Forums > Specific Focus > Home, Garden & Construction in Mexico

johanson

May 7, 2007, 5:00 PM

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It is very hot lakeside

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Unlike some parts of Mexico, when in gets hot in the GGA (greater Guadalajara area) the humidity is very low. It reached 88 F today yet the humidity was only 20%.

On the humid coast, when it gets very hot it is also very humid. Down there on needs to run an expensive air conditioner to cool the temp and at the same decrease the humidity. Here were we want to increase the humidity as we decrease the temperature, we can use a much cheaper alternative, an evaporative or swamp cooler. Here is a post I made about my swamp cooler on another forum.
"A swamp cooler is the way to go in this very dry climate. I'm running mine on low right now. The outside air temp is 88 and the humidity about 20%. At the low setting, I am using only 328 watts of electricity, a small fraction of what an A/C would be drawing. The temp coming in at this moment is 63.4 F. I checked the room sensors. The interior temp averages 74 F and the humidity a pleasant 36 % on the second floor of my home. For me the perfect Temp is about 73 to 76 F with a humidity of maybe 40 to 45%."

bournemouth

May 7, 2007, 5:35 PM

Post #2 of 10 (4938 views)

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Re: [johanson] It is very hot lakeside

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Coming from Arizona where, at this time of the year in the Sonoran desert, the humidity is about 8-10% - and the temperature in the 80's-90's - that's when an evaporative cooler works best Pete. We always found that once the humidity got over 15-18%. the cooler became much less efficient. You also need really good thick pads for efficient cooling - can you get them here?

But - truly, 20% humidity is not very dry - but I guess if you come from Seattle, maybe it is - there is a smile on my face while I type this.

bournemouth

May 7, 2007, 5:36 PM

Post #3 of 10 (4937 views)

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Re: [bournemouth] It is very hot lakeside

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P.S. I think this thread ought to be moved to Home/Garden etc. - it seems a more appropriate location for the information.

johanson

May 7, 2007, 7:11 PM

Post #4 of 10 (4919 views)

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Re: [bournemouth] It is very hot lakeside

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Having lived in humid Seattle, WA, Steenwijk, Drenthe, and Oberammergau, Bayern, I have never lived in an area where the humidity dropped so low bournemouth. The lowest I have ever seen is here in Ajijic at perhaps 17 to 18% and that is when it is at it's hottest here, the humidity is at it's lowest.

I am no expert at evaporative coolers. I only know that although I have an air conditioner and an evaporative cooler, all I use in Ajijic is the swamp cooler. It uses a fraction of the electricity, and cools the air to a nice temperature, while bringing up the humidity to a more comfortable level.

Sadly, I do not know anything about the size of the pads. Mine are about 3 cm thick and work just fine. A big help I am Smile

. I clean them once a year. This is the first part of the world I have ever lived in where one needed to cool the air.

Rolly / Moderator

May 7, 2007, 7:39 PM

Post #5 of 10 (4911 views)

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Re: [johanson] It is very hot lakeside

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Right now in Lerdo at 9:30PM, it's 91° at 15%. I have my swamp cooler on low, and the room is fine. The low setting works fine to 100° or more this time of the year because it still cools off at night. But soon the nights will stay hot, so the brick walls and concrete roof don't have a chance to cool down. As we move into summer, the swamp cooler will have to run at medium and then high 24/7. Except for our rare rain days, the cooler runing on high will keep me happy until about 95°, above 100° I get very cranky. Fortunate for me, after May, we don't often get to 100°.

Rolly Pirate

E-visit me http://Rollybrook.com
On Facebook as Rolly Brook

jreboll

May 7, 2007, 10:29 PM

Post #6 of 10 (4896 views)

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Re: [johanson] It is very hot lakeside

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Can anyone recommend a make or model of a swamp cooler? I have a bedroom that is 300 sq. ft with 9 foot ceiling that I would like to humidify/cool.

pat

May 20, 2007, 4:26 PM

Post #7 of 10 (4799 views)

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Re: [Rolly] It is very hot lakeside

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Do those of you who use swamp coolers use whole house coolers, or portable (one room) coolers?

Pat

Rolly / Moderator

May 20, 2007, 5:08 PM

Post #8 of 10 (4791 views)

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Re: [pat] It is very hot lakeside

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Some are in-wall units, some are whole house which require duct work. Portable units are a waste of money. They raise the humidity level in the room to the point that the cooling action stops. I once worked in a place with portable coolers; it was not satisfactory.

Probably the most common brand is Lenomex. I have two of their in-wall units that work just fine. I installed their largest roof-top units for my building projects. The two (up stairs and down stairs) at Doña Martha's house work very well. The ones at Las Casas do not work nearly as well. The difference is the engineering of the duct work. The guy who did Martha's house knew what he was doing. The other project had two different ductwork guys who did not do as good a job.

Installing a whole house unit is a lot of work and can be expensive, while in wall units are much easier and less expensive. Whole house units can (probably will be) more expensive to operate because they cool the whole house while, perhaps, only the bedroom needs cooling at night. The major drawback to the wall units is the noise -- much louder than a house unit.

Rolly Pirate

E-visit me http://Rollybrook.com
On Facebook as Rolly Brook

Papirex

May 20, 2007, 6:38 PM

Post #9 of 10 (4782 views)

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Re: [Rolly] It is very hot lakeside

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Rolly, when you get into ductwork, there are many things to know about that are not obvious to the layman. It is a trade, and like most of them it takes special training and education to do the work properly.

Moving air, unlike water or electricity does not take the path of least resistance. Turning vanes, and balancing dampers must be used inside the ducts to direct the direction the air moves in. Sometimes a simple scoop will be fabricated to catch some of the air and direct it into a side duct.

When a square, or rectangular duct makes a 90° turn, turning vanes must always be used to direct the air around the turn. If the turning vane is not used, some of the air will get around the turn, but backpressure will be created, and the flow rate of the air will be reduced.

A balancing vane looks like a heavy duty metal Venetian blind, with unmovable vanes. A balancing damper is a type of valve for the air that can be partially closed or opened.

There is a profession that specializes in balancing the air and heat flow in buildings. They usually only will be seen working on very large projects after all construction has been completed. They are called by the not surprising name of “balancers”; it is a very specialized occupation. They adjust the flow rates of all the heating and cooling pumps, duct systems, and the air handlers. An air handler is a large fan system used in large HVAC systems. Often, the air handlers are so big that you can open an access door and walk inside of them.

Next to a bird feeder, a house is about the simplest structure you can build. Mistakes and shortcomings are often not noticeable to a layman. If the airflow problem in your Las Casas project is troublesome enough, it might be wise to have the contractor that did the ductwork at Doña Martha’s house look at the work to possibly correct any shortcomings.

It is very hard to find a truly qualified tradesman or contractor in México. I have yet to find one that didn’t claim to know how to do anything I wanted done. Some of them have been pitifully lacking in knowledge, experience and ability.

Rex

"The supreme happiness of life is the conviction that we are loved" - Victor Hugo

Judy in Ags

May 30, 2007, 6:56 PM

Post #10 of 10 (4707 views)

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Re: [johanson] It is very hot lakeside

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We've passed our fourth anniversary here in Ags. May is the hottest month and it is not hot here. We use a fan in the bedroom at night as the bedroom is on the west side and warms up in the afternoon. Once in a great while we'll use a fan an hour or two in another room, but that's pretty rare. We are in "la gloria" here.