The simple tricks that'll help you get the most out of your fan this summer.

If you’re one of the millions of Aussies who are currently being forced to go through life without sweet, sweet air conditioning units, you have our sincerest sympathies.

For years we’ve suffered through sticky days, hot nights, and countless heatwaves, with nothing but a dinky rotating fan to get us through. And as we all know, those fans don’t actually do anything, right?

Well, as it turns out, that's actually wrong. So very, very wrong, in fact.

As it happens, when used correctly, fans are your ticket to summer survival. We've just been using them wrong all these years.

Here's how to turn your home into an ice-cold zen zone in no time.

1. Put a bowl of ice in front of your fan.

There's nothing worse than getting home after a long day of work and sweaty commute and walking into a stifling apartment. Thankfully, one of the quickest ways to get the temperature dropping is both free and easy.

Simply position a bowl of ice water in front of your fan and feel the cool breeze float on over you. This is also a great trick to use later in the night when you're trying to drift off on those stinking hot nights.

Here's what to watch if the heat is keeping you up at night. (Post continues after audio.)

2. Invest in a floor fan.

As we all know, heat rises. And that means that the golden, cooler air that you want to get to know better and have circulating is currently sitting at floor level.

To get it up to where it needs to be, you need to invest in a floor fan — or if possible, set your current fan on the floor.

3. Don't point the fan right at yourself.

It seems highly counter-intuitive, but believe us when we say that positioning your fan away from yourself and towards an open window will work wonders when it comes to cooling down your summer space.

According to the laws of physics, pointing your fan towards one open window blows the hot air that's currently residing in your space out, and, with another window at the shady end of your abode open, the cooler air can then come in.

4. Invest in a second fan and show that heat who's boss.

Like cage fighting, nothing quite beats your opponent (in this case, the heat) quite like a double whammy. And so if your purse permits, delivering a brutal one-two assault should leave you slime-sweat free for at least one evening.

To succeed, one fan should be facing an open window (see point 3) and the other either in the centre of the doorway or in the corner away from the window fan. By doing so, you're effectively creating a wind tunnel that allows hot air to escape and fresh air to enter.

The mind, it boggles.