We spend most of our time in built spaces that substantially affect our health, well-being, and productivity. Conditioning the built environment has a large influence on climate change, most of which comes from the energy used to create indoor comfort. The need for cooling has been increasing globally, with most of it happening in tropical countries because of their economic and demographic growth. How can we enhance occupant satisfaction without increasing buildings’ environmental impact even further? Dr. Schiavon will present strategies to reduce the impact of air conditioning and show why electric fans can be both an alternative to and augmentation of air conditioning. In a remarkable number of ways, they have the potential to reduce energy use and increase thermal comfort simultaneously. He will also show that the PMV/PPD thermal comfort model has low prediction accuracy and we do not have enough evidence to justify narrow indoor temperature ranges for thermal comfort or work performance reasons. Dr. Schiavon will end the presentation by making a case for how electric fans in many situations can protect people during heatwaves.