3 ms·

Those two paragraphs are at odds with one another, no? Moving air also increases the evaporation rate. This is why fans are found to be generally effective to

Those two paragraphs are at odds with one another, no? Moving air also increases the evaporation rate. This is why fans are found to be generally effective to 104 degrees. https://time.com/5644737/fans-can-make-you-hotter/ https://time.com/5644737/fans-can-make-you-hotter/

Retric 2y ago
It’s poorly worded, not incorrect. I’d replace top with something like: A fan isn’t directly helpful, unlike an AC it’s not going to cool an empty closed room. However, it can make a wider range of temperatures and humidity levels comfortable through aiding evaporation or bringing in cooler air when possible.
- Retric 2y ago
  Continuing… This is why as the article mentions a fan alone can be worse than doing nothing in sufficiently hot and dry air. People only sweat so fast so at some point without supplemental moisture the fan acts like a convection oven simply warming people faster. This can be offset by adding supplemental moisture via a 'evaporative vests' or mister the maximum temperature increases. This and other reasons mean health organizations are concerned with finding and communicating the maximum temperature fans are still useful.
  - quantadev 2y ago
    If you think about it, fan use during super high heats could lead to fatalities, because people using them could possibly be so hot, they're not even able to realize the moving of hot air over them is actually heating them up more. Anyway, like I said the only REAL solution is evaporative effects, if there's no AC to be had.
mmooss 2y ago
> fans are found to be generally effective to 104 degrees The OP goes through a lot of evidence saying the threshold is lower.
quantadev 2y ago
I wouldn't dispute that there's a very narrow band of temperature differential and air flow rates where the speeded up rate of airflow increases evaporation cooling effects enough to compensate for the faster rate of heat delivery from the air itself. The hotter the air tho, the slower you'd want your fan to be, in this narrow range of conditions.

Retric 2y ago

It’s poorly worded, not incorrect. I’d replace top with something like: A fan isn’t directly helpful, unlike an AC it’s not going to cool an empty closed room. However, it can make a wider range of temperatures and humidity levels comfortable through aiding evaporation or bringing in cooler air when possible.

Retric 2y ago
Continuing… This is why as the article mentions a fan alone can be worse than doing nothing in sufficiently hot and dry air. People only sweat so fast so at some point without supplemental moisture the fan acts like a convection oven simply warming people faster. This can be offset by adding supplemental moisture via a 'evaporative vests' or mister the maximum temperature increases. This and other reasons mean health organizations are concerned with finding and communicating the maximum temperature fans are still useful.
- quantadev 2y ago
  If you think about it, fan use during super high heats could lead to fatalities, because people using them could possibly be so hot, they're not even able to realize the moving of hot air over them is actually heating them up more. Anyway, like I said the only REAL solution is evaporative effects, if there's no AC to be had.

mmooss 2y ago

> fans are found to be generally effective to 104 degrees The OP goes through a lot of evidence saying the threshold is lower.

quantadev 2y ago

I wouldn't dispute that there's a very narrow band of temperature differential and air flow rates where the speeded up rate of airflow increases evaporation cooling effects enough to compensate for the faster rate of heat delivery from the air itself. The hotter the air tho, the slower you'd want your fan to be, in this narrow range of conditions.