Quote:
Originally Posted by 100_Percent_Juice
Most of us live in Nevada don't we? I guess I shouldn't have assumed we were talking about the conditions we live in and that actually apply to us. 
Who has the temp in their house set at 22F? I guess when I saw the title of the tread I thought it was about which works better here in hot dry Nevada. Not which is scientifically proven to be the better in extreme examples across the board. |
Please try to keep up.
This thread started because Dean actually mentioned his swamp cooler
wasn't working as well due to the higher humidity than normal. Then we were discussing the validity of the "80% more efficient" claim, which failed to take into account the limitations of a swamp cooler. I will readily admit that under ideal conditions swamp coolers are far more efficient, and that Reno is a terrific place to use them. But that doesn't make them "80% more efficient" than heat pumps in general, because a heat pump will work in a much greater operational range.
With regards to the 22F (and the computer labs, etc), they're just to illustrate the concept that different operation requirements have an effect on the discussion of efficiency. For example, what's the efficiency of an evaporative cooler vs. a heat pump for use in refrigeration? It's a bullshit question, because it's impossible to use an evaporative cooler for refrigeration. Similarly, if we're talking about home cooling in Nevada, comparing the two without explicitly recognizing the limitations of a swamp cooler, and saying a swamper is 80% more efficient, is just as bullshit of a conclusion as the discussion of refrigeration. A swamp cooler cannot do the same thing as an air conditioner, so while it's 80% more efficient under ideal swamp cooler conditions, it's also 99% less efficient when the humidity is at say 50% for example.