A/C vs. swamp cooler?

It wouldn't matter to me which was more efficient. A swamp cooler is a pretend AC unit. It evaporates water, therefore humidifying the room. Also a real AC unit can run in reverse and serve as a heat pump for winter.

You must have different "real AC units". Mine won't run in reverse. It's pretty much exactly like this: Except it and the supply air ducts are located in the basement of my single-story house.

Cindy Hamilton

Why on earth could an AC unit not run backwards? You just reverse the pump. Every one I've seen in the UK (commercial and home) has been able to do this. The controller usually has settings for heating, cooling, or automatic. On automatic you can simply set a range (say 18 - 22C) and if it goes over, it cools, if it goes under, it heats.

On 5/7/2018 9:08 AM, Jimmy Wilkinson Knife wrote: ...

Those aren't "just" AC units; they're heat pumps specifically designed and built to do so....an AC unit is just that; the condenser/compressor connected in cool mode without all the other auxiliary arrangements to operate in heat/cool mode.

I would suspect the AC will use significantly more. Compressing gas in an AC is going to take significantly more energy than a pump moving a small amount of water a short distance. They both have fans, though the AC needs more fan power too, because it has to blow air through the condenser coils too. In fact, using less energy is probably the main feature of a swamp cooler. How much that comes to in $$ will of course depend on the size, climate and hours it's run.

For most of us, no need. We only use cooling here for two months. We have very efficient central heat and the AC goes into a window in the summer for cooling only. It can also get very cold here.

In more mild areas, central AC with heat pump is common and works well.

How hard is it to make a motor run in reverse?

If you only cool for 2 months, I assume you heat for more than that. Why wouldn't you want a heat pump for that? Why wouldn't you want them both to be the same unit?

What you're describing is what is referred to a split unit system or inverter. After screwing around with a through the wall A/C unit which was noisier than all get out in the size needed to cool the addition, I finally got smart and picked up a split system (air handler inside, compressor/inverter outside). What a difference. Very quiet (hard to tell it's running, actually), and much cheaper than our old A/C unit. And, as you say, when heat is needed, the system reverses itself and heats the interior drawing heat from outside even when it's in the 20F degree range outside.

You know so damn much, why are you asking us? Go figure it out yourself. I for one, won't educate you. All you do is turn your troll questions into a 300 post thread of BS.

That's not what is done; what _is_ done is much more efficient but just reversing the motor on an AC unit won't "get 'er done" in reality.

It's his peabrain which runs in reverse. LOL

In places where a swamp cooler works, a little more humidity isn't a bad thing.

Climate is the other part. In some places a swamp cooler just adds to the already high humidity and is not very efficient. They are best used in the southwest US. Never saw one in the east.

I wasn't aware they still made the one way systems. I know of several commercial and domestic places around here in the UK who have had AC units fitted (and they only wanted to cool the room down), and they're all reversible.

I've pointed out a superior system and asked why you're using the old one. I'm waiting for an answer.

Ok so it's a load of valves instead of just running the compressor backwards, but basically it's just reversing the flow.

Why bother with the gas at all? Just have enough heat pumps to pump heat in winter and summer.