Heat caused by compressing the refrigerant back into liquid is released to the outside air, and the entire cycle repeats. The reality is that modern refrigerated air systems are far more efficient than older ones, but they do require about 50 percent more electricity to operate than an evaporative cooler. Refrigerated air units, however, only run about half as often as evaporative coolers in order to maintain a constant temperature in the home. And because refrigerated air is a closed system, it is nearly maintenance free and seldom requires replacement parts. But don't toss your swamp cooler off the roof just yet, said Rudy Lucero, owner of Peoples Plumbing, Heating and Cooling.
Evaporative coolers are still the best bet and most inexpensive way to cool a house in the summer.
New evaporative coolers, such as the single inlet design that uses an 8-12 inch thick pad, are at least 10 percent cooler than traditional coolers that draw air in through wet pads on all sides. There might be one or two weeks a year here when its a bit humid or raining and a swamp cooler just flat out won't work. Academy is doing more refrigerated air retrofits than it has in the past, as are most companies that do plumbing, heating and cooling, he said. But the upfront costs are certainly greater to the homeowner.