Fancy A Fan?

Do we know fans down here! Without them we wouldn’t sleep that well. Except of course with howling winds outdoors, we make use of fans. As long as ‘the power is with us’ that is. With that electric power gone, we should fall back to the very first fans from the 1860s and 70s that made use of running water, in conjunction with a turbine, to drive a system of belts which would turn the fan. But that’s really outdated and unpracticle. So, that’s a ‘no’. Much handier are (electrical) ceiling fans, invented by Philip Diehl in 1882. But fans only move air, unlike air conditioners that change temperature. Another reason to apt for aircon, if you can afford it, is that a fan’s breeze speeds the evaporation of perspiration on human skin. That sounds (and feels) good. But. Since the fan works directly on the body, rather than by changing the temperature of the air, it’s a waste of electricity to leave a ceiling fan on when no-one is around. But let’s be honest: most fans do look more impressive or fun than many aircon! Image by Photobucket/lalululopez