Last week here in Reno, NV, temperature went into the high 90s. My one-bedroom apartment has no built-in cooling. It was literally like a sweat lodge in here all night long. Even with two fans going I drenched my sheets in sweat. Something had to be done!
My apartment is less than 500 square feet. Many of the other apartment residents here have small air conditioning units installed in their windows. I could have done the same except I am miserly when it comes to electricity consumption. In order to cool even my small square footage I would have needed something along the lines of a 10,000 BTU unit at 115VAC. Such a unit would have drawn over 7 amps. My evap cooler draws only 75 watts on maximum fan speed.
So, how well does it cool my apartment? So-so, I admit. But if I add ice to my water and additional ice into the receptacle in the top of the unit it sure makes it more comfortable in here than otherwise. It’s a good compromise.
A 10,000 BTU a.c. unit would have cost more than twice as much as my portable evap cooler. I would have needed to construct a support system in my window area for the a.c. unit and then add some material to block the leftover open window space. Too much hassle for me.
The evap cooler is on casters so I can easily move it from my front room to my bedroom as needed. With its lower energy consumption I can even (modestly, of course) claim a reduced carbon footprint. I wish I could say it was made in the U.S.A., but it isn’t. Ain’t much I can do about that.
I’m now sleeping much better at night and reveling in cool(er) comfort during the day.
So, what’s happening in your home repair/improvement world?