# Should a Sacramento home replace its swamp cooler with a heat pump? > Heat pump vs swamp cooler in Sacramento: how cool each gets on a 98°F afternoon, smoke season, winter heat, ducts, electricity use and what the switch involves. URL: https://tulesacramentoheatpump.com/guide/heat-pump-vs-swamp-cooler/ Decision Guide Evaporative coolers suit the valley's dry summers, up to a point. This guide compares them with a ducted heat pump on cooling limits, smoke days, winter heating, running cost and the duct and roof work a switch can involve. A heat pump cools a Sacramento house further than a swamp cooler can on the hottest afternoons, keeps smoke outside, and heats in winter. An evaporative cooler uses less electricity and adds moisture to dry air. If the house already has furnace ducts, switching is mostly an equipment job; if the cooler is the only distribution, ducts set the scope. [Tule Sacramento Heat Pump](https://tulesacramentoheatpump.com/) installs ducted heat pumps in homes moving off evaporative coolers across the Sacramento region; licensed and insured contractors do the work. This guide sets out where a cooler works, where it runs out, and what changing over involves. Key takeaways - About 13% of SMUD households had an evaporative cooler in the CEC's 2019 survey - A cooler can't cool air below the outdoor wet-bulb temperature, 70°F on Sacramento's 98°F design afternoon - Coolers pull outdoor air in, which brings wildfire smoke with it; a heat pump recirculates and filters - A heat pump also heats, replacing or backing up a gas furnace - Ducts sized for heat pump airflow decide the cost of the switch ## Why swamp coolers work here at all An evaporative cooler pulls outdoor air through wet pads. Water evaporating from the pads absorbs heat, so the air comes out cooler and more humid. The drier the outdoor air, the more cooling it gets. Sacramento’s summers are dry. NOAA’s hourly normals at Sacramento Executive Airport put the July mean dew point near 54°F, and at 3 p.m. in July the normal is about 91°F with a dew point of about 53°F. That is good cooler weather, and it is why the Energy Commission’s 2019 survey found evaporative coolers in about 13% of SMUD households. ## Where a cooler runs out ### The wet-bulb limit A cooler can bring air toward the wet-bulb temperature but never below it. The Energy Commission’s design data gives Sacramento’s airport station a mean coincident wet bulb of 70°F at its 98°F 1% design condition. On that afternoon, even a well-maintained cooler delivers air somewhat above 70°F, and the house warms as the day goes on. A refrigerated system, an AC or a heat pump, has no such ceiling. Its indoor coil can deliver supply air well below 70°F regardless of outdoor humidity, which is what keeps a house comfortable on the 14 days a year that reach 100°F at the airport, by NOAA’s normals. ### Humid spells When the valley gets a muggy stretch, the gap between the dry-bulb and wet-bulb temperatures shrinks and a cooler’s output falls with it. A heat pump removes moisture as it cools, so it holds up in those conditions. ### Smoke days A cooler only works by bringing outdoor air in and pushing indoor air out through open windows. When wildfire smoke settles over the valley, that means pulling smoke through the house. A ducted heat pump recirculates indoor air through a filter and can run with the windows closed. The [wildfire smoke guide](https://tulesacramentoheatpump.com/guide/heat-pump-wildfire-smoke/) covers filters and fan settings. ## Side by side | | Evaporative (swamp) cooler | Ducted heat pump | | --- | --- | --- | | How it cools | Evaporates water into outdoor air | Moves heat out through a refrigerant loop | | Coolest air it can deliver | Above the outdoor wet-bulb temperature | Well below room temperature in any humidity | | Air source | Outdoor air, with windows open for relief | Indoor air, recirculated and filtered | | Humidity | Adds moisture | Removes moisture | | Heating | None | Yes | | Electricity | A fan and a small pump | A compressor and fans | | Water | Uses water continuously while running | None, apart from condensate drained away | | Upkeep | Pads, water supply, pump and bleed line; winter cover | Filters, outdoor coil clearance, condensate drain | | Permit and Title 24 | Varies by scope | Permit, duct testing, charge and airflow verification | ## Running cost A cooler costs less to run in summer because it has no compressor. The heat pump’s summer cost follows SMUD’s Time-of-Day rate, with its weekday 5 to 8 p.m. peak at $0.3765 per kWh, or PG&E’s 4 to 9 p.m. daily peak. Pre-cooling the house before the peak and choosing a variable-speed system both help. The winter side often tips the comparison. A cooler home still needs heat, from a gas furnace or electric resistance heat. A heat pump takes over that heating; in SMUD territory, where it beats a 95% furnace once its COP passes about 1.4 off-peak (derived from published rates), the switch is likely to lower the heating bill. The [electric bill guide](https://tulesacramentoheatpump.com/guide/heat-pump-electric-bill-sacramento/) shows the numbers by utility. Moving on from a swamp cooler? The first visit checks for existing ducts, the furnace, the panel and the roof opening, so the scope is clear before equipment is chosen. ## What the switch involves The work depends on how the house is laid out today. ### If the house has furnace ducts If the house also has a forced-air furnace with its own duct system, the heat pump can usually work through those ducts. The job then looks like a [furnace-to-heat-pump conversion](https://tulesacramentoheatpump.com/gas-furnace-to-heat-pump-conversion/) or a [dual fuel](https://tulesacramentoheatpump.com/dual-fuel-heat-pump/) addition, with Title 24 duct sealing and an ECC-Rater test. The ducts must carry at least 300 cfm per ton for the refrigerant charge check. ### If the cooler is the only distribution Where a cooler feeds a single ceiling outlet or a short duct of its own, that path is not built for a heat pump’s airflow or insulated for cold supply air. In that case the house needs a duct system designed for the heat pump. More than 25 feet of new duct must be insulated to R-8 and leakage tested, and an entirely new system must meet a 5% leakage limit. [Heat pump ductwork](https://tulesacramentoheatpump.com/heat-pump-ductwork/) explains the design, and the [ducted vs ductless guide](https://tulesacramentoheatpump.com/guide/ducted-vs-ductless-heat-pump/) covers houses where ducts won’t fit. ### The cooler itself A roof cooler’s drop is removed and the roof opening closed and roofed over; a window or wall unit leaves an opening to frame and finish. The water line to the cooler is capped. ### Size and electrical A load calculation sets the heat pump’s capacity, since a cooler gives no tonnage to copy. The outdoor unit needs a 240-volt circuit, which a house with only a cooler and a gas furnace may never have had, so a panel review is part of the first visit. The [panel guide](https://tulesacramentoheatpump.com/guide/heat-pump-electrical-panel/) explains when an upgrade is triggered. ## Rebates and costs SMUD’s heat pump rebate follows the heating side. A qualifying heat pump that replaces gas heating earns $3,000 (variable-stage) or $2,000 (two-stage); one that replaces electric heat earns $1,000. Removing the cooler doesn’t change the rebate either way. Roseville Electric and PG&E list no heat pump rebate. When ducts are added or replaced in a conversion, Sacramento-area projects typically run about $20,000 to $31,000 before rebates. Where existing furnace ducts can be used, the [conversion cost guide](https://tulesacramentoheatpump.com/guide/gas-furnace-to-heat-pump-conversion-cost/) has the lower ranges. ## When to keep the cooler A cooler still makes sense if summer comfort is acceptable, the furnace is fairly new and nobody in the house is sensitive to smoke. A heat pump makes more sense when the furnace or cooler is near the end of its life, when 100°F afternoons leave the house too warm, or when smoke seasons mean closing up the house. The [heat pump vs air conditioner guide](https://tulesacramentoheatpump.com/guide/heat-pump-vs-air-conditioner/) covers homes choosing between the two refrigerated options. To plan a switch for your house, call (916) 516-1454 or [request an estimate](https://tulesacramentoheatpump.com/contact/). ## Questions about this guide ### Can I keep my swamp cooler and add a heat pump? Yes, as long as each has its own way into the house and they never run together. A house can run the cooler on mild, dry days and the heat pump on hot afternoons, smoke days and through the winter. The cooler's duct or ceiling outlet needs a tight damper or seasonal cover so it doesn't leak attic air into the heat pump's conditioned space. ### Does a heat pump use more electricity than an evaporative cooler? Yes, in cooling. An evaporative cooler runs a fan and a small water pump, while a heat pump runs a compressor as well. The heat pump does more with that electricity, though: it can cool well below what a cooler reaches on a hot afternoon, it dehumidifies, and it heats in winter, which a cooler can't. ### What happens to the roof opening when an evaporative cooler comes out? It gets closed. A roof-mounted cooler sits over a duct or opening through the roof, so removing it means taking out the drop, framing or decking the hole as needed and roofing over it, then sealing the old ceiling outlet inside. That roof patch belongs in the written scope, alongside any new ducts the heat pump needs. Want this answered for your house? Call with your current system, the rooms that bother you and your ZIP code. ## Related service AC to heat pump A heat pump in place of a failing central air conditioner, with the furnace kept as backup, removed, or replaced by the heat pump's own air handler. ## More guides - Decision Guide [Should you replace a central air conditioner with a heat pump or another AC?](https://tulesacramentoheatpump.com/guide/heat-pump-vs-air-conditioner/)A heat pump is an air conditioner that can also heat. Here is what that one difference changes in the Sacramento area: price, rebates, winter bills, Title 24 testing, the furnace you already have and how long the outdoor unit works each year. - Learn [Can a ducted heat pump help keep wildfire smoke out of a Sacramento home?](https://tulesacramentoheatpump.com/guide/heat-pump-wildfire-smoke/)Why a heat pump recirculates rather than ventilates, how filter rating and filter size trade off against the airflow a heat pump needs, which settings help on smoke days, and what an air handler replacement can fix. - Decision Guide [Should a Sacramento home get a ducted or a ductless heat pump?](https://tulesacramentoheatpump.com/guide/ducted-vs-ductless-heat-pump/)How the two systems get heat into each room, what the existing ducts decide, what SMUD's rebate-program data shows about cost, and where a ductless system is the better fit. - Learn [How does a heat pump hold up in Sacramento's hot weather?](https://tulesacramentoheatpump.com/guide/heat-pump-hot-weather/)What happens inside a heat pump on a 100-degree afternoon, how the design temperature for your town sets its size, why attic ducts and outdoor-unit placement matter, and how to run it around summer peak pricing. - Learn [How much will a heat pump add to your electric bill in Sacramento?](https://tulesacramentoheatpump.com/guide/heat-pump-electric-bill-sacramento/)How heating moves from the gas bill to the electric bill, what a therm of heat costs under each local rate plan, how summer peaks and fixed charges work, and the settings that keep a heat pump's bill from creeping up.