I have hooked up and serviced many swamp coolers while living in New Mexico. They are great as long as the humidity in the air is very low. If you have a high humidity day (not often in NM) they don't work at all. In arid climates they are a economical alternative to refridgerated air. On a standard ranch home, the cooler would typicaly mount on the roof above the center hallway, and vent straight down to a register with directional louvers. We would mount a steel box and run EMT up and through the roof to a WP box mounted on the side of the cooler. You would put your disconnect switch there, and then wire the unit. Every year, the pads need to be changed, the motor serviced, the pump and unit cleaned and every few years the bottom of the cooler coated with anti-corrosion compound. I have even seen big commercial units with 240V motors and more sophisticated controls, but anymore, at least in NM swamp coolers are being phased out. Refridgerated air systems are cheaper and more energy effecient than they were, and work much better. But in NM, in the 50's, 60's and 70's swamp coolers were the norm and many are still in use today.
