Great informative video! For anyone who is having trouble deciding, I'll give my two cents. First off, if you are anywhere east of the Mississippi river, portable AC unit attached to a window is the only option. If you are like me and live in the Southwest (Phoenix here), both will work. For instance, I live in an older home with somewhat poor insulation, so once the internal AC goes off for our whole house, individual rooms tend to warm up quickly if we keep our doors shut (hello, privacy!). My roommate bought a portable AC unit and had to deal with the hose and attaching it to a window etc. It essentially cools down his whole room which is great. Because of the shape of my window, I went with an evaporative cooler. Much cheaper, much more quiet, and doesn't need a window. The main difference is this doesn't really cool down my whole room, instead if I am working at my desk and have it pointed directly at me, it keeps me nice and cool. The downside to this is if you have a guest over who doesn't like a fan pointed directly at them while in bed, this won't work well! Hope I helped someone out with their decision.
Here in Phoenix too. Buying an evaporative cooler for a small room tomorrow. It’s away from any windows so it’s the only option. Anything will help honestly. Gets way too warm in that room
*Love this unit! Using upstairs in my sons bedroom **Fastly.Cool** and he’s finally able to be comfortable upstairs without me freezing downstairs. Works for more sqft than expected!*
Thanks for your honesty & good explanation of both!! So basically one can't have a portable AC without a window & hose arrangement. Swamp cooler doesn't work in humid climate!! Hope some1 comes out with a portable AC without window or hose arrangement - 🤞&🙏.
Without anywhere for the condensed heat to go, a portable AC unit without a window arrangement physically cannot work. It would be essentially be like having the AC on with a heater on at the same time. Think of it like kicking yourself in the ass in order to be able to fly!
I live in the uk and have had both types. The ‘swamp cooler’ worked great at first but having to change the water and clean the filter constantly became annoying. It got a whole lot worse once the filter became smelly and unfortunately, there were no replacement filters available to buy, so I was stuck with something that literally smelled like a swamp. I’ve replaced it with an actual AC that uses a pipe that goes out the window and, while it is a lot more expensive and much louder than the ‘swamp cooler’, it works brilliantly. Cools the room down very quickly and gets the room much colder than the ‘swamp cooler’ was able to. Both are good and do the same job. It’s just about what type of climate you live in and how much you’re willing to pay.
You can use swamp coolers in humid areas. You can put ice cubes in to drop the water temp to get better cooling if theres room in the water pan. You just need a lot.of ice
Thank you for this app explanation!! I wanted an evaporative air cooler but it turns out that won’t work as well as Belgium is quite humid. I finally got an answer to my questions 🥰
I just ordered an swamp cooler from best buy. I think the same one in this video,based on the info in this video. Fingers crossed it works as well as you say.
@@Ninjabike285 yes it does. It wont cool off the whole room on a triple digit heat day,but it keeps me cool when I'm sitting in front of it. Helps me to sleep too.
I bought the exact same Newair evaporative cooler for $200 something and in California where the weather reaches up to 110-112 degrees it was no good! So I ended up buying a Hisense portable ac from Lowes a few days ago that cost $400 for super hot days. The evaporative one is no good on 80 degree or higher days. I bought it a year ago, so your video wasn’t posted yet. I would recommend the $400 one especially where I live we don’t have a home AC. The $200 is good for spring time. This video is very correct!
The evaporative cooler is not effective in humid climates such as coastal California's. Also, at 110 F, even with humidity down to a dry 5%, the evap cooler's output air temperature will still be a balmy 77 F. Depending on the size of the room, that might get ambient air temperature down only into the low 80s. Though, at those temperatures, a portable A/C unit would not be particularly effective either.
ya but what if your house is already air-conditioned with central air to some extent? Your AC would lower the humidity levels significantly, I would think, especially during days that are hot and also not super humid. I plan to use it for specific times, so in the computer room or during sleep without needing to cool the whole house down but to also use the central AC of my house. Some are only 10 watts, and this seems so much more efficient.
I agree . Evaporative coolers will work okay to augment central air... Even in somewhat humid areas because the central air will pull the water out of the air...
I'm in Texas and I use the cooler to alleviate excessive usage on my central air conditioner, once an air conditioner go in Texas you might be fighting for your life and sanity, not to mention expense to replace at a whooping 5k to 7k , I'd would much rather replace a cooler any day, my central air stays on, but at a low comfortable temperature and my coolers are blasting nice cool air because I make sure to add ice packs and big blocks of ice, cold 🥶 water to the coolers keeps a 1400 square foot home pleasantly nice inside all summer
Technically both are acs. Ac stands for air conditioning. He should state one is a evaporative cooler and the other is a refrigerated unit, which invloves an evaporator, condensor, compressor, access to outside to vent the excess heat.
@@gamingofthelegend3907 you cold buy a portable swamp cooler and blend ice with the water to get colder air if youre not able to get access to an outside exhaust.
I have one room in my home in Florida that is warm would an evaporative cooler be helpful ? It’s just that one room the air conditioner is always on in the house and the humidity in the home is 44% would a evaporator in just that one room cool that room down ? I don’t want a big cumbersome AC TO BLOCK A Window WHEN I have central AC. just that one room is so HOT in comparison to the rest of the house. Please help !
Questions A: Is it ok to have the windows open with the swamp cooler or will it let the cool air out? B: If I live in a poorly insulated place such us a trailer/modular home then will the cool air simply seep through the thin walls with a swamp cooler?
I’m in Vegas as well. Out of ALLLL of these Coolers which have u found to be the best?!--I just ran across your channel & noticed you have tested many so out of all of them can you tell me which is the best Portable cooler ? Thanks .
I live in a humid area and I tried evaporator cooler nothing worked but I bought a portable dehumidifier and it was working perfectly fine I give the dehumidifier 10/10 I give evaporative cooler 3/10
In the eastern US and other humid areas, it basically is just a fan. (Actually, a box fan might be better since it would allow you to sweat more efficiently.) In dry climates, evaporative coolers are very effective. In Denver, I have gotten my apartment down to the low 70s where the temperature outside was 95 F with 10% humidity. The evap cooler was pulling in hot air and cooling it off substantially. It all depends on the humidity of the intake air.
Mostly correct.... But you forgot about about one thing.... The central air conditioner will kill a lot of the humidity in the air.... After that .. the evaporative cooler will work better. There is no doubt that an evaporative cooler will work better in Arizona than it will in Alabama... The difference between the two would be extreme if you were trying to use an evaporative cooler to replace central air.... However.... If you augment central air with an evaporative cooler.... It's not a "nothing Burger".
Damn I was really looking into to getting a evaporative cooler since I wouldnt have to have a big tube out of my window and keep it open but since I live in australia it looks like that would not be a good idea. Thanks for the vid! Saved me from investing in the wrong one!
Depends where in Australia you live. If you live on the east coast anywhere north of Sydney, the climate is probably too humid for an evaporative cooler. If you live in Adelaide, Melbourne, Perth or Hobart, they should work fine during most heatwaves. They also work well if you live in inland or desert regions like Alice Springs or Mildura. If you live in Brisbane or Darwin where the weather is crazy humid in summer, the evaporative cooler will only really work as a fan, it won’t actually cool the air.
Heya, if you are talking about those small cubes that are advertised seemingly everywhere at the moment, those are definitely evaporative coolers. And their small size means that they cool a lot less air than the big unit shown in the video, but at least they consume a lot less power. Hope that helps.
How don’t you understand his explanation? Water evaporation is exactly what it sounds like, it’s basically a fan blowing on water to cool the air it’s moving, an AC unit has a condenser and actually creates cool air, and exhausts hot air out the window, in other words if you have to put water in it, it’s an evaporative cooler
In hot weather, what makes one uncomfortable is the high humidity in the air, not the high temperature. If the moisture is removed from the hot, humid air, the surrounding hot air becomes bearable. With water cooled AC, the unit injects additional water vapor, (humidity), into the air to make the air even more uncomfortable. That is why you should never purchase a evaporative AC if you wish to truly cool the air in the room. YOU WILL REGRET IT !! In fact, with an evaporative AC, you will discover that the hot air in the room being cooled will become hotter, more humid and much more unbearable. This is the main reason for suggesting not buying evaporative ACs in humid regions of the country. I speak from experience and a great deal of research into portable ACs.
I live in Alaska . I can’t get one of those fans for the window because of the shape of our windows. When the weather gets warmer - there’s NO a breeze so it’s too hot in the home
I live in North Carolina and I am not sure it will work here. because of humidity. I don't want to cool a room, I just want to keep my tenant cool so it would just be for personal use right up near his bed. Will it work that way if he puts ice in it?
Hello my friend drives a truck with no AC in Florida and you mentioned that the evaporative cooler won't cool in those conditions. However, do you think it would work in the small space of her truck? Thanks
Florida humid though. In dallas area is mid humidy climate and at time humidy levels drop the 30s but average in 50s. in 55 to 60 percent humidly evaporative cooler do not cool enough if get pass 85 degrees. which makes only good for spring and fall cooling.
It definitely will not work in Florida. Basically, if the dew point is above 50 F, the evap cooler will do little to cool and will generally only make things muggy and sticky. This is especially true in small spaces with no ventilation.
The A/C chiller coil attracts moisture from the air as moisture goes to the coolest place , from there it condenses into a drain off & runs (or is pumped) away to drainage (outside) thus not only does a/c cool the air down , it reduces the humidity level , allowing your body to naturally regulate its temperature better
AC is always going to be more comfortable when sized properly but it is expensive operational costs. Evaps are well suited for locations such as garages and patios where you badly need cooling but it doesn't have to be chilly cold. My garage can be well over 100 degrees in the summer so with an evap it gets down to mid 80s, enough for me to do work in there.
I picked that portable AC over swamp cooler I don't care about noise is not that loud I still can sleep. Swamp cooler it gets very humid you need to open up your windows you forget to mention! If you don't open your windows it get very hot and very humid I used to own swamp cooler I didn't like it! Also my living room it doesn't get cooler because you need to open your windows portable AC is not that expensive compare to centr AC.
So, question. Just, hypothetically, what if you live in a humid area but get a dehumidifier to pair with the evaporative cooler? Would it work then? Or, would the dehumidifier actually work against the evaporate cooler as well? Or, would you just be better off investing in a portable a/c at that point?
you can get low energy (150w) quiet dehumidifies that can take 12 litres a day out the air - they are relatively cheap and need no installation. A really good evaporator cooler is also still relatively cheap and quiet. Result, still much cheaper to run and much, much quieter. There are definitely circumstances where i think this is people's best solution
We get a lot of water out of the air where I live, a dehumidifier works a lot like an air conditioner by cooling air to condense the vapour, except the heat is put straight back into the air so it's relatively efficient. We can lower the humidity by about 20% with a small 12l unit, which fills up every day.
My question is which one is better I live in Anaheim California the weather sometimes in spring or summer gets to be 100 to 115 mostly I’m just in the room I have two fans still gets hot
Currently, it's 85 F in Anaheim with 55% humidity. If you were running an evap cooler at this moment, the air would be too humid for it to cool your room effectively.
Lol Seattle is normally more than 60% humid, sometimes getting as high as 90%. I’m gonna take a guess and say that the evaporative cooler won’t work well here 🤣
Another thing to point out is the refrigerant cooler is NOT portable. It has to be stationed where the vent is going to be placed unless you decide to make multiple vents on the house and move it from room to room. Also the evaporative cooler can have ice added and if you don’t k ow what that means we’ll here you go, ice is around 30🌡 degrees Fahrenheit or 0 Celsius. You will not find an a/c that goes anywhere near 50🌡 Fahrenheit or 10 Celsius. Want to give dry ice a try -78 Celsius/-109 Fahrenheit yes that’s right NEGATIVE TEMPERATURES BELOW ZERO.
Thank you for a nice review. One small nitpick (sorry just a pet peeve of mine) you used the word "efficient" when I think you meant effective. Efficient in this case would mean more cooling out for less power input. I'm sure the evaporative cooler is more efficient not less. Thanks
No, but as the air becomes more humid the less it actually cools. So, in theory, opening a window will keep the air drier and allow the unit to cool better. But 🤷