While some evaporative coolers may only consume about a quarter of the electricity required to run an air conditioner it’s very important to take into consideration their water consumption. Although no official studies have been released, it is estimated that an evaporative cooler used to cool a 1500 square foot home can use anywhere from 96 to 200 gallons of water per day. In our water-starved Arizona cities that’s a lot of water to use – and waste – through evaporation! Using an evaporative cooler is not efficient, and it’s not Phoenix-friendly.

As air conditioning units get more and more efficient there’s really no reason to use or install an evaporative cooler. It might not be a bad idea to use a swamp cooler for small areas in your home, like a garage or back patio, but for a full-home solution, we don’t recommend it.