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by Anonymous on July 17th, 2006

Anonymous

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Why does an electric fan make it feel cooler? Shouldn't it just move the hot air around a bit?

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  • by davoomac on July 17th, 2006

    davoomac

    Wow what a great question!

    I'd like to answer it myself but the experts at howstuffworks.com already did all the work. ;)

    (electric) fans actually add heat to a room. One way to think about it is like this: If you have a perfectly insulated room and you put an electric fan in it, then the room will get warmer. All the electricity that is driving the fan turns directly into heat.

    So a fan does not cool the room at all. What a fan does is create a wind chill effect.

    When weatherpeople talk about wind chill ( http://science.howstuffworks.com/question70.htm ) on a cold winter day, what they are referring to is how the wind increases convective heat loss (see How Thermoses Works: http://science.howstuffworks.com/thermos.htm for details on convection). By blowing air around, the fan makes it easier for the air to evaporate sweat ( http://science.howstuffworks.com/sweat.htm ) from your skin, which is how you eliminate body heat. The more evaporation, the cooler you feel.

    Full article:
    http://science.howstuffworks.com/question22.htm

    Comments

    • well put no need to answer this one you nailed it (O:

      pinkpiggies

      by pinkpiggies on July 17th, 2006

    • I always wondered that too, thanks!

      gung-ho

      by gung-ho on July 17th, 2006

    • Great stuff!

      Anonymous

      by Anonymous on July 17th, 2006

    • what in the world i think someone rated this Spam/offensive. I think this is a good and interesting answer. If you have a problem with it please post a comment :)

      davoomac

      by davoomac on July 17th, 2006

    • I bet it was a mistake davoomac- that whole scrolly problem. I can't see how anyone would be offended by this!

      Anonymous

      by Anonymous on August 1st, 2006

    • you, my friend, are an idiot, how about learning a little bit about heat and fluid xfer before thinking you know everything

      nukedout

      by nukedout on January 18th, 2010

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