[MakeLV] Make Lehigh valley Digest: Re: Swamp Cooler (Swythe Quirksettle)

[Joe Dunfee]

I have a bit of refrigeration training, and can add my recommendation 
against attempting to convert a refrigerator to an air cooler.  The 
gasses and system is designed to work at a certain temperature, and 
if you attempt to run it at 70deg, rather than 32deg, you will not 
get efficient performance.  Plus, the total amount of heat the 
refrigerator can pump out of a room is tiny in comparison to a real a/c.

I will bring up another idea, that of thermal banking of the building 
itself.  This is where you attempt to use the cool night air to cool 
the building as much as you can, so that you can have a cooler 
building during the day.  In my own house, I actually keep the 
windows closed over much of the day, so that I can keep the cool air inside.

The exhaust fan you are talking about can both get rid of the hot air 
that accumulates at the top of the building, but also might help 
ventilate during the night.  Security may be an issue with some of 
the windows, but the exhaust fan may not have the same security 
issues.  The hot air at the top of a room can really make a 
difference, because when the roof is hot, it radiates its heat to the 
occupants below.

To a large extent, you just have to experiment with what you 
have.  Some buildings are so poorly sealed that closing windows at 
night don't make as much a difference as you might like.


Joe Dunfee  joe at dunfee.com
Gordonville, Pennsylvania, U.S.A.