How to "Air Balance" Your Home's Evaporative Cooler

What is "Air Balancing"? If your evaporative (swamp) cooler doesn't seem to be cooling your house correctly, you may have parts that need to be replaced. But before you get on the roof and start tearing things apart, take a few minutes and make sure your windows are open just right. For an evaporative cooler to work correctly, all the air in your home needs to be completely replaced every few minutes. It's also important that the air circulates to the furthest window from the cooler. If windows are shut, or not open evenly, parts or all of your house will not be cooled, and the cooler motor will just be working too hard trying to force air into a closed home. How to Air Balance Your Home 1. Cut a tissue into three narrow strips. 2. Turn your cooler onto "HIGH COOL" 3. Start with opening each window in your home 6". 4. At the furthest window from your cooler, lay one of the strips of tissue against the screen. One of 3 things will happen: WRONG - The tissue will firmly plaster itself against the window screen. This means too much air is getting out this window. Open every window in your house another inch, and re-test. WRONG - The tissue won't stick at all and falls to the ground. This means air from the cooler isn't even getting to the window. Try closing all your windows one or two inches more and try again. Keep using this formula until correct. CORRECT - The tissue will lay gently, clinging to the screen. This means all the air being forced into your home is being correctly let out, and is cooling your home evenly. Mark your windows where they need to be open, so it's easy to tell each time the cooler is turned on.       The above information is for general information only, and is not necessarily the opinion of Sutherlands. Always check your local codes before building, and obtain the required building permits.