Point it at your face? Use a bowl of ice? Open a window? Our experts separate fact from fiction.

Struggling to work and sleep without air con? Your trusty electric fan could help more than you think - but only if you put it in the right place. During the last heatwave, social media was full of advice on how to make your fan work harder - but some of it was conflicting. So, to try to clear up any confusion, we asked experts to separate fact from fiction - from which part of your body to direct your electric fan at, to the best room in the house to put it. The first thing most people will want to know is if opening a window and using a fan at the same time will cool down their home. It depends, says Becci Taylor, a specialist in building physics at the engineering firm Arup. She says it's best to try to keep the air in your home as cool as possible, so you should keep the windows closed during the daytime, when temperatures outside are likely to be at their highest. She recommends drawing curtains and blinds in rooms facing direct sunlight to stop the air inside heating up. "If the air is cooler than your skin temperature, it's going to cool you down even without sweating," she says. You could place a fan in the coldest room and use that to direct its air towards the rest of your home. Though she advises only doing so if you have a reasonably large or powerful fan.