Ask the Experts: Upgrading Your Swamp Cooler to Cool A/C For Hotter Summers

Published April 17th, 2024 at 3:46 pm, Last Updated April 27th, 2024 at 9:54 am

It is the time of year when many Albuquerque homeowners begin the arduous task of opening up their swamp cooler and wondering if this is the year they should finally convert to A/C.

To learn what the process really looks like, and how new financing options help homeowners manage, we asked Chad Redford, CEO at Kidzz Mechanical, an Albuquerque-based HVAC firm with more than 200 5-Star reviews on Google about today’s conversion process.

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Chad, a lot of homes around Albuquerque were built with swamp coolers, but those don’t seem to work as well as they used to. Why is that?

The biggest issue with swamp coolers in our climate is that 10 or 20 years ago our monsoon season occurred in late August/early September. Now in recent years we get our monsoon season in early/mid July.

When the rains come the relative humidity increases from our usual 5-10% humidity to 25-35% relative humidity. When the relative humidity increases to over 20% a swamp cooler only has the ability to change the temperature or air by 6-7°.

This change in climate has encouraged many people to convert to refrigerated air so that they have the ability to stay comfortable during the hottest days of the year.

And, we all know that swamp coolers can lower inside temperatures by up to 20-degrees. On our hottest days, inside temps can still be unbearable. The National Weather Service shows us that ABQ is seeing more high temperature days each year.

How long does it take to upgrade or install a new air conditioner?

In most cases we can install a new air conditioning system in one day.

Many people think they can’t afford an upgrade, but you have lots of reviews online from customers who did. What financing is available now?

At one time, homeowners had to pay the full cost before installing or upgrading to a new unit. But we’ve made upgrading more accessible.

We have worked with Wells Fargo to provide hundreds of our customers with many different rate plans that accommodate their budget. Wells Fargo offers many different options based on your credit.

If I’m not ready for an upgrade yet, do you handle smaller jobs like opening my swamp cooler?

If you’re not ready to upgrade your system yet, we have some of the best service technicians in the state. Sometimes your system just needs a tune up and some maintenance to get it operating properly and heating or cooling your house like it should. We offer very affordable maintenance packages and repair options.