This article is part 1 of Cooling Your Home Naturally with Fans and Ventilation.
You can save energy and money when you ventilate your home instead of using your air conditioner, except on the hottest days. Moving air can remove heat from your home. Moving air also creates a wind chill effect that cools your [...]
This article is part 2 of Cooling Your Home Naturally with Fans and Ventilation.
Cooling the Human Body
Your body can cool down through three processes: convection, radiation, and perspiration. Ventilation enhances all these processes.
Convection occurs when heat is carried away from your body via moving air. If the surrounding air is cooler than your skin, [...]
This article is part 3 of Cooling Your Home Naturally with Fans and Ventilation.
Natural ventilation relies on the wind and the “chimney effect” to keep a home cool.
The wind will naturally ventilate your home by entering or leaving windows, depending on their orientation to the wind. When wind blows against your home, air is [...]
This article is part 4 of Cooling Your Home Naturally with Fans and Ventilation.
When you know how air moves naturally through your home, you can then optimize your mechanical ventilation.
In warmer climates, natural ventilation can’t circulate enough air through a home to provide sufficient cooling at night to remove the day’s heat. Mechanical ventilation [...]
This article is part 5 of Cooling Your Home Naturally with Fans and Ventilation.
Window fans are best used in windows facing the prevailing wind or away from it to provide cross-ventilation. Window fans augment any breeze or create a breeze when the air is still. If the wind direction changes frequently in your area, [...]
This article is part 6 of Cooling Your Home Naturally with Fans and Ventilation.
A whole-house fan can substitute for an air conditioner most of the year in most climates. Whole-house fans combined with ceiling fans and portable fans pro- vide acceptable summer comfort for many families, even in hot weather.
How Whole-House Fans Work
The whole-house [...]
This article is part 7 of Cooling Your Home Naturally with Fans and Ventilation.
Evaporative coolers or swamp coolers are a popular and energy-efficient cooling strategy in dry climates of the United States.
Hot outside air enters the swamp cooler. The air passes over water-saturated pads, and the water evaporates into the air. The energy used [...]
This article is part 8 of Cooling Your Home Naturally with Fans and Ventilation.
Remember the following if you plan to cool your home with ventilation:
Learn how air flows naturally through your house.
Take advantage of cool night air, and ventilate your home by natural or mechanical methods.
Keep a clear path for airflow both inside and [...]
