Credit: DimaBerlin - Shutterstock
Oh, you want to know how to actually cool down your house with fans? Well, I can help, as this is my sixth summer without an air conditioner, practically qualifying me as an expert on staying cool without one. I got one of my fans by simply taking it from an ex during a breakup, but these things are relatively cheap, so whether you’re using them in place of AC or to supplement it, you must get one (or more) by whatever means necessary.
But regardless of if your fans are ill-gotten or honestly purchased, they won’t do much to cool down your house unless you place them strategically. Here’s where you should put them for maximum effectiveness.
In my small apartment, I have two fans: The one in my living room (which is also my dining room, unfortunately) is a rotating cylinder that stands about three feet tall. When it’s operating on its highest setting, I can feel its breeze for about eight feet, provided there are no obstructions. The fan in my bedroom is a small, circular one that fits on a nightstand, but its miniature size is deceptive, as I can also feel that from about three feet away.
Certain sizes and styles of fans will work better in certain spaces, according to fan-making company Lasko. In general, if you’re looking to cool a living room or family room, opt for one of these:
A tower fan
A pedestal fan
A wall-mounted fan
A bladeless fan
An air circulator fan
While each of these will direct airflow in a slightly different way, they all do basically the same things, which are create a breeze and circulate air. You want something that fits well in your space and has some power behind it. For smaller spaces, like bedrooms, you can use a smaller fan.
It’s not enough to stick a big fan in a big room and a small fan in a small room, though—you also need to find the perfect placement. Remember that cold air sinks and hot air rises, so if you have a high ceiling, you are providing lots of space for warm air to occupy. Stairways and hallways within these large, open spaces are going to be hotter than the areas below them. My “bedroom,” for instance, is actually a lofted storage space at the top of my studio, which has ceilings that go up 11 feet. Without my little bedroom fan, I would have surely faced some kind of heat-related medical event in my sleep by now. You may need multiple fans to cover higher areas, so keep that in mind.
The key to placement is this: Adjust your fan so it faces the opposite wall from where most of the activity in the space takes place. This, per Lasko, will drive the air to the surface. It will bounce off, interacting with the rest of the air and cooling the space overall.
Fan placement is more important than type, too. You might think a taller fan or a fan on an elevated surface is your best bet to cool a room, as it attacks that higher-up hot air, but as Lasko points out, a fan situated lower to the ground can actually pick up the “refreshing chilliness” lingering down there and push it out. Consider a box fan, which can be placed on the floor or in a window. Window fans are great for circulating fresh air from outside, but if you are worried about allergy triggers infiltrating your home or just generally letting outside air in, it’s not necessary.
Finally, when figuring out your placement plan, consider your furniture. A window fan obstructed by curtains does you less good than one that isn’t covered. Similarly, a fan on the floor that is blocked by a couch or table won’t be as helpful as one that has a clear pathway to push out air. One thing that can be in front of a fan is a shallow pan of ice, to produce some cold air that your fan can pick up and push out (a DIY air conditioner, of sorts).
If you only have one fan or you want to use a single fan to circulate air in multiple rooms, your placement strategy will be a little different. Andrew Persily, an engineer focused on indoor air quality at the National Institutes of Standards and Technology, told Quartz that if you have an air conditioner in one room and you want to circulate that cold air to another, you have to put your fan between the two and make sure the air is blowing into the warmer one. That strategy can work to a lesser degree if you have a big fan in one room and want to use a smaller fan to usher the colder air it generates into a smaller one nearby.
The U.S. Department of Energy says that fans don’t cool rooms, but rather cool the people inside those rooms. I disagree with this because I clock a notable difference between walking into a room where my fan has been on vs. entering one where it hasn’t, but it’s kind of irrelevant. When considering your placement, per the National Renewable Energy Laboratory, it is important to make sure your fan is actually blowing on the people in the room, so whether it “cools” the room or not, the people feel a benefit.
You should place the fan somewhere that is convenient for you to turn it off, though. Leaving a fan on can actually generate some heat from the power source, and while that’s minor compared to the heat of a hot summer day, it’s also a waste of energy.
Summer is here, and that means heat. Whether it is caused by the sun or the sticky humidity, you can expect warmth as a near-constant companion over the next few months. On one hand, this weather is amazing because it means pool time, beach, or lakeside afternoons, and lots of days with the windows open. On the other hand, few people enjoy being too hot. Using a fan in your home can increase air circulation and help make your home feel cooler. When used with the air conditioner on a lower setting, fans swiftly move cold air room to room and help save on energy bills. Before buying a new fan for summer, read the following tips to ensure your fan will be used for maximum effectiveness.
Buying a new fan for warmer weather? Decide before you buy what you need from a fan, and where it will go in your space. Fans come in many shapes and sizes, meaning that it isn’t a one-model-fits-all mentality. Before you purchase a fan, take a moment to look at your room. How big is it? How tall is the ceiling? How many windows are there? Where do you want to set the fan – on the floor, in a window, or mounted on a wall? All of these factors can influence which fan you purchase. Spaces like living rooms, family rooms, and dens may benefit from a tower fan, pedestal fan, wall-mount fan, bladeless fan, or an air circulator fan. Bedrooms tend to be smaller, and have a variety of options (visit Choosing the Right Fan for Your Bedroom for more info.) There are multiple fans that can suit your needs, and placement is just as important as fan type or size. (For more info on the best types for hot weather, visit 5 Types of Fans to Use in Your Home This Summer.) Knowing where you want to place your fan can inform the fan you buy.
A basic science lesson is that cold air is naturally heavier than warm, meaning it will sink to the area near the floor while the hot air occupies the higher space. If you have a room with no breeze, this is how the temperature will settle 100 percent of the time. The good news, however, is that even cold air is relatively light and easily influenced by outside sources. Placing a fan in a room will disrupt that balance and can force the cooler air to go where you want it to be. However, fan placement matters. Place your fan so that it faces the opposite wall from where most of the activity takes place in your space. This approach will drive the air to the surface, where it will bounce off, mingling with the rest of the air and cooling the space. Ideally, if lower temperatures are your main goal, you may want to choose a fan that’s lower to the ground so that it scoops up all that refreshing chilliness along the way.
There’s nothing like a fresh breeze, but opening up a window for fresh air when it’s hot outside can be anything but pleasant. Too much heat, too many bugs, and too much noise can ruin the effect. A box fan or a window fan solves the problem. A box fan (like the Weather-Shield® Select 20″ Box Fan with Thermostat) can be used on the floor or in a window. Positioning the fan in a window circulates fresh air faster, and cools down the intense heat of a room. The quiet settings create a gentle white noise that can drown out street noise, and circulated air discourages bugs. Box fans with Weather-Shield® can be used rain or shine; these fans come with an isolated fan motor that protects from rainy weather. (Although it is recommended you move the box fan from the window during heavy rains and winds, since the wind can blow water into electrical components and damage your fan.) Window fans work even better at circulating fresh air from outside. Fans like the 16″ Window Fan with E-Z-Dial Ventilation
fit securely and tightly in the open window, keeping all bugs outside where they belong. A twin fan, like the Electrically Reversible Twin Window Fan with Remote Control, can simultaneously pull fresh air in while pushing out stale air, creating circulating air that’s crisp and clean.
The furniture in your space will help in determining where you should put your fan. Placing a table fan or a window fan will depend on the room’s décor and arrangement. Table fans will need a clean flat surface close to an electrical outlet to operate. If the cord of the fan impedes walkways or causes a tripping hazard, it’s not the right placement. Window fans should not be blocked by furniture, and cannot help circulate air if a sofa or curtains are in the way. Always point fans away from tables or desks with loose papers or light objects; picking up a mini-tornado of paperwork isn’t relaxing. Fans are most effective when they have an unobstructed pathway in front of their blades. A wall-mount fan is placed high above any air obstacles. Many come with a tilt-head feature (like the 12″ Oscillating Wall-Mount Fan with Anti-Rust Grills and the Air Flexor® Remote Control High Velocity Fan) so that the force of the fan can be pointed in the direction where it is most needed. Do your best to give your fan this path so that it may carry the air farther, increasing its effectiveness in your house.