People tend to incorrectly assume that because swamp coolers do not require exhaust hosework, there is no ventilation required for the evaporative air-cooler. No vent-work for exhausting, however, does not necessarily equal no venting whatsoever. In fact, we can prove the common statement “Swamp coolers do not need venting” to be false based on the reality that these coolers require air circulation and can utilize ductwork. Evaporative coolers do not need a typical, portable-AC exhaust-hose—that is for sure—but they do need to be ventilated and they can use hoses. Units such as the rooftop swamp-cooler, which are aptly named due to their location atop your home, utilize swamp-cooler ducting in order to cool multiple areas of your house. Portable evaporative-coolers, while useful, merely lower the temperature of the room they are placed in. Whether an evaporative cooler is located on a roof, on a window, or in your room, they do—however—require air ventilation. This can be achieved by cracking windows and doors, but what if you do not have access to such openings? Up-ducts are a possible alternative for ventilating your evaporative cooler! But what are up-ducts and how do they assist your rooftop swamp-cooler ducting? What does swamp-cooler ductwork even look like for rooftop coolers?
“Air Ventilator Orange”
“PVC Flexduct General Purpose Blue”
“PVC Flexduct General Purpose Clear”
Do Swamp Coolers Need Ductwork?
Swamp coolers need ductwork in order to cool entire homes. You can install swamp-cooler ductwork for a rooftop-located evaporative-cooler, which would utilize a system of downdraft swamp-cooler vent-work to circulate cold air throughout your home. The term gets its name because ductwork is indeed going down through your home in order to reach each of the rooms it is cooling. But why does your swamp cooler need to be located on top of your house in order to utilize a swamp-cooler downdraft duct? Rooftop swamp-coolers extend their swamp-cooler vent-work down through the roof in order to gain access to the interior of your home. Inside, the ductwork will then continue on, branching off towards other rooms in your home that you are attempting to cool. This is the same, general concept that applies to central AC. In this vein, evaporative-cooler hose-work can also replace central air-conditioning in your home. By this method, swamp-cooler ducting can reach multiple areas of your house that would otherwise not receive cooling if you used a side-draft unit or a unit that is portable. Air-conditioner hose installation necessitates the use of good-quality, long ductwork to vent your swamp cooler. Some people may opt to use rigid ducting, as this type of hosework is malleable and will hold its shape without the use of accessories. Using a rigid, evaporative-cooler roof-duct might be useful for a swamp-cooler downdraft-vent. Rigid ducts can support their own weight as they are bent into twists and turns, which can be considered useful for ducting that is going down into your home. Rigid ductwork will maintain its curved structure despite gravity acting upon it, creating an unmoving system of hosing.
However, using flexible hosework for evaporative-air-conditioning vents allows you to navigate the interior of your house with ease, as you do not need to hand-shape every twist and turn in your ductwork as you would with rigid ducting. For your swamp-cooler roof-duct-work, there are plenty of evaporative-cooler, flexible-duct-work options to choose from at Ducting.com. One such ideal option for your evaporative-aircon. vents would be the PVC Flexduct Light-Duty Clear. This PVC hose is composed of durable polyvinyl chloride, which is a resistant and long-lasting thermoplastic. The PVC-body of this hose is perfect for managing the cool, humid air that evaporative coolers produce. Despite being incredibly durable against abrasions, chemicals, and moisture, this hose is also flexible and compressible—allowing you to vent through tight spaces or around potential obstacles. This is especially advantageous when attempting to route your evaporative cooler with ducting through the confines of your home. Whether it is through your attic or through your walls, figuring out the layout for your ductwork can be difficult, especially when your hosing is too short. Luckily, Ducting.com offers the PVC Flexduct Light-Duty Clear in lengths of 12, 25, and 50 feet! If this is not enough length for you; if you perhaps desire your evaporative, portable air-conditioner with extra-long, exhaust hose-work, we sell connectors and clamps that can join together two hoses of the same inside diameter size. These accessories are perfect for creating an evaporative-cooler hose-connection among multiple lengths of ducting. Utilizing an evaporative-cooler roof-duct for your unit is a great alternative to central AC. It utilizes less electricity than central AC and is more environmentally-friendly because it does not use refrigerants. So, do swamp coolers need ductwork? The answer is yes, especially if you have an evaporative cooler you wish to utilize at its greatest potential!
How Do You Insulate a Swamp-Cooler Duct?
You can insulate swamp-cooler ducting by simply purchasing a portable-air-conditioner hose that has insulation built into the hosework! This is the best method for evaporative-cooler duct insulation, as the hose is composed of insulative layers that will not become compromised by tears or rips. Insulated portable-AC hose-work is ideal for maintaining the temperature of air inside the hose. For your portable air-conditioner, hose-cover insulation is a sheet of foil that can be wrapped around your ductwork in order to insulate it. An insulated, AC-exhaust hose cover, while convenient for temporary applications,
will not last you nearly as long as a portable-air-conditioner insulated-exhaust-hose will. An insulated, portable-air-conditioner exhaust-hose cover is composed of thin foil that tends not to conform to the surface of your hosework. This makes it difficult to get your insulated, portable-AC hose-wrap to fit snugly when you do it yourself (DIY). Portable-AC hose-work that is composed of insulative materials is more durable and efficient than an insulated hose-cover for portable air-conditioners. Because a portable-air-conditioner insulated-hose-cover is merely an imprecise sheet of foil adhering to the exterior of your ductwork, any excessive amount of force can tear away loose flaps of foil. How do you insulate a swamp-cooler duct, then, if not with an insulated, portable-air-conditioner hose-wrap? Insulated swamp-cooler ducting, on the other hand, has layers of insulative materials built into it. For example, Ducting.com’s HVAC Insulated-Flex Ducting is composed from not just aluminum foil, but PET-film and fiberglass as well. This hose does feature an aluminum-foil exterior, but this external layer is professionally-crafted—made to perfectly fit the outside body of the hosework. This means that there are no loose ends on the surface of the aluminum foil body that will allow for tears or rips.
There are multiple layers of insulation built into the HVAC Insulated-Flex; it is composed of PET-film, aluminum foil, and fiberglass. These are all excellent insulators that are meant to slow down the leak of heat. But where is the heat coming from, in the case of evaporative-cooler ventilation? Rooftop evaporative-vents may be located outside, as the units are situated on top of your home. The HVAC Insulated-Flex would be the ideal hose to utilize for a rooftop evaporative-cooler that is exposed to the sun. As your ductwork would be constantly exposed to UV-radiation from the sun, the exterior of your hosing would become very hot. An air-conditioner-hose hot enough will affect the temperature of the air inside of the duct as well. Even a portable-AC-unit hose hot to the touch is enough to deter a typical, portable AC—imagine how much a piece of ducting that has been baking in the sun might affect the cool air inside of it! The insulation on the HVAC Insulated-Flex helps prevent the heat beating down on the exterior surface of the hosework from reaching the interior of your hose. This keeps the cool air inside of the ducting cool! Insulation also offers the added benefit of reducing the amount of noise that your ductwork makes. Just like how air whistling through the hollows of a shell creates a distinct sound, fumes traveling through your hosing can also make noise. Insulated, portable-air-conditioner hose-work not only shields internal temperatures from outside temperatures, but it also lessens the amount of sound your hosing makes. Insulation protects the interior of your portable-AC-unit exhaust hose; hot air surrounding the exterior of your ducting will not heat up the air inside of it. Insulation will also reduce the noise level of your evaporative cooler. For these reasons, obtaining an insulated duct for portable-air-conditioner usage will allow your unit to efficiently cool your home at a lower noise level. You can, of course, use an insulated portable-AC-hose cover in order to insulate your hosework, but a swamp-cooler hose with multiple layers of insulation built into it will outlast a hose cover on any occasion.
What Is the Proper Ventilation for a Swamp Cooler?
The proper way to ventilate your swamp cooler is to ensure that your unit and the room you are cooling has air circulation. Evaporative coolers release cold, wet air into your room, which must eventually be replaced with dry air. This is because air can only hold so much moisture and cannot exceed this maximum capacity. Swamp-cooler ventilation relies on the circulation of outside, dry air. Ventilation can be achieved through window or door openings. It is suggested that you create a 1-2 square foot opening for every 1,000 cfm of cooling power provided by your evaporative cooler.
If you have an 8,000 cfm cooler, then you should allot for an 8-16 square-foot opening in order to secure proper air-circulation for your unit. By any means, swamp coolers necessitate ventilation in the form of fresh air. This is because evaporative coolers are humidifiers, flooding the air with water vapor in order to lower the temperature. Just like how a room cannot accommodate a number of people past its maximum capacity, air similarly cannot allow for water to enter it when moisture exceeds a certain amount. In this vein, in a room that is overcrowded, people will naturally be forced out. This is because there is an abundance of pressure as well as bodies inside of the crammed room, so people will want to go where there are less people (less pressure). This is how pressure gradients work and how objects are directed from areas of high pressure to low pressure. This force works in direct opposition to an evaporative cooler that pumps water into humid air. This is why swamp coolers require ventilation: to replace the humid air inside of the room with dry air outside of it and lessen the pressure-gradient force preventing the swam cooler from exhausting moisture. So, what is the proper ventilation for a swamp cooler? Proper ventilation will ensure that the humidity exits the room you are cooling so that your unit can work efficiently. You can ventilate your room by opening your windows or doors, but there are other alternatives. You can also use up-ducts to circulate the air inside your room. But what are up-ducts?
What Are Up-Ducts?
Up-ducts, also spelled as up-dux, are swamp-cooler exhaust-vents that allow for air to escape through the attic and out through an additional, attic vent. This is another, convenient way to ensure proper ventilation for your swamp cooler if you do not want to open your windows, or if you perhaps do not have them. Opening windows and doors, as mentioned prior, are some of the most common ways to circulate the air inside of the room you are cooling. As you do not want the humidity levels in these areas to build, removing the water vapor from the room is important for the productivity of your unit.
Installing up-ducts for evaporative-cooler units is an ideal alternative for ventilating your home if you do not have access to windows or doors. Up-ducts should be installed in every room that is cooled by your rooftop evaporative-cooler. This evaporative-cooler ceiling-vent ushers humid air into your attic, which then exits a swamp-cooler attic-vent. Consequently, up-ducts also cool down your attic, though this is not its primary purpose. The primary purpose of swamp-cooler up-ducts is to remove the moist air produced by your evaporative cooler. Relief vent-work, in the form of up-ducts, is necessary in every non-ventilated room. Again, these up-ducts are an alternate method for opening your windows to let the humidity escape. An up-duct will even ensure that you do not have to constantly open and close your windows; this evaporative-cooler ceiling-vent cover will automatically open and close due to the air pressure inside of the room. Up-ducts are a great solution for ventilating your swamp-cooler ducting if you do not wish to open your windows. Perhaps opening windows even poses a security hazard. Either way, up-ducts allow for the humidity inside your home to escape via attic, making it a great accessory for your evaporative ducting.
For rooftop evaporative-coolers, ductwork is utilized in order to bring cool air to multiple rooms at a time. As opposed to smaller units, which only cool the spaces in which they are situated, the rooftop cooler provides more cooling power for your home. However, this task would be impossible without a system of swamp-cooler ducting that allocates the chilled, humid air produced by your unit. Using this ductwork would also be inefficient without proper ventilation. Proper ventilation can be achieved by allowing moisture to escape from your home. This can be achieved by opening windows or doors, or by using up-ducts. Behind every efficient swamp-cooler, there are a set of terms and conditions. Productive evaporative-coolers use insulated ducting to ensure outside heat does not affect the temperature of the air inside. The rooms these units are cooling will also be properly ventilated, so that they can continue to pump cool, humid air inside of them. Simply put, it is not a difficult process to ensure the efficiency of your swamp cooler. There are multiple, proper ways to fulfill these conditions, which makes taking care of your unit even easier.