How To Circulate Air In A Small Room With Just A Couple Of Fans
If you want a quick test to find out whether your bedroom or any other room that you frequently use needs better ventilation then here’s the simple question that you need to ask: whenever you spend more than five minutes in that room even with the fan is running at top speed, do you feel beads of sticky, hot sweat running down your back?
If the answer is yes then you definitely need to improve the air circulation in that room if you comfortably want to spend even a little time in the room.
How to circulate air in a small room is the question that should be on your mind right now then you will be glad to know that it’s quite an easy feat to accomplish.
In fact, when I moved into my new apartment recently, I faced the same problem. It used to get extremely humid and hot in my average sized bedroom and I felt I needed to do something about it. And so I did.
Without getting too technical, here is a little explanation how it will work: a phenomenon known as the air currents is what helped me (and it will help you too!) to cool my cramped room without having to install any expensive equipment. All I needed was a couple of fans for my bedroom.
The exact number of fans depend on the exact layout of the room (more on this later) but even if you use 3 to 4 fans, it will still be a relatively inexpensive solution as compared to installing an air conditioning unit or buying a portable one. These are the things that you need:
Now you might be asking what you need for making the air in your room fresh so here’s the answer:
• Minimum 2 and maximum 4 fans
• Doorstop
• A couple of free hours
When it comes to the fans, the type and size will depend on your specific requirements. It will all boil down to two main things: how much you are willing to spend and how much space is there in the room. You can either go with a box fan or a buy a pedestal one depending on what fits the bill.
You may need the doorstop to hold the door open. If the door in your room stays open on its own then there’s no need. You can also use something else to keep the door open. You can even use the fan as the doorstop.
The placement of the fans is simple enough so all you will need is an hour or two to accomplish the task. You might need to adjust the position of the fans a few time but even that won’t take long.
What you need to do:
Step 1: Determine what type of arrangement will work for you:
So, first things first: what is the layout of your room? Trust me, this question is important. Are there multiple windows in the room? Or is it a room that has only a single window? Is the room devoid of any windows? Are the windows on the same wall or are they on different walls? Are they at the same height? Are they of the same size?
The reason you need to answer all these questions is that that this information will dictate how many fans you need and where you will have to place them. But fret not, whatever the situation may be, you will be able to create good ventilation in the room without breaking a sweat.
Step 2: Place one fan in or near the window
The next thing you need to do is to place a fan near one of the windows with its face pointing inwards. Of course, the room needs to have at least one window for this to work (duh!).
If the fan is a box fan then place it right in the window and you can use the window pane to hold it in place. A pedestal fan needs to be as close to the window as it can be for maximum performance.
If there is no window then you can place the fan in the door. It doesn’t have to be exactly in the door frame as that will only make it harder to get in and out of the room. You should place it a little distance away from the door but still close enough.
This fan will force fresh air into the room. This fresh air not only pushes the stagnant air out of the room it will also help to create a current in the room that will help improve the ventilation to a great extent.
Step 3: Place another fan near another window
Now you need to repeat the process with another fan and another window. In contrast to the first fan, this fan should point outwards.
If there is another window in the room that is where you place the fan. The tricky part is this: where to place the fan if the room only has one window. What happened to me was that I was stuck with a single window in my room so I had to get a little creative.
I found this excellent tip for making it work: by placing the fan in the window of another room, preferably opposite, and opening the doors of both rooms had the same effect as that of having the second fan in the room. You can also place the fan in the next room. It’s surprisingly simple and really works well.
If the room is windowless and you have already placed a fan near in the door or near it then you should place the other fan in one corner of the room. Only one fan might not work so you may have to place another one in the other corner. I know, it’s a lot of fans but it still better than sweating nonstop while you are in the room.
The fan that you will place in this step is actually pushing the air out of the room and creating room for fresh air that is being pulled into the room by the other fan. This way, the air in the room keeps moving and this moving air helps to lower the temperature.
Step 4: Check if the ceiling fan helps the circulation
Via www.hgtv.com
The ceiling fan also circulates the air in the room but the problem with just using a ceiling fan is that it on circulates the air that’s already present in the room. With no fresh air, there is little to no chance of temperature dropping.
With a couple of box or pedestal fans that have been placed strategically, the circulation that the ceiling fan is responsible can actually be improved. But beware, that’s not always the case. And that’s why you need to check and make sure that this is the case for your particular setup.
If the ceiling fan isn’t helping then you are better off switching it off and just relying on the other two fans.
Step 5: Fine tune the arrangement:
This is the last step before you can sit back and relax in your favourite room whenever you want to without having to worry about sweating excessively: you need to make sure that the whole setup is actually working.
If you are saying that you have already done that in the previous step, you are not altogether wrong; you did check the effect of the ceiling fan on the ventilation. But you also need to make sure that the remaining of the setup also works flawlessly.
Try moving around the fans a bit and notice if there’s any difference in the airflow in the room. With a few tries, you will be able to optimize the placements exactly.
The memory of the days and the nights that I had to spend in my hot bedroom still send a shiver down my spine. It was pure agony before I fixed the problem using the method that I have detailed above. It’s not only easy to implement, it doesn’t cost a lot too.
If you are in the same situation then you must try this solution. It is bound to improve the atmosphere in your room and that’s a guarantee.
So what do you think of this guide? Did I miss anything or is there anything that can be done in a better way? Is there a cheaper or easier solution available? Feel free to share your thoughts in the comments below and if you have something to add, I am sure that other readers would appreciate it too just like me.
And don’t forget to share this guide with friends and family. They might be facing the same problem. I wish you a comfortable time in your cool and ventilated room.