Fans and Keeping Cool

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Fans and Keeping Cool

How fans actually work, types compared, noise and staying safe in heat

A fan does not cool a room, and understanding that changes how you use one during hot weather.

Fans cool people, not rooms

Moving air helps sweat evaporate, which cools skin. The motor itself adds a small amount of heat to the room, so a fan running in an empty room is making things very slightly worse.

Turn fans off when you leave the room, and point them at people rather than into space.

Above about 35 degrees

When air temperature exceeds skin temperature, a fan blows hot air over you and can increase heat strain, particularly for older people and anyone who is not sweating well. Health guidance is to stop relying on a fan in extreme heat.

Use damp cloths, cool showers and shade instead, and seek somewhere genuinely cooler.

Types

Pedestal and tower fans move air around a room. Desk fans suit one person. Floor fans move the most air and are loudest. Bladeless designs are quieter and easier to clean and move less air for the power.

Check the stated noise level in decibels if it will run in a bedroom, since that is where most of them end up.

Using one properly

At night, point a fan out of a window to push hot air out while another window is open elsewhere, which moves air through the house. During the day, close windows and curtains on the sunny side.

Safety

Keep fingers and children away from blades, check the guard is secure, and never run a fan with a damaged cable. Plug into a wall socket rather than a daisy-chained extension.

Heat and health

Older people, babies, people with heart or breathing conditions and anyone on certain medications are most at risk in heat. Check on neighbours during a heatwave.

Recognise heat exhaustion — dizziness, nausea, heavy sweating, cramps — and get into shade and rehydrate. Confusion or hot dry skin is heatstroke and a medical emergency.

Keeping a house cool

Block the sun before it enters — external shutters, blinds closed on the sunny side and windows shut during the hottest part of the day. Opening up at night when the air is cooler is what actually cools a house.

A fan pointing out of an upstairs window pushes hot air out while cooler air draws in downstairs.

Sleeping in heat

A cool shower before bed, light natural-fibre bedding, and a damp towel near a fan all help. Alcohol makes sleep in heat considerably worse.

Cleaning

Dust builds up on blades and grilles and reduces airflow noticeably. Unplug it and clean a couple of times a season.

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