Whole House Evaporative Cooling - Pros and Cons??

• 

  bonezAU on 02/12/2016 - 15:08

  +2

  I have had evap in my last two houses and from a cost of running point of view it's great when compared to reverse cycle. I know people who get super high power bills in summer >$400-500 for a family of 4 and the only difference between their house and mine is the type of air con.

  My power bill only rises a little bit in summer, but the gas bill also takes a dive since I'm not using the heater. Works out fairly even.

  I think evap would be okay in Melbourne. It's alright here in Perth when it's a dry heat, but as soon as there's a sniff of humidity, evap becomes next to useless. That's why a lot of people prefer reverse cycle I guess.

  In summary I think it's good for the price it costs to run and maintain. It certainly beats a ceiling fan.

  edit: I don't know how up to date this information is but I heard a while ago that it costs about 2-3c per hour to run whole house evap.

  • 

    psyren89 on 02/12/2016 - 16:58

    Considering the cost per kW/h of electricity is ~25c, that means evaporative AC units only use ~100W/h, which is completely unrealistic.

    • 

      retiredfeline on 02/12/2016 - 17:05

      * kWh and Wh

      Power is multiplied by time to obtain energy.

      If the motor only draws 100W then that would be a correct figure. But I think a bit more.

• 

  Nugs on 02/12/2016 - 15:18

  +1

  We installed it our first (& previous) house - Adelaide.

  Pros;
  we left ours on 24/7 as it had a thermostat. come home to a cool house after work.
  we would leave all windows shut and leave back door open (screen closed/locked) - helped cool down our outside entertaining area as that is where air was directed (animals love that).
  maintenance on modern units is easier as they self drain water after being inactive and also the model we had would only dump water based on high salt content (older models simply had a permanent water flow/drain).

  Cons;
  can be sweaty on humid days - hence not popular in Qld
  has trouble cooling the house down if turned on when get home after work - hence we left it on 24/7
  doesn't cope well with strings of 40C days

  we had a drum style fan (Breezair)

• 

  havebeerbelywillsumo on 02/12/2016 - 17:28

  +2

  You really need to look at the humidity where you live, this comment is oh so true "can be sweaty on humid days - hence not popular in Qld". This said from experience of having a portable.

• 

  slipperyslippers on 02/12/2016 - 17:46

  I have Reverse Cycle at home and Evap where I work.
  Personal preference is Reverse Cycle, can programme it to come on before I get home and it's super quiet.
  Half the time at work I feel like I'm in an Indian Sweatshop. Not pleasant.
  I'm in WA

• 

  Succulent Synth on 02/12/2016 - 18:06

  If you are anywhere near bushland avoid Evap. The embers from fires can be drawn through an evap and spread fire through your house quite quickly.

  My in-laws (WA) can almost never use their evap in summer because thanks to a local firebug. Even when they can use it is is too humid and doesn't work anyway.

• 

  johninmelb on 02/12/2016 - 18:50

  I live in the Melbourne metro area.

  We get the odd humid and sticky days, but not that many over a whole summer period.

  But I understand these things work more effectively in clear heat.

  AC would be nice, but I find it too cold. Not good for my chest going out into the heat and coming back into the cold, though I am retired, so I tend to spend more time at home than out and about. I have a single AC unit in the wall in the lounge, that the previous owner installed. I use it sparingly to keep my electricity costs down. It is a godsend on 40 degree days, but it only cools one room.

  The real problem is that if we have a couple of really hot days, the bricks heat up, and then the house takes ages to cool down again, even if there is a cool change.

• 

  coin saver on 03/12/2016 - 07:17

  A lot of my mates here in Adelaide have ducted Evaporative for regular use and a Reverse Cycle in the living area for the very humid days. The main reason i prefer Evaporative is the constant flow of fresh air through the house.

• 

  SaberX on 05/12/2016 - 03:35

  I don't know, i found evap air conds in summer and hot days in perth in the 30's , still hot. While the air flow and house was 'cooled' it doesn't ever get to that icy cool or 'comfortable' temperatures of the low 20s that one could program with a ducted RC or split system.

  I've had evaps all my life and am finally built and trying to install RC into my house. WHat i did was go with the shael grey colorbond roof to forgo my love for basalt colourbond, and hoping the scarifice for looks will come in handy when hotter days take longer to heat up. I would aos think other proactive approaches to reduce the need to use air cond as soon or often, would be to get the solar powered fan extractors in lieu of whirlybirds. They work 4 or 5 times more powerful I was told by the potential isntaller, whereas whilrybirds are still good for heat movements in the ceiling space i guess.

  but yeah i would say the only benefit of evap has for it going is the cost to run. Otherwise arguably any other system is going to be cooler more often during extreme temperature.