I bought one for my space in Seattle and it's a game changer. I couldn't get A/C for several reasons, and was really nervous a swamp cooler would do nothing in this climate, but it works great!
Pros:
- You can (and are supposed to) keep the windows open for air flow. No worrying about closing everything off.
- They're rated for way more square footage than window or portable A/C units (although they are pretty directional). For example, mine is spec'd for 1600 sqft.
- Cost.
Cons:
- Requires cleaning. Not as much work as maintaining a fish tank, but it reminds me of that :)
> I bought one for my space in Seattle and it's a game changer.
It's funny how when you search the Internet, everyone says "It's useless in Seattle because it rains so much and is never dry."
And yet...
I'm not sure I agree with all your pros, though. I think good brand new ones are quite pricey, and you can easily find used window A/Cs for much cheaper. In my experience, window A/C units work better at cooling, and handle more square footage, but perhaps you simply got a bigger/more powerful evaporative cooler than I have. No way would mine handle 1600 sqft. I assume yours is not portable...?
I grew up on window A/Cs[1] and I think they're the best, to be frank. They cool a room down much better than a central A/C. If you have a decent size house, a central A/C is probably more economical from an utility bill standpoint if you want to cool the whole house. But if I want it as cool as I'd like it, and only want to do 1-2 rooms, nothing beats a window A/C.
But if you want a portable unit, I think an evaporative cooler is much better than a portable A/C. The latter are crap.
[1] They were "window" A/Cs, but were installed in the walls. Unfortunately, few houses are designed with this in mind, and US society has a weird aversion to window A/C's (many HOAs ban them)
The thing about price is: what are you paying to cover a certain square footage? To cover 1600 sqft with a window A/C, you need a 25,000+ BTU unit for $900+. The A/C units in the price range of that evaporative cooler only cover 450–550 sqft.
(Speaking to my situation, I live in a loft that's one big room, and only skylights instead of windows. Thank goodness for the swamp cooler, because even if I made a custom adapter to run a duct up to the skylights, no portable A/C would be able to handle the footage!)
> The thing about price is: what are you paying to cover a certain square footage? To cover 1600 sqft with a window A/C, you need a 25,000+ BTU unit for $900+. The A/C units in the price range of that evaporative cooler only cover 450–550 sqft.
In societies that rely heavily on window A/Cs, people usually have one per room, and the goal is to cool only that room, so a high BTU unit is not needed. They also couple it with a ceiling fan to get an even temperature.
Used window A/Cs are cheap. I'm trying to sell mine for $75 and no one is buying.
It seems like the design of your living space won't allow for it, though.
Pros:
- You can (and are supposed to) keep the windows open for air flow. No worrying about closing everything off.
- They're rated for way more square footage than window or portable A/C units (although they are pretty directional). For example, mine is spec'd for 1600 sqft.
- Cost.
Cons:
- Requires cleaning. Not as much work as maintaining a fish tank, but it reminds me of that :)