| Santa Fe homes have some of the nation's most | | | | more air changes per hour within a home, which |
| advanced cooling systems, thanks to the region's hot, | | | | dramatically reduces air age. |
| dry summers. Central air conditioning is common here, | | | | Common evaporative cooling methods include direct |
| but homeowners and builders who want to reduce | | | | evaporative cooling, indirect evaporative cooling, and |
| electricity costs and environmental impact have turned | | | | two stage evaporative cooling. Direct evaporative |
| to other cooling methods to get the most bang for | | | | cooling is the same as described above, with an air |
| their buck. One of the most popular and efficient home | | | | intake sucking moistened air inside, pushing it through |
| cooling systems in the Santa Fe region is evaporative | | | | the building, and later venting it outside the building. |
| cooling, a combination of ancient techniques and the | | | | Indirect systems work by the same process, except |
| latest in air flow engineering. Homes in Santa Fe use a | | | | without air passing freely through the building. They |
| variety of different types of evaporative cooling | | | | contain the cooled air as it passed through the building |
| methods to keep their home comfortable all summer, | | | | in some type of heat exchanger, thus making the |
| and reduce air dryness in the winter heating seasons. | | | | building cooler without increasing the humidity. |
| Evaporative coolers employ the simple principle of air | | | | Two-stage evaporative cooling pre-cools the air in a |
| humidity to reduce overall home temperature. They | | | | heat exchanger before sending it through the wet |
| are typically comprised of a metal or plastic box on | | | | cooling pads. This results in less humidity throughout the |
| the outside of the house, with vented sides for air | | | | building, because cooler air doesn't hold as much |
| intake, a centrifugal fan or "blower," an electric motor | | | | moisture as untreated warm air. |
| with pulleys, and a water pump to wet the evaporative | | | | Another advantage of evaporative coolers is their |
| cooling pads. In cooling homes, they simply draw air | | | | cheaper installation cost - they usually cost one quarter |
| through the vents, which pass through the damp pads | | | | to an eighth as much as much as air conditioners to |
| and out into the rest of the home. Because they draw | | | | install, and require much less energy to operate. Many |
| air from outside the building, evaporative coolers must | | | | Santa Fe real estate buyers and sellers have saved a |
| be accompanied by vents to allow air to move from | | | | lot of money by learning the basics of evaporative |
| inside to outside. The venting system allows for 15 or | | | | cooling. |