If you could buy a really awesome evaporative air cooler that was portable, affordable and easy to use, which would it be?
Let me help you find the top models available at online stores from the top brands at competitive prices today!
I'm sure you already found a bunch of air cooler reviews that ignored your needs and just presented a page full of expensive portable air conditioners that are certainly not evaporative coolers or as cheap to run as them.
Well I'm not going to do that on this page!
What a Real Evaporative Cooler Is and What It is Not!
The first thing you learn to spot when researching these low cost, eco-friendly air coolers is to avoid anything that has the words "air conditioner" included anywhere in the description. That includes any alternative wording like aircon, AC, air conditioning etc.
An evaporative cooler is NOT an air conditioner!
It does not have a compressor or refrigerant gas or a condenser or any of the other energy sucking mechanics that AC's have to make cold air.
It does not require an ugly hot air exhausting vent hose trailing out the window to get rid of all the hot air and moisture that AC's produce. Nor does it require an ugly extractor box mounted on an outside wall.
An evaporative air cooler just uses water (with optional ice) and a fan to chill the air by evaporating the water and blowing it into the room to reduce the temperature. That's all, folks!
Thanks to its frugal use of power (a typical portable swamp cooler only uses 100-200 watts), it out-performs a comparable AC's 1000-2000 watts consumption figure by between 1/10th - 1/20th.
That's a huge power saving which is kind to the environment, kind to the economy and kind to your bank balance.
Best of all, running an evaporating cooling strategy rather than AC will NOT make you cry when your electricity bill arrives in the mail!
In fact, it will make you smile widely when you hear your AC loving neighbor's chilling cry of anguish when he open's his electricity bill!
It's just a shame these coolers only work well in areas that have low humidity (around 50% or lower), which is their only real disadvantage.
But cheer up. Your place has low humidity which is why you're reading this and looking to buy the best swamp cooler you can, right?
Cheap Powerful and Effective Cooling
So now you know why it makes so much sense to opt for evaporation over air conditioning to cool your home as long as you live in a relatively low humidity area, let's move on to the best machine to do the job for all the right reasons.
There are several very good units already available for sale at the top online stores, so what I want to do is put forward my own recommendations of the top three models for differing output and room size needs.
Three Top Evaporative Coolers
Below are three of what I consider to be the best in their class for reducing the room temperature by an appreciable amount to create a comfortable climate while using only the barest minimum of electricity to achieve outstanding results.
Small to Medium Rooms:
This is what I consider to be consistently the best model for cooling a small to medium room size taking into account its output, energy consumption and physical size (including water tank capacity).
Honeywell CL30XC
This popular model can cool a room up to 320 sq ft and run for almost eight hours on its 7.9 gallon tank of water before it needs refilling. Honeywell is a highly respected manufacturer that has several different size and capacity models in its range that are all great to use, but this is my choice of best of the range for smaller rooms.
Medium to Large Rooms:
For medium to large size rooms, you need a more powerful unit to cool the air down by an appreciable amount. It needs to do it without making it too cold or using more power than is really necessary, while having a good water tank capacity for long running between refills.
Luma Comfort EC220W
This is a surprisingly compact machine with a big output capacity sufficient to cool up to 650 sq ft and keep running for hours with its 10.6 gallon water reservoir tank. It's a great machine for keeping your feeling comfortably cool wherever you are in the house, workshop, garage or office thanks to its high capacity to push more air through its evaporator than smaller units while keeping running costs down.
Very Large Indoor Areas and Outdoor Spaces:
Sometimes you have a very large indoor space that you need to keep cool but you also want to keep energy usage to a minimum while providing all the cold air you're likely to need to stay comfortable.
While there are dedicated indoor models that are perfectly adequate for inside the home, it's a good additional bonus to be able to get a unit that will also do a great job of cooling work spaces like a workshop or garage, or even completely outdoor spaces.
Like terraces, patios, porches and even around the pool or barbecue area. Now this is a machine that can output a huge amount of cold air fast while still only using a fraction of the energy that a similar size AC would use.
Honeywell CO60PM
This surprisingly compact, good looking unit has an enormous 15.5 gallon water tank capacity and can cool a space of up to 850 sq ft and works indoors and outdoors. It's the perfect cooler for open plan homes with large open spaces, large workshops and garages as well as larger office spaces.
The best side of this model is its versatility when it comes to wheeling it outside onto the patio to keep everyone cool on those really hot summer days when there's no natural breeze.
Remember: High Humidity Stops Swamp Coolers Cooling
Lastly, please remember that these coolers will not be as effective in areas of high humidity. Always check with your local weather station to find out the average humidity levels in your area.
If it's too high (above 60%), you may be disappointed with the performance of this type of cooling device. In that case, a traditional air conditioner may be a more effective way to stay cool during hot weather.
While evaporating coolers can still produce cold air in slightly humid air, you can increase their effectiveness by leaving a window open to ensure the excess moist air is allowed to circulate out of the room.