Mist-n-Save System

This is such a ridiculously simple concept, I can't believe it's not just everywhere. It was VERY easy to install.One neat thing is that it doesn't spray water all the time, just when the a/c is on. I don't know what the effect of moist air will be over time - I don't want mold - but the A/C works just fine in the rain, so I'm not really worried.After two weeks, looking at my own meter, it doesn't look like my A/C bill is much better, but it's tough to say just yet. I'll post updates later once my bills come in.August update: it looks like my electric bill is indeed going to be lower, though I think it's by about $50. However, the flap that turns the water on when the A/C is on, and is supposed to turn the water off when the A/C is off, is getting stuck, so it's frequently misting 24 hours a day... causing me all sorts of issues, and running up my water bill to boot. It's a good thing that we're reaching the end of summer because I was about to turn it off anyway.[Update 7/2/12]After leaving this thing out over the winter, it froze and busted. So I bought a new one, and noticed that they had made some modifications. First, the instructions say not to leave it out over the winter because freezing will damage the seals on the device. I hadn't noticed that before... but the zip ties would make it pretty tough to get off and put back on, which is part of the reason I had left it out there. For the new device, they took away the zip ties and replaced it with a sticky pad so you can cement it to your A/C. Huh? That's even worse!!! One word: VELCRO. You want me to take it in during the winter, make it easy to remove and stick back on.They also changed the filters so they're no longer screw on, but instead you have to cut the cable and feed it through. Not a big deal, just meant I couldn't use my old spare filter.Regardless, the pressure regulator someone suggested in the comments seem to be working. It's spraying water when it should, it's not spraying when it shouldn't.The only problem is that my electric usage is significantly higher than it was this time last summer, by about 33%. And that's after I cut my bill by replacing fridges, etc. AND put insulation all over the house. (That insulation is doing a great job keeping the cold in and the heat out: my A/C goes off far less frequently than my neighbors'.) I haven't actually seen the reported average temp for June 2012, but while there have been a few VERY hot days, I'm not willing to place money on the idea that the average temp is really all that much higher.

OK...I had heard about this product and, living in South Louisiana, we have all kinds of problems keeping the house cool in the summer...specifically trying to keep the temp below 75 when it was over 95 degrees and over 90% humidity outside, which in La is from May to Sept. So I bought the mister system to keep a decent temp in my house, not to necessarily save money on my utility bill.I've had it for 3 summers now and I can say that it does what I want it to do, keep the house cool in the summer. It also saves me money on the utility bill by lowering the coil temp by 10 degrees, which gives me 10 degrees back inside my house. The misting lowers the coil temp by lowering the air that the coil has to work with...the misting water lowers the ambient temp of the outside air by at least 10 degrees. So now my house is below 75 on the hottest & most humid summer days. I almost spent $3000 on a bigger AC unit, but this small investment of about $250 over 3 years has done the trick instead.The only caveat you need to know is that you have to be kind of a do-it-yourselfer to really make it work well, to keep it working and to set it up correctly. You MUST get a few of the expander kits; a few more nozzles & water tubes. I also invested in a very nice water hose and a brass water valve with multiple outlets. You should also replace the filter at least twice a year to keep the hard water off your coil.I used tie wraps to put two nozzles on all three sides of the AC unit (that's 6 nozzles), which seems to work well. The arm that turns the system on did break once, but the distributor replaced it for me at no cost.A few of my friends were impressed and got a system for themselves...some like it and some don't...you just have to make sure you keep everything maintained and replaced, check the nozzles every so often and it should do what it says it will do. Just don't count on spending $80 and thinking you can forget about it. Get the expansion kits & nozzles and keep it maintained.

Whatever anyone else says this thing helps enormously with the efficiency of the unit.If people say that it will ruin the coils, thats like saying "It does not rain in Fl". Noticed no interaction in over 4 yrs.Keep the filter upto date and it will save you $$$. Used in both new homes and it has cut the bill by at least 25%.Trust me it gets darn hot here in the summer and this certainly helps the unit.Downside: Not that durable, and the jets need replacing every year, as they still clog. But for $5, its a worthwhile effort.