Nicholas WolkenAir conditioning units are one of the biggest energy hogs in modern homes. According to the International Energy Agency, cooling systems already account for nearly 10% of global electricity consumption—a figure expected to triple by 2050 if demand keeps rising. That’s a staggering energy toll and, more importantly, a financial one as consumers wrestle with higher utility bills each summer.
Here’s the controversy: evaporative coolers, an older but recently revived technology, use a fraction of the energy compared to traditional AC units. Breezair, a brand under Seeley International, claims their products can cut energy use by up to 80% compared to conventional AC. It sounds almost too good to be true—and investors, regulators, and homeowners alike are now questioning whether this could really upend how we think about staying cool.
If true, this shift affects more than homeowners in hot, dry climates. It touches the air conditioning giants like Daikin and Carrier, utility companies balancing energy demand, and policy makers chasing carbon neutrality goals. The question is no longer whether the technology works—it’s whether it can scale widely.
The Data
Cooling is exploding as one of the biggest drivers of electricity use worldwide. According to the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA), cooling is the single largest contributor to residential summer electricity bills, averaging nearly 25% of home energy use during peak heat months. In rapidly warming regions such as the U.S. Southwest, cooling demand can make or break the grid.
Evaporative coolers—sometimes called “swamp coolers”—operate on a far leaner resource model. Instead of compressing refrigerants, they pull warm air through water-soaked pads and push out cooled air while humidifying in the process. The Department of Energy notes that properly installed evaporative coolers can use less than 25% of the electricity of a central AC unit.
Breezair plays that card aggressively, reporting that its flagship ICON series consumes around 80% less energy while still cooling thousands of square feet. To illustrate, a standard 5-ton central AC might consume 5–6 kW on a hot day, whereas a similarly rated evaporative unit often operates under 1.5 kW. Translate that across a few hundred hours each summer, and we’re talking real money—up to $700 in savings per household annually in certain markets, according to Seeley International’s own testing.
Now, credibility is key. Independent studies back up much of the claim. The Arizona State University Cooling Lab published findings showing evaporative cooling systems can perform with 75–85% less electricity in dry heat, though effectiveness drops sharply in humid regions. That last point is what keeps traditional HVAC makers confident that evaporative cooling won’t dethrone them globally.
The People
“This is not a replacement for every market,” says Mark Seeley, director at Breezair’s parent company Seeley International, in a recent interview. “But in dry climates that already strain at peak demand, evaporative systems are not only viable—they might be the only sustainable path forward.”
Not everyone is buying the pitch. “Swamp coolers have been around forever, and they always hit a ceiling,” a former senior exec at Carrier told me during research for this piece. “Homeowners want consistent cool, no matter the humidity swing. That’s why refrigerant systems dominate, and that dominance won’t evaporate overnight—no pun intended.”
Yet consumers tell a competing story. In Phoenix, Las Vegas, and even parts of Texas, Breezair’s distributors report backlogs of orders during the summer of 2024’s historic heat wave. Buyers point less to green consciousness and more to sheer bill shock. “We were staring at $500 power bills last August,” says Laura Martinez, a homeowner in Tucson. “Switching to Breezair cut that in half immediately.”
Policy voices are chiming in too. The California Energy Commission has made funding available for pilot deployment of alternative cooling technologies. As one analyst there commented: “If every home in the Central Valley swapped one conventional unit for evaporative cooling, the annual energy savings could rival those of statewide electric vehicle adoption.” Strong words, though not without complexity.
The Fallout
The first fallout lies with utilities. Peak summer cooling demand can cripple grids—as seen in California’s rolling blackouts in 2020. If Breezair or competitors deploy at scale, utilities could suddenly find significant relief. But here’s the kicker: less demand also means less revenue for utilities operating on volumetric sales. Already, lobbyists in some states reportedly press regulators to “study unintended consequences” of mass adoption. That smells like corporate defense, more than consumer protection.
For HVAC giants like Daikin, Trane, and Carrier, evaporative cooling poses both a competitive threat and an awkward branding challenge. These firms pride themselves on high-efficiency refrigerant systems—and yes, they’ve pushed SEER ratings steadily higher. But consumers now compare a 20 SEER traditional AC (still costly to run) with an evaporative unit that slashes energy use by sheer mechanics. This isn’t just an incremental tweak; it’s a paradigm threat.
Wall Street sees the same tension. Analysts at Morningstar recently cautioned investors about “erosion in premium residential cooling markets” should evaporative adoption tick upward in arid geographies. Shares of Carrier Global dipped 3% after these notes circulated, though the company downplayed any long-term risk.
Nevertheless, the broader economy feels the ripple. Imagine millions of households trimming utility expenses by hundreds of dollars annually. That redistributes consumer spending, potentially bolstering other sectors. At the same time, water demand enters the equation—because evaporative coolers require steady supply. In regions already battling drought, this is no small issue. “You’re essentially trading kilowatts for gallons,” as one environmental engineer in Nevada put it. Critics hammer that point, arguing that any widespread adoption could worsen water scarcity.
This duality—energy win but water tradeoff—keeps the debate heated. Breezair insists that average annual water use (a few thousand gallons) is negligible compared to the energy freed, but skeptics aren’t so quick to dismiss. After all, Southwest reservoirs are already teetering.
Closing Thought
The home cooling industry sits at a crossroads. Evaporative coolers like Breezair’s make a strong case for dry-climate sustainability, offering families lower bills and grids a lifeline. Yet their success hinges on careful scaling and water management, plus convincing skeptical homeowners who’ve been trained to equate “comfort” with the blast-chill of compressor-driven AC.
So the big question lingers: If evaporative cooling keeps proving itself during extreme heat waves, will policymakers give it the incentives now reserved for solar and EVs—or will entrenched HVAC giants slow-roll the transition to protect their share?
That answer may determine not only the future of home comfort, but the fate of summer electric grids worldwide.
Nicholas Wolken