Yep; physics is pretty much immutable, and there are only so many ways to move heat from one place to another, and we know just how efficient at that each system can theoretically be.
That said, if Carrier, Trane, or another large HVAC/heat pump manufacturer comes out with a new way to do something, it’s probably worth looking into, even if it’s probably more along the lines of eking one or two percent out of the current methods.
But some unknown seller of cheap Chinese crap? Almost certainly a scam.
It’s a scam, of course, but just a side note about the alleged legitimacy of “swamp coolers”. This is just a term for a type of humidifier. They might – might – have some slight benefits in very dry climates, but are otherwise not only useless but counterproductive. The last thing you need in hot weather where humidity is a major factor is even more humidity! One of the most important attributes of real air conditioners in most circumstances is that they not only cool, they also dehumidify.
I’m sure it’s real. After enhancing the picture, I noticed a turbo encabulator (miniaturization is awesome). And, if I’m not mistaken, a Retro Encabulator: A device that generates power using modal interaction of magneto reluctance and capacitive directions. The synergy between the two types of encabulator combined with vacuum energy is what drives the breakthrough in AC technology.
Swamp cooler works wonders here (very dry climate in northeast Wyoming). My AC died earlier this year and with all the havoc in international markets I was loathe to pull the trigger on a new one; the cheap alternative to get me through was a portable cooler and it has kept me comfortable!
The fact that it sits entirely within a room tells me it doesn’t do any cooling. If it did, where would the heat energy go? It looks to me like it’s just a fan.
There is zero doubt they work in dry climates if set up and maintained properly. Usually nowhere near as well as actual air conditioning, mind you. Anyone who claims that is nuts. For one thing they often take forever and a day to get going because they don’t replace air volume quickly. But I’ve stayed at a facility in the Mojave desert that had swamp coolers and yes they made life more bearable when it was 95F outside and dry as a bone. And they’re much cheaper to run than AC.
I’ll always take AC myself, but swamp coolers have their niche.
The niche being a piece of equipment that is total junk when brand new. They only get worse after that. They may work under the right conditions, but they are never worth it.
For some definition of “work”. I guess I’m sensitive to this issue because I live in a climate where hot weather is usually also associated with at least enough humidity to make the heat feel worse. Yet in this very climate, I remember once seeing one of these abominations being sold in some place like K-Mart or Walmart, and in this climate, a humidifier being sold as a “cooler” and A/C equivalent is nothing short of outright fraud.
When I was a child here in Arizona we had swamp coolers because that was all that was available. They were good for about a 20-degree F drop up until late June, somewhat less than that afterwards when the monsoon season kicked in and the humidity went from single-digits to about 40%.* That meant on a 110-degree day the inside of the house would be 90.
I also remember how when window air conditioners became available all the master bedrooms go one but us kids did not.
*You guys in Atlanta and New Orleans can stop laughing.
It’s the exhaust from all those swamp coolers in Wyoming blowing your way.
My swamp cooler story:
I had one about the size of a small window AC that I used to cool my grad student apartment where ACs weren’t allowed. It had about 1-2 square feet of swamp cooler foam, which was saturated with water, and then a fan pulled air through it. I could measure a temperature drop of 1-5F between the input and exhaust air. It was real, it worked, it just wasn’t magical.
If I was going to run a fan anyway, I may as well use one that actually cooled the air, even if only slightly. This was pre-hockey stick, and with typical humidity in the 15-30% range.
