Whats cheaper fan or AC?

What part of the country do you live in and what is the average temperature in the summer months. In Seattle, I would opt for fans, in Philadelphia, I would be thinking A/C.

First, before you move the air, block the sunshine from the inside by closing blinds or pulling down the shades, then close drapes over those blinds and shades. You can block a lot of the solar heat from entering the house and make it easier to keep it comfortable.

Secondly, open windows and doors during the coolest part of the evening and early morning to get the cooler air into the house and the heat outside. That form of cooling is the least expensive. When the temperature outside and inside are about the same, close up the house and keep it that way until it is cooler outside than inside.

That said, I put box fans in a window, pushing air from outside into the house. At the other side of the house I open windows to allow hot air to be pushed outside. The cooler air is more dense than hotter air, so it pushes easier.

In two story house, open upper floor windows for exiting air, push air into the house at the lower elevations, preferably on the shady side of the house.

If you water lawns at your place, the wet turf of a lawn or dampened flower beds will help to cool the incoming air.

You will use a very small amount of power to operate fans in your home. You will use a lot of electricity if you turn on an A/C unit.

Central air conditioners cost quite a bit to run. It also depends on how you run an air conditioner. If you set the temperature extremtly low on cooling, the compressor never turns off and your electricity bills will go through the roof.

An inverter air conditioner might save you a bit of money. Inverters can ramp down which can save you energy in running costs. See http://airconditioningexplained.com/?p=283 for more on inverters.

In regards to your questions however, it would be far cheaper to run fans all day, every day rather than having a central air conditioner unit on, even if only for a few hours!

Haven't thought too much about that

fans way cheaper

really good question, looking forward to reading the replies