Build Your Own Solar Evaporative Cooler

By: Jim Eddy - Susanville, California

I live in an all solar house in Northern California. It is a passive design so

the sun heats it by shining in the windows. I solar heat our water and have a 1
kilowatt solar electric charging system providing 110 volts of AC power. The one
thing I could not do was cool the house easily in the summer without taxing the
system. I purchased an evaporative type unit for indoors but it did not do much
good. A compressor type air conditioner would use more energy than I could
supply and a regular evaporative cooler would use a lot of energy. I figured that
some sort of solar cooler could do the trick.

I spent sometime looking for a solar evaporative cooler on the Internet.

Those that I found were bulky, ugly and expensive. Most cost around $ 600.00 and
up. The above pictures are of a solar evaporative cooler that I made using easily
purchased components to cool our 1600 square foot house. I spent roughly $300 to
make this unit. It is in it’s fifth year of use. If you have some of the components
already you could spend much less. The cost of a new solar panel to power the unit
is around $550 and can be purchased at many local or on line stores.

Afternoon Summer temperatures range between 85° to 95° in this part of

California. The cooler that I purchased is smaller than I should have for my house
size, but it does a good job of keeping the house cool. With the fan and pump
modifications, it maintains a temperature difference of about 15° between the
outside and the inside. As I am writing this it is 4:30 in the afternoon. The outside
temperature is 92° and the inside temperature is 77°. Anyone with an existing
evaporative cooler of any size can make a similar looking cooler, or you can buy
one like I did.

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 I decided to use an existing evaporative cooler because I didn’t want to re-
invent the wheel. All the components are already there, the cooler pads, a trough to
hold water, a float valve to let more water in and a water distribution system. As
you can see from the pictures I
mounted a 12 volt radiator fan in front
of the existing opening and I opted to
leave the existing AC pump, motor and
squirrel cage intact. Since I have 110
Volt AC power available at my house,
on occasions, I use the existing AC
pump and motor after the sun has gone
down to continue cooling the house. I
was concerned that leaving everything
there might significantly block the
airflow, but it seems to work just fine.
You could remove the existing motor
and pump and It might work even
better. If you do use the AC fan, make
sure the 12 Volt fan does not turn as it
could cause it to burn out. I use a coat
hanger inserted through the front and
placed between the 12 Volt fan blades
and it’s housing. It seems a little hoaky
but it keeps the fan from turning.

I purchased the electric radiator fan at a local auto parts store. I paid around
$80 for it and have seen similar fans on the Internet for $35. The pump is a 12 volt
bilge pump that I purchased at Wal Mart for around $14. Make sure that you don’t
use too strong of a pump or you will blast the water into the feeder tubes.

At full speed the fan pulls 5.5amps @ 12 volts. The bilge pump pulls around
1.5 amps @ 12 volts. A 100 watt solar panel will power the fan and pump nicely. I
am using a Mitsubishi 110 Watt panel that is mounted on a solar tracker that I
made. The panel and tracker are mounted on the ground in front of the cooler. In
previous years I have placed the panel flat on the roof just above the cooler. That
worked fine for most of the day. The tracker extends the time in the afternoon
when the summer temperatures are keeping things hot.

You can decide for yourself how you want to mount the fan. I drilled holes in
the sheet metal and used sheet metal screws to attach it. I did have to do some
cutting of the sheet metal with a Dremel tool to make it fit. Radiator fans can be

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hooked up two ways electrically so the fan can blow air in either direction. Make
sure you hook it up correctly to blow the direction you want.

I removed the existing front cover to expose the opening. I then placed the fan over
the opening to determine the best fit and drilled holes in the sheet metal.

I opted to leave the cover in tact as much as possible so I had to fit the fan back
into the cover before mounting everything to the main housing. It was a tight fit!

After sliding the fan into the cover, I mounted both onto the main housing with the
existing sheet metal screws and 4 new ones for the fan.

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The bilge pump can be placed in the water right alongside of the existing AC
pump. You can disconnect the hose from the existing pump and place it on the
bilge pump. You may have to use additional hose and an adapter like I did.

I mounted two new rocker switches to the front of the existing cover on the side
opposite of the existing switches. I was able to drill holes in the plastic and they
mounted nicely.

The finished front installed inside. The panel and tracker that I use.

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 Wiring the solar panel to the fan and pump is relatively easy if you have
some experience. Solar panels have different types of connectors depending on
which kind that you have. Some have junction boxes that allow wire to be placed
into the box and a secure connection made. Newer panels have MC connectors
which allow for a snap fit for multiple panel connections. These would probably
have to be cut to connect the wire. The better way to do this is to buy an MC
extension which has both male and female ends on it. It can be cut in half and then
connected to the panel and then to the wire. I used wire connectors that were
crimped to the positive and negative wires and then to the fan and pump wires and
switches. When I placed my panels directly on the roof I ran the positive and
negative wires over the eave and along the outside wall to the cooler. I placed the
wire in flex tubing to make a neat job. There was an existing hole on the top corner
of the cooler that I could run the wires into. The negative wire went to a common
ground which then went to the fan and pump. The positive wire was run to the two
switches that control the fan and pump. The wires were passed through an opening
between the inside of the cooler and the portion that goes into the window where
the existing 110 AC volt wires were run. They were connected to the switches and
back to the fan and pump. I used tie connectors to keep the wires in place and neat.
I do not use a voltage regulator on my cooler. The fan and pump seem to work fine
without it. There are some panels that have built in regulators. They might function
the best.

A LITTLE ABOUT EVAPORATIVE COOLERS

Evaporative coolers perform best when the humidity is low. On days when
the humidity is really high, the house can feel muggy inside. For those who have
another type of air conditioning system, that will be the time to use it. For the drier
days the evaporative cooler can do quite well. If you can, place the cooler in a
window that is shaded. The sun baking on the metal surface can reduce the
effectiveness. I actually don’t have mine shaded, but you should do what I say and
not what I do.

Evaporative coolers draw air from the outside and as it passes through the
pads it is cooled and blown into the house. It is best to close all the windows in the
house except for one that is farthest from the cooler. I open the back bathroom
window about half way. You can feel the air exiting the house at the window. I
place a piece of toilet paper up to the screen and it will stay in place from the
exiting air.

The cooler is a little noisy and it can be irritating when the sun goes behind a
cloud and the fan slows down and then speeds up when the cloud goes away.

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 Updates

July 17, 2009

Last year towards the end of the season, the fan began slowing down and
eventually quit. I had to replace it with a new s-blade fan that I found on the
Internet for around $30.

I have had a few problems with the bilge pumps. I have replaced several of them,
usually at the first of the year. I am not quite certain why. It could be the higher
voltage coming from the unregulated solar panel causing the pump to burn out
quickly. The other reason my be that I have not totally dried the pump out before it
gets stored away for the winter. It may just rust and seize up when the air gets to it.

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The following is a partial list of items that you will need.

Materials: Purchased at: Price

New Evap cooler 3000CFM Wal Mart, Lowes,

Home Depot $ 300-400
Evap cooler you have Home $0
12 Volt radiator fan Internet, Auto Supply $ 35-80
12 Volt bilge pump Wal Mart $ 14-18
(2) 12 Volt switches Radio Shack – Auto Sup. $ 4 ea
12 guage wire Radio Shack – Auto Sup.$ 10/25feet
Additional hose for pump Hardware store $2
75 to 125 watt 12 Volt solar panel Internet $ 400-600

Wire connectors, flex tubing to cover wires, sheet metal screws, fuse and
fuse holder, tie straps to make a neat job and keep wires in place. Good Luck!

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