There are a variety of water saving opportunities for your evaporative cooler. The best way to save water with an evaporative cooler is to have a re-circulating system that does not bleed off water. This is the best option for coolers that operate with soft water. However, if your cooler is operating with hard water, you may need to install a bleed line. To curb bleed water use, you can install a bleed-off clamp on the line to minimize the amount of bleed. These clamps could save you between 4 and 14 gallons per hour, depending on your system! If your system does bleed water, try to re-use the water on-site for your outside landscape. This will indirectly save you water from irrigation (so remember to adjust sprinkling schedules appropriately!).

Regardless of your system, there are things you can do to decrease water use in general. Some are listed here:

• Install a thermostat and timer on your cooler so it only operates when necessary.
  
  
• Use a two-speed blow motor. Operating at low-speed uses less water and is more energy efficient.
  
  
• Inspect your cooler monthly and perform maintenance as necessary to be sure that your cooler is operating efficiently.
  
  
• Turn on the water pump a few minutes before turning on the fan. This saturates the pads first, making your cooler more efficient.
  
  
• On cool evenings, you can operate your cooler fan without the water pump. The fan will bring cool air into your house without using any water.
  
  
• Use alternative methods of cooling, including ceiling fans or an air conditioner if you have one. (However, be sure not to precool air using an evaporative cooler before turning on an air conditioner. This causes the air conditioner to use more energy).