How does an evaporative cooler work?

How does an evaporative cooler or swamp cooler work? Is it different from a regular air conditioner?

Thats a good question and easy to answer. First of all, a swamp cooler is very different from an air conditioner. It works on a totally different principle. The air conditioner in your automotive shop office or your car works on a freon based system that uses a compressor, blower and other parts to create cold air. It basically is the same principle as when you let the air out of a bicycle tire and the valve gets cold. Iin an air conditioner, the freon is expanded through some coils and air is blown over them producing the cold air. In an evaporative cooler, water is fed into filter pads and, thanks to gravity, trickles down through them to collect in a sump at the bottom of the cooler. A small water pump circulates the collected water back to the top of the pads. Then the process begins over again. The fan blows air through the pads and through evaporative cooling, the air is cooled. Generally, swamp coolers work best in dry climates and are great for an automotive shop or other outdoor application.