Can't get your hands on a portable air con? Try these 5 tricks to supercharge your fan's cooling power in the heatwave

As we experience the third heatwave of the year, seeing temperatures exceed 30°C across much of the UK for days on end, it's no wonder that portable air conditioners have sold out left, right and centre. And summer isn't over yet, which means we could see more heatwaves hit before autumn rolls around.

If you've not managed to get your hands on one of the best portable air conditioners, but do have one of the best fans going, then now is the time to supercharge your fan's cooling capacity to get the most comfort you can from it.

But where do you start? I spoke to the fan experts to find out.

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1. Be tactical about fan placement

To give your fan's cooling power a boost, strategic fan placement is crucial, especially if you want to create a wind chill effect.

'Effective indoor cooling is often less about turning fans up to maximum power and more about improving airflow circulation and creating a fresher, more balanced ventilation environment,' explains Olivia Xu, Chief of Marketing at DREO.

While at the hottest parts of the day, you'll want to have the fan positioned near to you so it can help cool you down, but when it's cooler, tactical placement will help you turbo-charge your home's ventilation.

'To get more out of a standard fan, position it near an open window to draw in cooler air from outside and push the warmer air out,' says Olivia. 'Better still, if you have windows on opposite sides of a room or home, open them both to create cross-ventilation. This encourages a natural airflow path that pulls cooler air through while pushing the heat out.'

Just make sure you avoid the places you shouldn't put a fan, so you're not inadvertently making your home warmer.

2. Turn your fan on before you get hot

After cooling down a bit overnight, your home might feel perfectly pleasant to be in during the morning without the help of a fan. But this could mean you're missing a trick to keep your home cooler later on.

'Fans work best as a preventative cooling method rather than a reactive one,' continues Olivia. 'If you wait until you already feel overheated, your body temperature has already risen, making it harder to cool down quickly.

'Instead, turn your fan on early to maintain a steady airflow and prevent heat from building up in the first place.

'During hot evenings, balanced cooling and consistent airflow also tend to create a more comfortable environment for rest compared with constantly switching between overheating and aggressive cooling.'

3. Combine fan use with other body-cooling methods

Sometimes a fan can only do so much. But if you combine a fan with other methods of cooling your body down, you can trick your body into thinking your fan is much more effective. Olivia explains: 'On particularly hot days, don't forget about your body temperature too - simple steps like cooling your wrists, neck and ankles can help regulate heat more quickly.'

4. Keep track of the temperature inside and out

One of the biggest fan mistakes people make is not paying attention to air flow. And in a heatwave, to get this right, you need to understand the temperature both in and outside of your home. If you don't have one, it's worth investing in a digital thermometer, like this one from Amazon, for accurate measurements.

When it's cooler outside than it is inside, that's the time to open your windows, get some cross ventilation going, and use your fan to draw in some of that cooler air. But when it's cooler inside when it is outside, you should do your best to keep the heat out. 'Keep blinds closed during the hottest part of the day, then open your windows as the evening cools and use a fan to help draw fresh air through your home,' explains Guy Fridja, founder of AirCraft Home.

DREO's Olivia continues: 'Once sunlight enters a room, it quickly heats surfaces like walls, floors and furniture, which then continue to radiate heat long after the sun has moved. Over the course of the day, this gradual build-up can make indoor spaces feel increasingly warm, even before peak afternoon hours.

'To help manage this, it is important to limit direct sunlight entering living spaces during the brightest hours of the day.

'In addition, by blocking out direct sunlight before it has a chance to settle, you're essentially preventing your space from storing heat in the first place. This helps keep indoor temperatures more stable throughout the day and reduces the workload on cooling devices, making them far more effective when you do need them.'

5. Turbocharge your fan with ice

If you're fan feels like it's just blowing hot air at you, then it's time to pull out the big guns. Ice.

And there's a reason this fan ice hack is so popular on social media. As the ice melts and evaporates in front of the fan, the cool vapour gets blown around the room, making the air feel much fresher, and you much cooler. In fact it's very similar to how air coolers and misting fans work.

Whether you put a bowl of ice in front of your fan, freeze water in bottles, or use one of these fan attachments, you'll definitely be grateful for it in a heatwave!