Short Communication
Electric fans: A potential stay-at-home cooling strategy during the COVID-19 pandemic this summer?

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2020.141180Get rights and content

Highlights

  • Public cooling centers are recommended for those without access to air-conditioning.

  • At home cooling reduces risk of SARS-COV-2 transmission among vulnerable individuals.

  • Fan-use with water spraying gives effective cooling 100% of time in 80 of 105 US cities.

  • In only 10 of 105 cities fan-use with water spraying is not effective >0.5% summer days.

  • Alternative COVID-compatible cooling methods must be found for Southwest US states.

Abstract

Current public health guidance designed to protect individuals against extreme heat and the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic is seemingly discordant, yet during the northern hemisphere summer, we are faced with the imminent threat of their simultaneous existence. Here we examine the environmental limits of electric fan-use in the context of the United States summer as a potential stay-at-home cooling strategy that aligns with existing efforts to mitigate the spread of SARS-COV-2.

Keywords

Fan-use
Cooling centers
Heat balance
Convection
Evaporation
Physical distancing

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