How Does A Swamp Cooler Work?

Have you ever traveled to a place with high humidity? You may have found your hair curled, your skin was softer, but you seemed to sweat a lot more. Your body used the moisture in the air to make you sweat, and cool you down; a process called evaporative cooling. This same principle is used when it comes to swamp coolers. Swamp coolers are prevalent in warm, dry areas, such as Utah, Nevada and Arizona, where there’s less moisture in the air, and evaporative cooling can work by adding moisture in the air. But how does a swamp cooler actually work? The following animations will give you a better idea of what’s happening in that machine that makes you comfortable in those warm summer months.

A swamp cooler uses moisture to cool air. A swamp cooler (which is also called an evaporative air conditioner) works by taking warm outside air through wet evaporative cooler pads, effectively cooling the air. The cold air is then blown into a home by a blower motor through a vent. The main parts of a swamp cooler can be found in the diagram below.