Re: More on Humidity


"Jim Carr" <newsgroups@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote in message
news:Hp1gi.81632$2K1.646@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
The last band I was in was called Swampcooler (www.swampcoolermusic.com).
The reason for the name is that there is something called a swamp
(evaporative) cooler used in hot, dry climates like Arizona. It's
basically a very simple and cheap way of cooling the air. Of course, it
only works when the humidity is low. Many homes have both with people
switching to AC when it gets too humid.

That's why out here we actually pay attention to the dew point rather than
the relative humidity since these devices don't work well when the dew
point is above 56F. A lot of times when they give the weather they just
say the dew point and skip the relative humidity altogether. That's the
opposite of my days on the east coast.

Essentially the device is a box about roughtly about three or four feet
all the way around. The four sides are vented and have a sponge-like
material in them. A water line is hooked up to the box and a small $12
pump pushes water to the top. At the top four small pipes direct water the
sponges on the side. In the middle is a big fan that blows air through the
bottom into your home. Hot dry air from outside is sucked through the wet
sponges. Water evaporates, which we all know requires energy. This removes
heat from the air, so you get cool, moist air blown into your home.

The fan motor and pump motor are pretty cheap to operate. The sponges need
to be replaced every year or so because of mineral build-up. It also sucks
when the pump goes out since nobody likes being on top of a roof during
the summer, but at least you can grab a new pump at the local hardware
store and replace it yourself in 10 minutes.

Wiki has a decent illustration:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Evap_cooler_illustration.png

Another cool (nyuk) thing about this weather: The towel you use to dry
yourself in the morning is itself dry by lunchtime. Oh, and sweating
*actually* works to cool your body.

I remember back in the fifties and early sixties, they used to sell
something similar for cars. It was a round deal that hooked to the drip rail
above the passenger side window. There was a duct that ran in the window and
an air intake on the front. You filled a reservior with water and it had a
wick that was in the air stream. It actually worked pretty well when the
humidity was low, but was practically useless here in the South where the
humidity in the summer is routinely over 70% and often goes into the high 90
% range.


.

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