Cooling Your Off-Grid Home: Why Swamp Coolers are a Game-Changer for Living With Solar

Cheapest Way to Cool an Off Grid Solar Powered Home

So how does one cool an off grid cabin in those long hot days of summer? I plan to use off grid evaporative cooling...ie, a swamp cooler running off my solar array.

I am not up at my off grid 80 acres quite yet. And where I am now living in the RV I will be hauling there to live in...it gets HOT! Very hot...We have had 30 days of triple digits in a row in years past. Everyone lives here with Air Conditioning.

Well my 30 ft Wildcat RV like all RV's is barely insulated, and without running the AC will actually get hotter than it is outside...on a hot summer day. About 2 weeks ago, while I was up at the property I left the air on...mainly to keep my cannabis seeds cool. Sadly the AC broke down and stopped cooling at all. I have looked into it and can get a replacement unit under warranty...but that could be a month out.

This made me think about alternatives, I was wondering if I could really even run my conventional AC off my 20 KW's of solar...more than likely I could on a sunny day.

Arid Climate Cooling: Can You Run a Swamp Cooler on Solar Power?

The short answer is yes, yes you can...and much more efficiently then a regular AC unit. An RV conventional AC unit can draw 4500 watts or more. While a swamp cooler generally will draw 100-600 watts, depending on size.

Another consideration when considering swamp coolers for off grid living is they work best in a dry environment. The less relative humidity the better they work. My property runs about 40% or lower relative humidity in the summer...which bodes well for cooling with an evaporative cooler.

With conventional air conditioning you would need a large solar setup to be able to run it at all on those hot nights. A swamp cooler however can be run 24/7 with a much smaller setup. I think I will be able to run one easily on my 20 Kw setup I will start with.

Do Swamp Coolers Work Well? Will a Swamp Cooler Keep You Cool?

Again the short answer is yes, I think they work great, and I am comfortable right now in my RV on a 90 degree day...even though the thermometer tells me it is still 80 in here. The reason is swamp coolers generally move a tremendous amount of air, and if it is blowing directly at you the moist cool air feels wonderful...very comfortable.

I bought this Hessaire swamp cooler at my local Home Depot...Oh too, BTW...Home Depot stores around here are all cooled with large commercial swamp coolers.

This Hessaire 1300 CFM swamp cooler is an indoor model, made to just sit in a room and cool the space. I found it to work well in that regard till it fills the air with moisture and the humidity begins to approach 60-70%, then it becomes inadequate...just stops getting the job done. The fix??? I opened a window, put it in front of the open window...so it was drawing most of its air from outside. I could feel the difference immediately, as both the humidity, and temperature began to drop again. My conclusion...I am going to take this one back and buy an outside unit that installs in a window.

The only real disadvantage of a swamp cooler is it needs water to work, so you either fill it's water tank periodically, or you hook it up to a pressured water source. I am using this one right now, and it works well...but I have to do some experimenting to get it to cool the best it can. When I get my window unit and install it up on my off grid property I will mount a 55 gallon drum higher the the swamp cooler and just gravity water down to it. I would imagine I can run it for a few days on that much water.

Conclusion

Do you have any experience in off grid cooling of your living quarters? Any other ways that work well, and can be run with a solar system? I would love to hear your input in a comment. There certainly are some alternatives...some of which have been around for thousands of years...

here is what AI has to say...

Cooling in the desert the old-fashioned way relies on passive cooling, evaporation, and ventilation. In arid environments where the air is bone-dry, these time-tested, low-tech methods work incredibly well without electricity or high energy bills.

1. Evaporative Cooling

• Wet Cloths and Mats: Ancient Egyptians and Greeks hung wet reed mats or cloths over windows and doors. As hot desert air passes through the moisture, the water evaporates and forces the temperature in the room to drop. [1, 2]
• The Zeer Pot (Clay Pot Refrigerator): Used as early as 3000 BC, this involves placing a small earthenware jar inside a larger one and filling the gap with wet sand. Covering it with a damp cloth creates natural refrigeration through evaporation, dropping the inside temperature significantly. [1, 2]
• Wetting Clothes: Wearing a dampened t-shirt or wrapping yourself in wet towels is a quick, direct way to cool down, mimicking the body's natural sweating process.
• Wind Catchers: Originating in ancient Persia and Egypt, malqaf (wind catchers) are high architectural towers built on homes to catch prevailing breezes. The tower funnels cool air down into the living space, forcing hot, stale air out on the other side. [1, 2]
• Thermal Mass: Ancient Puebloans in the U.S. Southwest and Sumerians used thick mud, adobe, or stone walls. These dense walls absorb the intense heat of the day, keeping the interior cool. By the time the heat radiates through to the inside, it is already night and the desert has cooled down. [1, 2, 3, 4]
• 3. Smart Daily Routines
• Night Venting: Desert nights cool down dramatically. Open your windows and doors at night to let the cool air in, then shut them tight mid-morning, blocking all blinds and windows to keep the hot air out during the day. [1, 2, 3]
• Strategic Chores: Settlers and early inhabitants delayed cooking, baking, and heavy chores until the cooler evening hours so they wouldn't add artificial heat to their living spaces during the day. [1]
• Regulating Body Heat: Pour cold water over the pulse points on your wrists and the back of your neck to cool your blood flow quickly.

I will be experimenting with some of these methods up at my property as well. Refrigeration without using any power has me interested. Again leave me a comment...share your thoughts.