Tim Killian wrote:
Robert Gammon wrote:
Tobius wrote:

Robert Gammon wrote:

Crusader george wrote:

In article ,
"Rod Speed" wrote:



Andrew Barss wrote


Oscar wrote


Then again, 22C is cool, but comfy (PMV = 0.007), with vel =
0.1 m/s
and clo = 1 insulation. Raising vel to 0.5 and lowering clo to
0.5 makes
35 C at 65% comfy (slightly cool, with PMV = -0.54, on a
scale from
-3 = cold to +3 = hot), according to the BASIC program in the
ASHRAE
55-2004 comfort standard, so he might have just used a ceiling
fan on
that day... 28C at 35% with clo = 0.5 and vel = 0.5 is "slightly
warm" in the comfort zone, with PMV = 0.23.


A properly designed swamp cooler system can run with
just the fan and no water, no need for extra ceiling fans.


If you're running it with a fan and no water, it's a ... fan.


Duh.



Swamp cooling relies on the fact that water evaporation cools
nearby air.


Duh.



You pull outside air into the wet medium, and pump the cooler
and more
humid air through the house. It then exits the house through
open windows


Duh. Pity that post was clearly suggesting ceiling
fans IN ADDITION TO A SWAMP COOLER.



(to the poster who recommended closing all the windows,
that's going to completely undermine the whole thing).


He's too stupid to be able to work that out for himself.


anyone read Rex Robert's book? "Your Engineered House"
advocates natural air flow. Low vents and high exit vents to
promote the
natural air flow as heat rises.
We love ceiling fans too. And a light color for the roof. the garage
sports a wind turbine. Cool!



Swamp coolers only work in LOW humidity areas, and they rely on cheap
access to water.

Desert Southwest is one such place.

The way to make them work better is to invest in a 1000psi to 2000psi
water pump and pump the water thru very fine nozzles to create a
fog of
ultra fine water drops. These drops FLASH over to vapor phase when
they touch almost anything. Restaurants in the Desert Southwest use
this technique to allow patrons to eat dinner outside in the
summertime. Water quality is a concern as the nozzles are so tiny.
Reverse Osmosis filtration helps greatly with this issue, and
minimizes
the mineral residue (ultra distilled water would work even better, but
is more costly)

I just ran across this refrigeration AC unit last night:

http://partsonsale.com/sunchillsolo.htm

It looks promising ... don't know how much it costs though.

-tm


Answers

About $5K for the base unit. Plumbing to the house is very very
similar to a Swamp Cooler as there is only a 1200CFM fan that blows air
across the refrigerated coils. Low power, runs off 120V 7amps peak,
averages about same as 100W light bulb. RUNS WITHOUT POWER for up to 3
hour, longer of an optional solar panel is attached. SEER is
calcualted at 983, YES NINE HUNDRED EIGHTY THREE!!

Homeowner is resposible for distribution of the refiregerated air. In
low humidity climates (less than 40% RH is the quoted figure), one unit
will cool about 1000 SQ FT. In high humidity climates (80% RH is
quoted) one unit will cool about 500 sq ft

Right now, I am sitting at 91F and for us a lower than normal RH of 44%
Heat index is 94F


The Solcool unit sounds like the two-stage evap coolers that were
promised five years ago. For one reason or other none of the systems
ever made it to large scale manufacturing. I see one big drawback for
SoCool - the $5K price tag, which is about 10X the cost of a similar
evap unit. I don't see them getting much demand on the retail side
with prices like that.

One wholesaler told me the HVAC companies hate evap coolers because
there is so little profit in them compared to regular systems. Maybe
with the the higher price point, they'll start pushing these Solcool
systems.

Agreed, in the Desert Southwest, where swamp coolers work well, they
both cool the house and add needed moisture. This thing expands the
envelope of applications outside the region where swamp coolers are sold.

The more valid comparison is to traditional AC units with which it is
price competitive. It adds refrigeration to a swamp cooler. This is a
very small refrigeration system, only about 1 pound of refrigerant is
used, versus 7-15 pounds in most residential refrigeration AC units.


1200CFM is a typical fan volume in refrigeration AC systems of the same
overall size class as this, they just do not recommend installing it in
a ducted house for some reason. Efficiency is very high, exiting air
temps are very low, air volume matches refrigeration, it looks better
and better.