This simple hack will cool you down in no time
The UK is currently experiencing scorching temperatures, and while many are outside soaking up the sunshine, plenty of us are trapped indoors battling the heat. If you’re fortunate enough to own a fan right now, you’ve probably had it running since first thing this morning, but if it’s failing to cool you down, you may not be operating it correctly.
Sam Morris, a researcher from Which?, has revealed that people mistakenly believe simply switching a fan on will reduce a room’s temperature, but they’re actually not designed for that purpose. He explained: “Fans don’t cool a room: they move air around, which helps cool your body. If you’re not in the room, there’s no benefit to leaving the fan on.”
However, it’s remarkably straightforward to make a fan work better so it cools your home rapidly, and all you really need is some water and ice.
How can water and ice make a fan more efficient?
Properties become warm on bright days because sunlight heats the air and surfaces around windows, enabling heat to circulate throughout the room and become locked indoors.
Fans boost airflow to shift warm air away from your skin, but if a room is already extremely hot, the temperature will stay unchanged and you’ll still feel uncomfortable all day long.
Opening a window and switching on a fan will provide some relief as it helps circulate the air, but warm air will merely move around a room so it doesn’t actually lower the temperature. Water and ice are effective at cooling a space because they require energy to evaporate or melt, which they generate by drawing in heat from the surrounding air.
Positioning a bowl of water and ice in front of a fan will help rapidly eliminate any warm air in a room, allowing you to enjoy the sunny weather without feeling uncomfortably hot.
Sam added: “You’re basically getting your fan to work a bit like an air conditioner, where the ice absorbs heat from the air.”
How to make a fan cool down a room quickly
Simply fill a shallow bowl or tray with ice cubes. Next, place it in front of the fan, switch it on, and within just a few minutes you should feel a noticeable difference in temperature.
Bear in mind, however, that this method will only maintain a cooler room for roughly one to two hours at most before the ice needs replacing.
If you’re looking to maintain a lower temperature throughout the entire day, freeze one or two large bottles of water. Position them in front of the fan, but far enough away to ensure any condensation cannot reach the device.
The larger blocks of ice will melt considerably more slowly, hopefully keeping you as comfortable as possible throughout the day, so that the scorching temperatures won’t trouble you in the slightest.
