The evaporative coolers are a popular and climate-friendly cooling option in arid regions, but temperatures in New Mexico are rising beyond what the home appliances can manage.
Arguably it’d be better to use air conditioners as long as that energy is from renewables such as solar (where the southwest is particularly suited) to help save water, which is in critically short supply in those areas.
True, if you had AC units powered solely by on-site solar and if they never operated powered by the grid (so never at night) you could potentially save water. But any grid electricity comes with exponentially more water use so realistically that will never happen.
Arguably it’d be better to use air conditioners as long as that energy is from renewables such as solar (where the southwest is particularly suited) to help save water, which is in critically short supply in those areas.
True, if you had AC units powered solely by on-site solar and if they never operated powered by the grid (so never at night) you could potentially save water. But any grid electricity comes with exponentially more water use so realistically that will never happen.