Rooftop Swamp Cooler Ducting: Why You Need Up-Ducts

One of the most efficient ventilation systems that will turn your home or business premises into a comfortable paradise during the hot dry season is a rooftop swamp cooler. In this post, we discuss  rooftop swamp cooler ducting solutions and why you need to install up-ducts

In this post, you learn how rooftop swamp cooler or evaporative cooler works, the benefits of the ducting system,  and why you must consider installing up-ducts for effective cooling in all your rooms or business spaces. 

You will also learn some of the factors to consider when installing your rooftop evaporative cooler system.  Finally, we provide amazing tips on how best to maintain your rooftop swamp cooler ducting system for long-term and efficient performance.

Rooftop Swamp Cooler Ducting – How Does It Work?

The rooftop swamp cooler also known as the rooftop evaporative cooler is a cooling system that uses a fan to pull in warm external air to its cooling component made of water-soaked fiber pads. 

As the warm air passes through the pads, its heat helps in evaporating the soaked pads making it cooler. The swamp cooler also has a pump that delivers water from a reservoir to soak the pads which are the key water-cooling units.

A rooftop swamp cooler ductwork is connected below the cooling unit. Therefore, the fan forces the cooled air downwards to a central location where the cooled air is circulated through ceiling defusers. 

Alternatively, you may distribute the cold air to specific areas or rooms instead of a central point. In this case, you must connect your rooftop swamp cooler to ductwork which then circulates the air through ceiling diffusers in different rooms or working areas

To facilitate air circulation for effective cooling, you should adjust your window openings to allow hot air to exit. 

This, however, may not be practical in some situations. For instance, you may not have windows or find the manual opening of windows inconvenient.  In this instance, you will need to install suitable up-ducts to facilitate air circulation 

Important Note: A rooftop swamp cooler only works in hot climates with low humidity as it relies on the evaporation of water into the atmosphere.

Rooftop Swamp Cooler Ducting – Why You Need Up-Ducts

 

Let’s begin by understanding how a rooftop swamp cooler or evaporative cooler works. This is a home cooling system that as the name suggests, is installed at a suitable location on your rooftop to provide cooling through the ceiling during the hot and low-humid climatic conditions.

How Up-Ducts Work and Why You Need Them 

Rooftop swamp cooler Up-ducts which are also referred to as up-dux,  is a special ventilation airflow vent mounted on your ceiling. It allows warm air to move and exit to your attic through an attic vent. So, how does it work?

When your rooftop swamp cooler system is switched on, cooled air comes out through room ceiling diffusers. This increases the air pressure which forces the up-duct to open for the warm air to move out through the up-ducts. The air is then exhausted into the building’s attic space through roof vents or attic vents.  When your cooling system stops, your up-duct closes. 

So, apart from improving air circulation within your rooms, up-dux helps in cooling your attic area. This is because the air that comes out of the attic vent, though warmer than the cooling air, is cooler than the air outside your attic space.

Why Install Up-Ducts?

By installing suitable up-ducts to support your evaporative cooler, you save yourself the hassle of opening or closing your building windows to facilitate ventilation.  Your rooms will still be well-ventilated even without windows.

You can install an up-duct to a ceiling vent that automatically opens and closes depending on the prevailing air pressure in your home rooms or business offices.

Ventilation Considerations – Rooftop Swamp Cooler Up Ducts

As you plan on installing your swamp cooler your primary objective is to ensure that adequate air circulation is achieved. So, how large or small should be your up ducts or exhaust ducts?

For effective cooling, as the cooled air gets into your room through ceiling diffusers, you must provide adequate ventilation for the warm air inside the room to exit. 

For every 1,000 Cubic Feet per Minute(cfm) of swamp cooler airflow, you need to provide a ventilation opening of 1-2 sq. ft. 

Another option you can consider is installing up-ducts. For every 900 CMF cooler airflow, you require one up-duct.

Rooftop vs. Wall-Mount Ductwork

If your premises require rooftop ductwork, it means you are installing a rooftop swamp cooler. Therefore, your choice of installation location and mounting technique is critical. This is because choosing the wrong installation point or improper installation method can cause a roof leak and cost you much in repair work. 

Swamp Cooler Ductwork

The ductwork for your rooftop swamp cooler, as earlier stated,  should be connected to the bottom of your rooftop evaporative cooler. 

This is to ensure that the cooled air moves downwards through the ceiling defuser at a central location or to specific rooms or areas. For air circulation, you must install up-ducts on your room ceilings to drive out the warm air

WallMount Evaporative Cooler Ductwork

However, your evaporative cooler must be securely mounted on a suitable wall position for wall-mount ductwork but not on the rooftop. 

Unlike the rooftop evaporator, for your wall-mount option, the ductwork must be installed horizontally to give the cooled air a horizontal flow.

The cold airflow is then directed upwards to the ceiling and evenly distributed to rooms through diffusers. As with the rooftop solution, you require up ducts to exhaust warm air through your roof ceiling vents to the attic vent.

4 Main Benefits of Rooftop Swamp Cooler Ducting Solution.

Here are some of the benefits you will enjoy if you have an effective rooftop swamp cooler ducting in place.

Improves Indoor Air Quality – Good for Health

Installation of a swamp cooler ducting system ensures that the quality of air inside your room or building is enhanced.

This is because as the warm air moves up the vent, fresh air moves in from your swamp cooler. The arrangement eliminates the accumulation of bad air in your room for better health

Enhanced Indoor Comfort

With the correct installation of your rooftop swamp cooler ducting system, indoor temperatures within your home or business place will be kept low for enhanced comfort. 

This is because the incoming cooled air from the evaporative cooler will constantly replace the warm air exhausting to the attic vent through up-ducts.

Easy Installation

Flexible or semi-flexible ducts are easy to work with and are made of highly durable materials. Further, there are different ducting options you can choose from based on your ventilation requirements. 

Cost-Effective | Low Energy Consumption

Rooftop swamp cooler ducting is an energy-efficient ventilation system that will save you money. Because the cooling system relies on the evaporation of water, your energy consumption will be much lower compared to other power-demanding air-conditioning options.

Compared to the electrical-based air conditioning system, with the evaporative cooler ducting solution, you can save up to 80% of your summer energy bills.

This is because the solution consumes only 1/4 of the power used by the refrigerated air conditioning option.

Environment-friendly

The rooftop evaporative cooler ducting system is an eco-friendly ventilation solution.  The cooling agent is water which has no negative impact on the environment.

Further, the rooftop swamp cooler ductwork is safe and non-toxic even when exposed to burning temperatures.

Use and Placement of  Rooftop Swamp Cooler Up-Ducts

The primary purpose of the rooftop swamp cooler ducting system is to help remove the warm air inside your home or business space and replace it with the cool air from the evaporative cooler.

The number of how many up-ducts you need depends on the size of your evaporative cooler and room sizes. An experienced installer can guide you on which ventilative cooler ducting type suits your project. The installer must also decide on the best place to install your rooftop swamp cooler to avoid leaking risks and nightmares!

Let’s go through some of the most common types of rooftop swamp cooler ducting and up-duct solutions you can choose from.

Types of Rooftop Swamp Cooler Ducting & Up-Ducts

While there is a wide range of rooftop evaporative cooler ducting and up-duct options, here are some of the most common types you can consider for both your home and business building.

Types of Rooftop Evaporative Cooler Ducting Solutions

Rooftop Swamp Cooler – Flexible Duct 

Rooftop swamp cooler Flexible ducts are tube-shaped with a wire coiling cover to facilitate bending. Therefore, you can easily move then past obstacles by simply changing their bending directions.

To ensure low heat loss to the surrounding area, flexible ducts do come with insulation properties.

Because your evaporative cooler ducting requirement may be varied, there is a wide range of flexible ducts your installer may recommend.

Semi-Flexible | Semi-Rigid  Rooftop Swamp Cooler Ducts

The versatility of semi-flexible ducts makes them the top ducting option for many installers. If you want your duct to be away from any obstruction by bending.

Semi-flexible ducts for your rooftop swamp cooler allow your installer to choose from oval or round ducting options with no reduction in ventilation efficiency.

You can either choose from a double-layer semi-flexible aluminum duct or  semi-flexible stainless steel duct options

Evaporative Cooler Combi Flexible Ducts

Also called Combi-flex Ducts, Combi Flexible duct is a durable non-insulated flexible ducting solution for your general rooftop swamp cooler ventilation needs.

The duct has an internal aluminum material and an outer PVC cover to guarantee long-term performance. It needs to be well-supported during installation to avoid airflow resistance caused by sharp bends.

For enhanced ducting efficiency, combi flexible ducts with larger diameters are recommended.

Some of the combi flexible duct or up-duct solutions your installer may recommend are here

High-Temperature Flexible Ducts

In an industrial setting where a lot of hot air is released, ordinary ducts may not be suitable for your rooftop evaporative cooler ducting project.

For instance, high-temperature ducts are most suitable in boiler rooms, gas welding areas, or heating engine rooms.

Other areas where high-temperature ducts are installed include airports, coal mines, and tunnels.

They come in different sizes and temperature resistance for different installation areas. 

Examples of certified high-temperature flexible your installer can choose from include:

Acoustic Flexible Ducts

If basic ducting is used in your rooftop swamp cooler system, you may find the noise produced by the ventilation air an attack on your peaceful moments! This can be a major problem, especially in learning institutions or when you need cool silent moments at home or office.

 Acoustic flexible ducts reduce the noise caused by air flowing from your rooftop swamp cooler. 

Further, acoustic ducts also provide thermal insulation and anti-fire properties. They are excellent vapor retarders and can be customized to suit your project needs. 

For your rooftop swamp ducting solution, here are some acoustic ducts you can choose from for your evaporative cooler system.

Insulation Ducts

Insulation of your rooftop swamp cooler ducts helps maintain the airflow temperature either from your cooler or as the warm air leaves your room through an up-duct installation.

You don’t wish the cooled air leaving your rooftop evaporative cooler to gain heat as it flows through your ductwork.

So, effective insulation of your ducts ensures cooling efficiency. Further, insulation offers resistance to the formation of molds and provides a noiseless airflow.

Examples of some of the high-quality insulation flexible ducts in the market are available here

Rooftop Swamp Cooler  Ducting- Choosing Up-Ducts

 

The number of Up-ducts you require for your room is based on the capacity of your evaporative cooler and the available ventilation space.

In terms of height, you will find two major types of up-ducts: The standard and the extended-height up-ducts.

The insulation thickness of your attic determines the right up-duct height to go for. 

Factors To Consider When Buying Roof Swamp Cooler Up-Ducts

Before you decide to purchase and install up-ducts, it is assumed that you have already invested in the most suitable rooftop swamp cooler for your home or business areas.

So, here are some of the critical factors to consider when buying up-ducts:

1. The Size of Your Swamp Cooler

The size of your rooftop swamp cooler determines its airflow capacity. So, this will determine either the number of up-ducts you require per room or the size of up-duct openings in square feet for effective air circulation.

For instance, a rooftop swamp cooler with a capacity of  8,000 Cubic Feet Per Minute, requires an up-duct opening of about  8 to 16 sp. Ft.  This can translate to the number of standard vents to install per room based on room sizes.

2. Attic Ventilation Space Area and Insulation.

The larger your attic ventilation area, the more up-ducts you can install to serve different rooms. The insulation of your attic also determines the up-duct height you should install.

3. Material and Durability

The material of the up-duct is another crucial factor to consider. Look for up-ducts made from durable materials such as metal or high-quality plastic that can withstand the rigors of daily use. A sturdy up-duct will last longer and provide better performance over time.

4. Airflow and Efficiency

When choosing an up-duct for your swamp cooler, consider the airflow and efficiency it offers. Look for up-ducts with adjustable louvers or dampers that allow you to control the direction and flow of the cool air. This will help you customize the cooling experience in different areas of your home.

5. Up-duct insulation and Energy Efficiency

It is also important that you choose up-ducts with good insulation properties. Poorly insulated up-ducts lead to air leakages. This can negatively affect the efficiency of your rooftop swamp cooler system. 

Rooftop Swamp Cooler Ducting & Up-Duct  –  Installation & Maintenance Tips

Evaporative Cooler Ducting 

To reap all the benefits of a rooftop swamp cooler system, correct installation, and good maintenance are key. For evaporative cooler ducting installation, you must consider the following:

Suitable Ducting Design or Placement

Your ductwork or evaporative cooler ducting design should focus on achieving optimum cooling efficiency. Therefore, your installer must come with a suitable ductwork design. Proper installation techniques will also ensure uniform distribution of cooled air flowing from your rooftop swamp cooler system.

Choosing The Right Ducts for Your Swamp Cooler

Different evaporative cooler sizes require different and compatible duct sizes to ensure smooth airflow and performance efficiency.

Therefore, all the ducts you purchase and use must be fully compatible with your swamp cooler unit.

Using incompatible ducts results in air-flow restrictions leading to low cooling efficiency.

Regular Inspection To Identify Possible Leaks and Damages

After installation, ensure there are no air leaks in your ducting system. A qualified installer will undertake comprehensive tests to identify possible damages to ducts or leakages.

Though an annual inspection of your ductwork is recommended, there is no harm if you regularly check the ducting system. You can easily identify some issues and look for solutions in good time.

Up-Duct Installation and Maintenance Tips 

Before installation, ensure you have the right number and type of up-duct for your project.

Evaluate the capacity of your rooftop swamp cooler to help you decide on the number of up-ducts each room needs for efficient air circulation.

Engaging a professional installer is highly recommended to ensure the correct choice of installation location, and that there are no air leaks.

To maintain high-performance efficiency, remove dust accumulating in the Up-duct and roof vent. Alternatively, for best results, get the services of a professional cleaner to annually clean your up ducts and other evaporative cooler ducting systems.

Conclusion

While choosing the right ducting solution for your rooftop swamp cooler system is critical, you must not ignore the need to install a suitable up duct for efficient cooling of your rooms. 

Therefore, when shopping for your evaporative cooler system, always consult a reputable installer with vast experience in different types of ducting solutions.

You should also remember to only purchase certified ducts for desired peace of mind and long-term performance. If you have no qualified installer in mind, seek advice from your chosen reputable suppliers.

If your chosen supplier does not offer the installation service, they will be more than willing to refer you to a qualified technician. 

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