Evaporative (Swamp) Cooler Under Title 24: Credit and Requirements
Only indirect and indirect-direct evaporative coolers listed in the Energy Commission's Title 20 database earn compliance credit, and direct coolers earn none. On the prescriptive path any evaporative cooler is treated as a minimum-efficiency 14.3 SEER2 air conditioner. Performance credit needs a specific list of installed features.
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Which swamp coolers count
A direct cooler, which passes outdoor air through a wetted pad, is not allowed for compliance. Credit goes to indirect coolers, which use a nonporous heat exchanger, and indirect-direct coolers, which add a wetted stage downstream. The model must appear in the Commission's Title 20 evaporative cooler appliance database. A window or portable unit fails the credit criteria, which require permanent installation.
Prescriptive path: a stand-in air conditioner
Evaporative coolers may be used with any compliance approach. In the prescriptive approach every evaporative cooler is treated as a 14.3 SEER2 air conditioner, the minimum efficiency, so there is no bonus for it. A cooler that misses the feature list below is modeled the same way on the performance path.
Performance path: the feature checklist
Typical cooling-budget credits run 20 to 30 percent, depending on climate and sizing against the load. The installation needs all of these:
- Manufacturer certification of water use at or below 7.5 gallons per ton-hour.
- Automatic relief dampers with air velocity no higher than 800 feet per minute, ceiling dampers into an attic or sidewall dampers without one.
- No bleed system, and a pump-down or conductivity water-quality system, with pump-down set to at least 6 hours of cooler operation.
- An automatic thermostat, since manual on/off control is not allowed.
- A winter closure device, a water inlet of 3/8 inch or smaller, plus a sump overflow that stays off a direct drain connection.
Keeping the cooler when you add air conditioning
When both types are installed, the size of the evaporative cooler sets the credit, so one sized to meet most of the cooling load earns more than a small one. Several coolers are modeled with averaged effectiveness, summed airflow and summed power. Backdraft dampers are required at the supply if the ducts are shared.
Paperwork
The installer's certificate is the CF2R-MCH-04-E. Evaporatively cooled condensers are a different product with their own water-use limits. For central air, read adding air conditioning to an existing house, SEER2 ratings, then the AC replacement checklist. A residential report models the credit.
Common Title 24 Questions
- When is Title 24 required for a home?
- Does a remodel need Title 24?
- Does a room addition need Title 24?
- What plans are needed for a residential Title 24 report?
- How much does a residential Title 24 report cost?
- How long does a residential Title 24 report take?
Frequently Asked Questions
Credit is optional. A cooler that does not qualify is simply modeled as a 14.3 SEER2 air conditioner, and permit requirements are decided by your building department.
Evaporative coolers are excepted from the air filtration requirements of Section 150.0(m)12, which apply to ducted cooling systems.
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