What’s the key to staying cool during a heat wave? A fan may not be the answer, researchers say

LOS ANGELES (KABC) — After a mild July, August is really heating up. What’s the key to staying cool? It might surprise you to learn that an electric fan might not be the answer.

When temperatures soar, Wendy Ramos can’t live without her electric fans.

“I have it all the time. I have one at work, even at home. I just sit in front of it and turn it on,” Ramos said.

However, several studies find that using a fan without an air conditioner in high, dry heat can cause more harm than good. Some find that hard to believe.

“I’ll probably still keep using fans because I feel like it helps me,” said Megan Delbarian.

But science says otherwise. Researchers say when outside air reaches the same temperature as your body, that’s when your fan can turn into a convection oven.

“Skin temperature maxes out at around 95 Fahrenheit, pushing just warmer air over the skin surface is just going to cause the body to gain heat more rapidly,” said Dr. Robert Meade, a researcher at Harvard’s T.H. Chan School of Public Health.

Meade studied 18 seniors for several hours with a fan in a 96-degree room. While their body temperatures did drop a degree or two, it’s not enough.

“They just can’t provide as much cooling, and this is just physiology and physics,” Meade said.

Other research found that using a fan in high heat can be especially detrimental to people with heart disease. In heat, the heart has to work hard to bring warm blood to the surface.

“The increase in how much blood the heart has to pump is what’s thought to precipitate adverse cardiovascular events during heat waves. And actually, cardiovascular events are the major killer during heat waves,” Meade said.

But when it comes to running a fan at night, Meade says that’s a strategy that actually works.

“If the outdoor temperature is actually cooler, drops below your indoor temperature, you can actually use a fan to help draw air in from the outside and help cool the home that way,” he explained.

When does a fan work in high heat? Since your body uses sweat and evaporation to expel heat, Meade says you can enhance that with a fan and water.

Experts say before you sit in front of a fan, wet your skin first, and use a spray bottle to keep it consistent after it evaporates. Or you can saturate a towel and keep it around your neck.

“There is some promising research showing you can get improvements in how much heat you’re losing, reductions in how hard your heart is working, reductions in body temperature,” Meade said.

For many, that’s comforting news.