Fans are inexpensive and effective at cooling you and your home. These hacks will help you to make the most of your fans and maximise their cooling potential. 

How it works

• Where you position them, what you use them with and what time you use them will make a huge difference in cooling your home. 
• People often put their fans in the middle of the room, which is one of the least effective ways to use fans! This more or less just ends up pushing the same warm air around.  
• Read below for a few different hacks you can try to make your fans more effective.

Advantages 

• Affordable: fans are usually cheap to buy and much cheaper to run than airconditioners. You can see a price breakdown of running different types of fans here.
• Portable: you can take your portable fans with you when you move and shift them between rooms so that you can use it where you need it.
• Adaptable: we’ve given you a few different hacks to try with your fans. Test them out till you find one you like best!
  

Limitations

• Treatment, not prevention: fans can help to create airflow and push out heat, but won’t be effective at stopping heat coming in the first place. Fans should be a second line of defence rather than your only strategy. 
• Ongoing: although quick to set up, using fans is an ongoing strategy rather than a ‘set and forget’ tactic like some of our other recipes [i.e. see window films]

Fan hacks

1. Keep it moving 
   • If you have fans, use them. Ceiling fans are usually more effective and cheaper to run than portable fans, so if you have them, make good use of them to save even more on energy costs.  
   • By keeping the air moving in your home with fans, it can make you feel several degrees cooler.
     
     
2. In with the cool out with the hot (when it’s cooler outside than in)
   
   • Open up your windows and fly-screened doors.
   • Turn on any exhaust fans you have (i.e. in the kitchen and bathroom).
   • This will help to pull in the cool air from outside.
     
     
3. Crosswinds! (when you have multiple fans) 
   • Open up your windows in your room.
   • Put one of the fans facing out of the window to push out the heat.
   • Put a second fan facing inwards, further inside the room to circulate the cool air around. 
   • Fan 1 drives out the heat, fan 2 gets the air moving. This simultaneously pushes out the hot air and creates a cool airflow inside.
     
     
4. Double up with a dehumidifier (when it's humid)
   • Use your dehumidifier alongside your fan to decrease humidity, remove allergens from the air and to circulate fresher air through your home.
   • This may not directly reduce the temperature more, but it may help the air to 'feel' cooler and fresher. It can also help to stop excessive sweating compared to humid environments. 
   • This will start raking up a higher electricity bill, so only use this on humid days, and try to find an energy-efficient dehumidifier. 
     
     
5. Make a DIY AC [see recipe] 

Tips 

• Check out secondhand websites like Gumtree, Facebook marketplace, or ‘buy nothing’ Facebook groups for cheap or free fans