How to properly cool your home with a fan

DAAP Professor Pravin Bhiwapurkar contributes to TIME article on the use of fans in hot weather

Before the advent of air conditioning, the fan was a good way to lower room temperatures; and it still is, as fans require much less electricity as they move air across the body to keep you cool, say experts in a TIME magazine article. 

One of those experts is Pravin Bhiwapurkar, on faculty at the University of Cincinnati’s College of Design, Architecture, Art and Planning.  

Bhiwapurkar, an associate professor in School of Architecture and Interior Design, is a trusted media resource and is a prolific researcher in the area of heat islands: urban areas where tall buildings and the lack of vegetation impact temperatures.   

The article covers all types of fans — tabletop, standing, window — and the best use, even in coordination with air conditioning. Bhiwapurkar’s contribution to the article focuses on the use of window fans and placement.

Consider timing when you use a window fan, he says. “You want to window fan when it’s cooler outside the home than inside, typically overnight or early morning,” and “direction is also key: the fan should face inward, so it draws the cooler air into your abode and blows it in your direction.”

Read the TIME article.

Feature image at top: iStock/JulieAlexK 

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