[Tfug] *Way* OT: Swamp coolers, ACbrrs, etc.

[Matthew Shucker]

On 6/18/07, Bexley Hall <bexley401 at yahoo.com> wrote:
>
>
> But, beyond that, it gets murky.  I.e. early in the
> day, the outdoor temperature *tends* to be on the
> rise.  So, even if the above conditional is false,
> it may be foolish to run the cooler since it will
> soon be *true*.  And, once all that moisture has
> been introduced to the house, running the ACbrrr
> thereafter puts a greater load on the ACbrrr to
> *remove* it (to achieve a given level of cooling).
>

Your last point is the important one, I think - the *least* efficient thing
to do is switch back and forth, because the AC and cooler work against each
other.  So there's no equation; you use the cooler until you feel like
you're sleeping in a broken water bed, then you switch to the AC. ;-)  The
guys who installed my cooler actually recommended manual dampers (so I have
to go on the roof to switch between AC and cooler) specifically because it
makes people less likely to switch back and forth excessively and waste the
power.

Matt