April 27th, 2020 by Sarah Miles

As the weather becomes warmer over the spring and summer, there is an increasing need to stay cool in our homes and offices. There are a number of ways you can achieve this but one of the most popular, and effective, methods is to use a fan or some kind of cooling equipment. It’s really worth doing some research to see what the best bit of kit is for the space you want to cool but did you realise that it’s not just the type of fan or cooler that you get that will make an impact; it’s also where you place it? That’s because different types of equipment use the air in different ways so you can really improve their cooling power, simply by locating it with a bit of thought.

It’s useful to understand how each type of cooling equipment works so we’ll look at some of the different options and explain how best to use them.

Fans

Fans work by moving the existing air in the room around. As air moves over your skin, the moisture on your skin evaporates and loses heat energy. The more air the fan moves, the cooler it will feel. Because fans use the air within the room, they are much more effective if there is good natural airflow.

Where best to place a fan

To allow fans to utilise the existing airflow of the room, they work best when placed near an open window or door. If you have a wall mounted fan, you can also use height to increase its cooling power. Heat rises so placing a fan close to the ceiling, near an open door or window, will enable it to keep that warm air moving and prevent it from gathering as stale air.

Air Coolers

Air coolers are a middle step between a fan and an air conditioning unit. They work in a similar way to fans, using air from the room but they also use water to aid the cooling process. They take water from a tank, this soaks an absorbent pad, and the fan sucks air from the back of the unit, over the water soaked pad and disperses it around the room.

Where best to place an air cooler

As with a fan, an air cooler uses the air from the space so better airflow means more air available. Therefore, air coolers also work best close to open doors and windows.

Air Conditioners

Air conditioners really are the kings of cooling! We’re used to seeing them in hotter countries but as our summers turn increasingly warmer, they are becoming very popular in the UK too. In simple terms, air conditioner units suck in warm air from the room, passes it over a coolant which cools it and blows it back into the room. The heat is then transferred outside through an exhaust duct. It cycles through this system on a constant loop.

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Where best to place an air conditioner

As an air conditioning unit needs an exhaust duct that runs outside the room, it will need to be placed close to an external wall to allow the duct to run through the wall or a window. However, because an air conditioning unit is so much more effective at cooling the air than a fan or cooler you won’t want that cool air to escape so keep doors and windows closed. If you have to run the exhaust through a window, only leave the window open enough to do that and keep other windows and doors closed.

Hopefully this offers some insight into how best to use your air cooling options to achieve the best results you can and keep cool this summer.