> most efficient at its task (heating and cooling large volume of air)
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most efficient at its task (heating and cooling large volume of air)
Air Conditioning is SIGNIFICANTLY less efficient in all conditions where evaporative cooling is effective at all.
This of course assumes the right conditions for evaporative cooling to be effective in the first place, primarily ambient humidity lower than 50%. It works by adding cool humid air, so it's only effective as long as it can add that to the existing ambient air. An Air Conditioner on the other hand dehumidifies as a side effect, so ambient humidity is not a factor, but the components are more complicated, more expensive, require more maintenance, and more electricity to operate since it needs to contain and move the pressurized refrigerant around the system loop to transfer the heat energy from one place to another.
An evaporative cooler on the other hand is effectively just an absorbent medium, usually with a basin and water pump to ensure it stays wet, and a fan to move the air. People create these all the time without realizing it. Soaking a towel and putting it in front of a box fan is a makeshift evaporative cooler.
