• It's possible to cool a room downwards and proceed it absurd without air workout.
  • Fans can be more energy-efficient and cost-constructive when compared to AC.
  • Window fans, ceiling fans, and tower fans can all help y'all beat the heat if you lot apply them correctly.
  • Visit Insider's Health Reference library for more advice.

If yous're unable to invest in an air conditioner during the summer, yous might desire to consider using fans throughout your house to go on absurd.

Fans are more often than not cheaper to buy and install than Ac units. Plus, they are ameliorate for the environment because they apply less energy.

Fans use less energy than Ac units.
Ruobing Su/Insider

All that free energy adds up: AC costs homeowners virtually $29 billion each year, co-ordinate to the U.s.a. Department of Energy (DOE). Fans are far more than energy-efficient and cost-constructive.

But fans only work finer when you use them correctly. Below, a simple guide on how to use the dissimilar types of fans properly to go along cool at home.

Window fans

Window fans work best when you have a crosswind.
Ricky Kresslein/Getty Images

Window fans are installed in open windows to draw cold air in and push hot air out, and can be fix to cool an entire firm. Here are three tips for how to apply window fans almost effectively.

Tip ane: But plow them on when information technology's cooler exterior than inside

In order for window fans to cool your home, the outdoor temperature must exist lower than the indoor temperature. That'south going to exist at nighttime or early in the morning.

Window fans are installed with a fitted sheet metallic mounting that slots into an open window and seals around the edges. So, y'all don't have to worry virtually opening or closing that window.

However, other windows in your house should remain airtight during the hottest office of the day and — when safe — open at night and early morning.

Tip ii: Use more than than i fan to create a crosswind

Window fans work best when you utilize more than i to create a crosswind, which pushes the hot air out and draws the cool air in. To practice this, setting the fans up in the right location is crucial.

  • Fans blowing air into your house: "You want the libation air to blow inwards, and then place 1 fan or more on the coolest side of your home that sees lots of shade — this will ideally be on the north side which gets the well-nigh shade — facing in towards the house and abroad from the windows," says Nathan Kipnis, FAIA, founder of Kipnis Architecture and Planning and specialist in the sustainability and free energy efficiency of architectural design.
  • Fans pushing air out of your house: Then place an equal number of fans on the reverse side of your home facing out of your windows to button the hot air out. "Pushing air out on the southward side is ideal," says Kipnis.
  • Keep every bit many within doors open equally possible. This will help maximize airflow throughout the business firm.

If you lot live in a multi-story domicile, identify the inward-bravado fans on the lower floors where it's cooler and the outward-bravado fans on the upper floors. This method will rid your home of the warm air rising to the upper stories.

"So bringing air in low on the northward side and pushing it out high on the southward side is ideal," says Kipnis.

Ceiling fans

Ceiling fans should be rotating counterclockwise.
Nosotros Are/Getty Images

Ceiling fans circulate air in the room by pushing it down. However, they tin not lower the temperature like a window fan or AC unit. Simply they can yet cool you down.

That'south considering their breeze creates a slight wind arctic issue that tin can help sweat evaporate from your skin, which cools you downwardly. Then, it'southward not your home that it's cooling, only rather your body.

Below are four tips for using ceiling fans to stay cool.

Tip one: Make sure it's rotating counterclockwise

In the summer, make sure your fan is rotating counterclockwise. This will push button the air directly down and create that wind chill upshot.

In winter, information technology's best if your fan rotates the opposite direction: clockwise. That way, air is pushed up so estrus can circulate and go on you warm. This guide walks yous through how to safely cheque and change the direction of your ceiling fan.

Tip 2: Turn information technology off when y'all leave the room

Brand sure you plough ceiling fans off when leaving the room because they cool people, not rooms. It'due south a waste of energy to have them switched on if there is no one there to feel the air current arctic issue.

Tip 3: Purchase free energy-efficient models

If y'all are looking to purchase a new ceiling fan, look for the ENERGY STAR® characterization since fans that earn that label are up to 60% more energy-efficient than non-certified fans.

You can also purchase smart ceiling fans, which reduce energy costs past as much equally 4% to eleven%, co-ordinate to U.s.a. Full general Services Administration data.

Smart fans work by turning themselves off at optimal temperatures and by sensing when the room is empty. They too save free energy by adjusting fan speed in response to temperature and humidity changes.

Tip 4: Combine with your AC unit

If you lot have a ceiling fan in the same room as an Air-conditioning unit, it helps blow colder, air-conditioned air throughout the room. This tin can cut your energy consumption and reduce how hard your air-conditioner has to piece of work.

"You could set up your AC unit iv degrees higher, combine it with a ceiling fan, and experience simply as cool," says Kipnis. "And the key thing with Air-conditioning is that it dehumidifies the air which is what helps make the fan even more effective."

It's worth noting that all ceiling fans work more than effectively in dry air, "Considering the sweat on your skin evaporates more speedily than if the air was humid, and then you lot feel cooler," says Kipnis.

Tower fans

Put ice in forepart of your tower fan for actress cooling power.
Your All-time Digs/Flickr

Tower fans are narrow, tall, and portable, pregnant they easily fit into the corner of most rooms. They create airflow by oscillating from left to right.

Again, they work by creating a wind-chill result rather than lowering the temperature of the room.

Tip one: Use ice for extra cooling

If y'all're actually struggling to stay cool, for example, during the peak of the day when it's hottest outside, place a bucket of ice in front of your tower fan as a bootleg AC unit. The ice cools the air pushed out by the fan, which so circulates effectually the room.

Another method for creating a homemade Ac unit using your fan is described below:

  1. Freeze a large, empty plastic bottle (iv pints or i-liter sized).
  2. One time frozen, place the empty canteen on a tray and encompass it with a clammy cloth.
  3. Position the tray in front of your fan, and then the breeze gets extra cool from the frozen bottle.

Insider'south takeaway

Fans can exist an energy-efficient and cost-effective way to beat the heat during the summertime. You can use window, ceiling, or tower fans to cool downwardly a room. Simply when temperatures are highest, they still aren't as effective as air conditioners.

Hannah Roberts

Ad/Tech reporter, Business Insider United kingdom

Hannah is a Digital Fellow for Tech and Advertising at Business Insider UK. Previously, she worked at Goldman Sachs and Google. Follow Hannah on Twitter: @HMariaR Disclosure: I ain shares in both Alphabet (GOOG) and Goldman Sachs (GS)