As I think of my favorite newspaper advice column, Dr. Swamp Cooler, by Jim Belshaw in the Albuquerque Journal I will say the big thing in my life today is installing new air conditioners at the house. The old swamp coolers have pretty much corroded out. I think if one were to sneeze on them they would simply collapse into a pile of calcium and rust particles.
We debated long and hard over the swamp cooler vs. refrigerated air units for the house. We are sticking with swamp coolers because in the long run they use less electricity and after power generation at the power plant they use only slightly more water. PNM has a nifty chart on this.
We might install bleed valves on the units which changes the water out every few hours but we will store that water in barrels for the irrigation of the landscaping. The bleed valves mean a lot less buildup of crud in the air conditioners. That is good.
Also, we are saving a lot of money by not having to install new duct work for refrigerated air. That would mess up the roof and outside appearance of our nice little home.
Frankly, I also like the ability to have fresh air in the house.
As I noted yesterday, Bobbi and I were in Colorado Springs. Before leaving early in the morning there was a national report on TV that featured Hillary Clinton and Governor Bill Richardson. The one thing that stands out to me is Bill's great sense of humor. He is not afraid to use it and the rest of the candidates, so far, seem absolutely grim. The story showed the Guv getting a big laugh out of a crowd of people gathered in a New Hampshire home.
2 comments:
Great site, Jim. Say hi to Justin for me. Daniel R. Patterson, Tucson
Love your blog Jim. And so timely this blog entry. I installed a new swamp cooler last year (and I have a fairly shadey house in Albuquerque). But honestly, I've been thinking of getting refrigerated as (aside from energy and water use) there are so many disadvantages (eg need the windows open, doesn't work well in humidity, is noisy). But now reading your blog, I may just stick with my swamp cooler. Perhaps I'll get a little portable refrigerated unit for those extra hot days when the swamp cooler isn't cutting it.
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