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Swamp coolers? Both of my brothers live in Colorado. My oldest brother lives in Golden, and my other brother lives in Fort Collins. Both of them have swamp coolers, and they are both satisfied with their operation. Here in Charlevoix, in northern Michigan, my house with a walk-out lower level is built into a hill about 75 yards from Lake Charlevoix. I don't have either air conditioning or a swamp cooler. Our weather is moderated by Lake Michigan and I survive just fine without AC. I keep a large Igloo cooler in my breezeway, and it almost always contains ice keeping my rootbeer and other beverages cold. In the winter, I use the cooler as a refrigerator. It maintains my food at a consistently safe temperature all winter long.

That’s funny. I live at the other extreme. Here in East Texas it’s not unusual for a house to have 2,3 or 4 central AC/heating systems.
I’m an early retired civil servant and am my own HVAC contractor. I have the pleasure of working when and if I want.
Funny thing is this, when a 1st floor unit breaks down usually it’s pretty bearable for the homeowner, but if it’s the upstairs unit not working and where they sleep. “Oh Nelly.”
You see I have a distinct clientele. I receive a pension, had great savings and sold my NE city house and could get by without working BUT as a small semi retired contractor, my customers know like yesterday, when I get there and it’s 6pm and the suns been beating down all day and thermostat says 94. I can have it cooled down for when you go to bed.
Many of the large contractors, if you haven’t signed up for their plan you are on the list for tomorrow or Monday. I have over 40 years experience and my folks know, granted they may pay a premium but get a fully stocked vehicle with every imaginable part even after hours and will 99.5% solve your problem now. I always respond within 1 hour and if I’m busy (which I try not to be but depends on the circumstance), they know I’ll be there real soon.

Here’s how this relates to Kerry. On 1/1/2020, manufacturers will no longer be able to manufacture nor import R22. At this time R22 is 5 or 6 times higher than R410A. They are forcing people who have small leaks to get new systems because it is no longer feasible to put a lb or 2 in each year and I tell my customers after 2020, R22 will no longer be available. Some thieves now are charging $100+ per lb of R22. Me, not nearly as much.

My meaning in paying a premium is this, with my experience I can diagnose the problem over the phone usually about 90% of the time.
Here’s some advise for all of you. I don’t mean to sound quaint but unless you are afraid of electric, HVAC is super simple.

Here is an example of when you call me. The first thing I ask is, “Is your indoor fan running?” If they say yes I ask “are you on a portable phone and can you walk outside to your outdoor unit?”
I say, “Is the fan running?” If they say no nothing is happening, I say, “check your breaker.” On those calls I solved it for free for you over the phone. If they say yes, I say, “hold your hand over top, is the air warm or cool?” If they say it’s cool, I ask about that fat copper line with the black insulation on it, “Is it dry, frozen or sweating?”
With those questions alone I can usually diagnose the problem over the phone and be out of there in 30 minutes max. Sure they sometimes give me this goofy look where I fixed it in 10 minutes and charged $175 but I always do a follow up call hours later or the next day and 99.9% of the time they are satisfied and remain my lifetime customers and referrals.
In East Texas, if you can show up in an hour and solve there problem immediately, they really really like that.