Depending on where you are this summer, the thermometer is likely tipping the scales at over 100 during the day. If you don't have central air conditioning in your home, there's a good chance you're looking into a small air conditioner for at least one room. You have two main options: window and portable (which requires the installation of a vent to the outdoors). What you probably don't know is that there's a third option out there that's inexpensive, portable, and cheap to run.
An evaporative cooler functions differently than a standard air conditioner. I recently had the opportunity to try out the PACKA45(link) evaporative cooler from Kuulaire at home and was pleasantly surprised! As its name implies, an evaporative cooler uses the same principle your body uses to cool itself off with sweat. By using water from an internal storage tank and a large fan, air is cooled significantly without the use of a compressor, which is the primary reason air conditioners use so much energy.
- Inexpensive (the Kuulaire costs about $200)
- Uses a fraction of the energy a standard air conditioner uses (no compressor motor)
- Requires no vent or other installation (as a portable air conditioner would)
- Works great in arid climates
- Great for outdoor entertaining, as well as inside
- Requires water (I went through around 4 gallons on a 90 degree day)
- Adds moisture to the air (instead of removing it as an air conditioner does), making it less effective in already humid climates
- Shouldn't be permanently used in enclosed indoor spaces due to increased moisture