difference between you and your family melting in the heat or relaxing in a cool 70s degree environment which is actually where you want it to be.
So what's the deal with these machines and why doesn't everybody go for broke and use these instead of the more "traditional" air conditioners?
There is one major disadvantage with these devices in that because of the way they work (cooling by evaporation) they only work really well in hot, dry atmospheres. If you live in a humid place, where the average daily humidity is above 60% or so, then you're going to get a reduced chilling effect from these appliances.
The rule you should observe here is if you have high humidity, you're going to have to pay for AC if you want to be cool, because there really is no better alternative right now. At least none that are so effective.
Sure there are other things you can do to stay comfortable. Like for instance shading the house from the sun, keeping doors and windows closed during the day to keep the heat out etc. But you're still going to feel warm even with the best conditions when the temperatures outside are in the 90s and above.
But if you live in a dry air area, lucky you! You get to choose a swamp cooler and enjoy the amazing benefits of chilled air for such a low cost. You can find out more about these amazing machines here: https://portableswampcoolers.com where they are explained in greater detail and several top models are reviewed in depth for your information and convenience.
Additional resources can be found on evaporative coolers here: https://energy.gov/energysaver/articles/evaporative-coolers and their installation here: https://www.denvergov.org/
That's about the same as a regular incandescent light bulb uses, so if you're worried about the cost of energy this summer, you can save yourself an absolute ton of money by ditching he AC and running swamp (evaporative) coolers instead. They're also cheaper to buy, so you save even more!
They do a great job of keeping you cool and while they don't have the same power as air conditioning to drop the temperature down into the 60s (and why would you want it that cold anyway?), they can do a respectable job of dropping the room's temperature by a good 20-25 degrees. Now when its in the 90s, that can mean the difference between you and your family melting in the heat or relaxing in a cool 70s degree environment which is actually where you want it to be.
So what's the deal with these machines and why doesn't everybody go for broke and use these instead of the more "traditional" air conditioners?
There is one major disadvantage with these devices in that because of the way they work (cooling by evaporation) they only work really well in hot, dry atmospheres. If you live in a humid place, where the average daily humidity is above 60% or so, then you're going to get a reduced chilling effect from these appliances.
The rule you should observe here is if you have high humidity, you're going to have to pay for AC if you want to be cool, because there really is no better alternative right now. At least none that are so effective.
Sure there are other things you can do to stay comfortable. Like for instance shading the house from the sun, keeping doors and windows closed during the day to keep the heat out etc. But you're still going to feel warm even with the best conditions when the temperatures outside are in the 90s and above.
But if you live in a dry air area, lucky you! You get to choose a swamp cooler and enjoy the amazing benefits of chilled air for such a low cost. You can find out more about these amazing machines here: https://portableswampcoolers.com where they are explained in greater detail and several top models are reviewed in depth for your information and convenience.
Additional resources can be found on evaporative coolers here: https://energy.gov/energysaver/articles/evaporative-coolers and their installation here: https://www.denvergov.org/