WENDY and BIG ASS Fans Offer Sweaty New Yorkers Relief from the Heat at MoMA PS1

As enjoyable as it is to have to peel your butt off of every chair you sit on, wouldn't it be nice to escape from the city's sauna-like conditions for a bit? If you nodded yes, we recommend you go check out MoMA PS1's <a href="http://inhabitat.com/nyc/sneak-peek-see-hwkns-giant-blue-smog-eating-wendy-sculpture-before-it-opens-at-moma-ps1-next-week/">3,000 sq. ft. Wendy pavilion</a>, which in addition to being a striking, air-cleaning work of art, is nice and cool inside. If you don't believe us, ask Kentucky-based <a href="http://www.bigassfans.com/">Big Ass Fans</a>, who donated the 8 gigantic (they really live up to their name) AirGo fans that circulate air around the interior of the elevated structure, blasting people with good vibes and keeping them cool without any need for air conditioning.

As you might have learned from our past coverage of <a href="http://inhabitat.com/nyc/sneak-peek-see-hwkns-giant-blue-smog-eating-wendy-sculpture-before-it-opens-at-moma-ps1-next-week/">Wendy</a>, the spiky blue sculpture isn't just a cool structure for PS1's backyard.

In addition to being aesthetically pleasing, Wendy actually cleans the air by passing it through its specially-made titania nanoparticle-treated nylon skin.

The fans are an integral part of the process, delivering high-volume, low-speed (HVLS) technology with 360-degree angle adjustment capabilities to direct airflow in exactly the right way.

“The fans’ magnificent scale and craftsmanship are the perfect complement to Wendy's complicated form and mission,” said <a href="http://inhabitat.com/tag/marc-kushner/">Marc Kushner</a>, Principal of <a href="http://hwkn.com/">HWKN</a>, who created Wendy with his partner, Matthias Hollwich.

“Deep inside of the structure these slowly turning, perfectly balanced machines make the entire environmental agenda of the project come to life.”

The <a href="http://www.bigassfans.com/">Big Ass Fans</a> used inside Wendy can also teach us a lesson about the power of fans in general.

Many of us who grew up with air conditioning end up turning it on as a knee-jerk reaction as soon as we feel hot.

But the truth is that sometimes it's just not necessary to use AC - a simple fan will keep you cool and save you tons of energy and loot.

To put the difference between a fan and an air conditioner into perspective, a floor fan uses just 100 watts on the highest speed while a window unit AC uses 500 to 1440 watts and a 2.5-ton central system uses about 3500 watts (according to <a href="http://www.dailyfinance.com/2011/08/06/savings-experiment-cooling-your-home-for-less/">DailyFinance</a>). True, sometimes it's just so hot and muggy that it warrants turning on your AC, but for times when it's just a tad warm, why not turn to your friend the fan instead? Your wallet will thank you!

Or if you don't want to spend any money on electricity at all, why not just hang out inside Wendy all summer long? She'll keep you cool, and you won't have to spend a dime.