4 February

Last night I sat in front of this ultra cheapo fan, and decided to calculate what it costs to run (slow TV night). The answer? 1 cent per hour. That means I could run it 24 hours per day, for a whole week, for about $1.50. Running an air conditioner for the same length of time would cost about $85. So, go fans! In a way it all depends how you think about cooling. An air con will definitely bring the temperature of your room down (a fan won't). But on the other hand the ultimate aim is for you to feel cooler. And cooling is not just about temperature, a fan can make you feel comfortably cool even at very high temperatures, provided you aim it at yourself. So you can take the 'temperature' route towards feeling cooler, or the 'cooling' route, targeting the cooling of the body rather than the room. This one cost about $20 too, whereas decent air con would cost $1000 or more, even before paying the electricity bill.