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Are Evaporative (Swamp) Coolers Less Efficient in High Humidity?
For most people,
keeping cool means staying inside with air conditioning. But with a TurboKool
Unit, keeping cool means staying inside with the TurboKool Evaporative (Swamp)
Cooler turned on. Humidity levels make a
big difference in the efficiency of swamp coolers. How well a swamp
cooler keeps your RV cool depends on both the temperature and humidity of the
outside air. The higher the
humidity, the less effective evaporation will be as a cooling method. For example, while the
air is at 10% humidity, the swamp cooler can drop temperatures by up to 20 to
30 degrees, while at 50% humidity, the swamp cooler can drop temperatures by
about 10 degrees. TurboKool Evaporative
(Swamp) Coolers work best on days when the air is driest (lower humidity). A Turbokool unit runs on
5 amps of 12v power and/or a 100 watt or larger solar panel or you can just use
it to save on your monthly utility bill compared to a traditional air
conditioner. It is helpful to
understand that keeping cool with swamp cooling can be problematic in high
humidity, since s Evaporative (Swamp) Coolers run less efficiently in more
humid conditions. Evaporative (Swamp)
Coolers use evaporation of water to cool the outdoor air. A high speed fan blows
the hot, outdoor air through a wet filter element, which allows the air to
absorb some of the filters water as the water evaporates. Air that is hotter and
dryer will absorb more water, therefore keeping your RV cooler. Finally, the high speed
fan circulates the cooled off air throughout your RV. This cooling process
has the potential to lower the temperature of the outdoor air by up to 20 to 30
degrees in low humidity, but in high humidity swamp coolers do not work as well,
if at all. Moreover, when the
heat approaches triple digit levels, then the humidity will negatively impact
swamp cooling at even lower levels. When the outside
temperature soars to 100 degrees, you’re in trouble if the humidity is much
above 25%.” Swamp coolers add
moisture to the air, which while refreshing & cool in dry arid conditions,
may feel uncomfortable & hot in high humidity.
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