June 1st, 2023 by Shauna Hammond

With summer approaching and the temperature set to soar, we will all soon be reaching for our fans, but sometimes it feels like it just isn’t enough to keep you cool. It feels like you're still in the same room as before and it hasn't made any difference to your comfort level. What gives? Well, that could be that the fan you have just isn’t up to the job or you aren’t using it to its full capacity. But don't worry! We're here to help you find the best fans for cooling down in hot weather and how you can use it to make the most of its cooling potential.

Choose the Right Fan for The Job

The most important aspect is to make sure you have a fan that does the job right as you can't just get any old fan and expect it to cool down your space, this means there are a few factors you will need to consider such as the how large the room is that you want to cool and ensure you are choosing a fan that is large enough- for example, a small desk fan will not efficiently cool a large open plan living room. Likewise, you need to think about where the fan will be placed, sometimes pedestal or tower fans will do the job better than a desk fan likewise in large open areas floor circulation fans will be most effective.

Choosing A Fan With The Right Features

Fans have come a long way in recent years, and you will find that many of them now come packed full of lots of different features, some of these will be more helpful than others when choosing a fan to maximise cooling potential. So, let’s look at some of the best features you can look for in your fan.

Changeable Speed Settings

One of the most common features is changeable speed and you will find this in most fans however it is an important feature to include for a couple of reasons – first of all it will help to adjust the amount of cooling throughout the day, starting from a lower speed when it is cooler to a higher fan speed in mid-afternoon this way you will feel more benefits from the wind getting stronger.

Oscillation

Fans that have an oscillation feature are more effective at cooling larger areas as the wind direction will change allowing it to circulate the air more efficiently, the improved airflow will also benefit the cooling effect of the airflow meaning you will feel cooler and more comfortable than if a fan blows in only one direction.

Changeable Wind Settings

Another feature to keep an eye out for is changeable wind patterns, by changing these you can feel the benefits of the breeze more. A couple of the wind types include a natural mode which will alternate between on and off – the benefit of this is that it will create a more natural feeling breeze that will help you feel cooler and more refreshed due to the fact that you will better feel the benefits of the breeze when mixed with the absence of breeze. Other modes include sleep modes which will blow intermittently much like natural mode but will also lower the speed as time passes. This is because our body temperature naturally lowers while we sleep, by reducing the wind speed you will be kept at a comfortable temperature all night long.

Ioniser

Ionisers are still a fairly new feature in most fans, but they can really make a difference when using your fan and will make the air feel much fresher and making you feel cooler. An ioniser works by adding negative ions into the air – these negative ions are the same as the ones found in a natural breeze and are what makes ‘fresh air’ feel so fresh, by circulating these negative ions throughout your room the air will feel fresher making the overall atmosphere feel more comfortable.

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Placing Your Fan in The Right Position

Once you have chosen the right fan for your needs the next thing you need to consider is where best to place your fan in a room, there are a couple of locations that are more ideal than others to make the most of the cool breeze and airflow.

Try placing your fan in a central location to ensure that there's good air circulation around your room and that no part of the room is being left out. This way the air is circulated all around the room rather than just in one single direction.

We also recommend placing your fan near an open window or door, this will allow it to circulate fresh air into the room which will reduce the stifling breeze and will enhance any natural breeze to feel cooler and it will also pull some of the hot air out of the room. Placing your fa in the right place will make a huge difference in making a room feel cooler so always keep this in mind while using a fan although we know when the temperature is high it can be tempting to just have a fan directed at yourself, your body will soon adapt to this and it will feel less and less cooling as the day goes on.

Other Ways to Improve Cooling

There are a few other hints and tricks to make the most of your fans too. Consider using a cooling mist on your body while in front of your fan, as this will mimic the feeling of sweat evaporating (a process known as evaporative cooling) which will help you to feel cooler.

You can also place a bottle of iced water in front of your fan, this way the fan will then circulate the chilled air produced by the bottle around your room, which will in turn make the breeze feel much cooler, however, remember to keep replacing the iced water to ensure the breeze stays cool.

However, placing your fans in this position and using these other tricks will help to increase and improve their cooling power, although it is important to note that fans will always be very limited in what they can achieve in terms of cooling since they do not use a refrigerant they are not capable of lowering the temperature of a room.

We hope this blog was able to give you a better idea of what to look for when purchasing your fan and where best to place it to really make the most of the cooling effects they offer. There are also other cooling options you can consider such as Air conditioners and Air coolers, however, these units do take up more room and cost much more to buy as well as run, so it is understandable that these options are not always practical especially when living in a country that does not have frequent hot weather. Especially when fans when used correctly are a fantastic source of air circulation and cooling.