Swamp coolers and philippines

I've been seeing a lot of swamp coolers on electric appliances stores and DIY hardware shops being sold. They are also becoming popular on open air restaurants. But what is this swamp cooler thing?

Swamp coolers , similar to air conditioners, were invented to turn hot air into cool, the science behind each method is quite different.

Let' see the detailed comparison below:

Air-con	Swamp cooler
Needs to power compressor and pump, generally high energy consumption	Only need to power a water pump and a fan to draw the air through the pads
Reliably dehumidify and cool the air, no matter where you live	Unless the relative humidity is less than a maximum of 40%, swamp coolers are not very effective.
Room must be enclosed	keep a window open.
Expensive to buy	Evaporative coolers are less expensive
Repair and maintenance of air conditioning systems should be left to professional service technicians.	Easily be serviced by any home owner with a minimum of mechanical knowledge, a screwdriver and an adjustable wrench

An evaporative cooler (also swamp cooler, desert cooler, and wet air cooler) is a device that cools air through the simple evaporation of water. Evaporative cooling differs from air conditioning by refrigeration and absorptive refrigeration, which use vapor-compression or absorption refrigeration cycles.

Basically, before buying swamp coolers, you should understand first how it works. As described above , the air must be dry and hot for this coolers to be effective. When humidity of air is high, swamp coolers won't even lower the temperature by 1 degree Celsius. Swamp coolers are suited on countries like Africa, Saudi, Australia, India, Mexico and Hawaii.

Relative humidity is high in the Philippines. A high amount of moisture or vapor in the air makes hot temperatures feel hotter. This quantity of moisture is due to different factors - the extraordinary evaporation from the seas that surrounds the country on all sides, to the different prevailing winds in the different seasons of the year, and finally, to the abundant rains so common in a tropical country.- wikipedia.org

So should you buy a swamp cooler? 
If you have plenty of money then buy one, you might be able to use it on some occassion when the temperature is hot and the air is dry. But if you want to spend your money effectively, don't buy one. You won't be able to use it most of the time. Its better to spend the money by adding it on your budget for aircon then buy an inverter type. Inverter type air-con consumes almost 50% less electricity.

or better yet, use swamp cooler in tandem with air conditioners for optimal temperature and humidity on your room. Just don't blame me if your electric bill (just like mine) goes sky high.

Original article