Secondarily, should the fan be outside or inside the window?
Asking for a friend. (Me, help. I can’t remember physics, it’s too goddamn hot)
Edit: I’ve opened all the windows and set up a fan a short distance from the window pointing out and it’s reduced the temperature to near-tolerable levels. Unfortunately, venting through the attic was a no-go but moving things aside might make it an option next time. Thank you all, I appreciate the help!
Any fan pushing out is also causing air to pull in somewhere else. The inverse is also true. Setup all your fans in the same orientation (ex: all blowing out or all blowing in) and have the other windows in the house open as well.
For maximum effect, have the cool air first coming into a room (or rooms) you are in or most want to cool down. As that will give you the most pronounced, direct effect.
It is also generally helpful to make sure the air has to travel through several rooms in its journey. If it is coming in a window, and leaving from another window in the same room, most of your house will get nothing.
You can also run your home’s HVAC on fan mode to distribute air more, if you are having troubles with certain areas of the house. Also remember bathroom vents can help out, too.
I wouldn’t point all my fans in or out unless they’re all on one side of the building. You want to create a ‘wind tunnel’ effect to pull the air through the house and this is best achieved by keeping all the air flowing in one direction (north to south, east to west, etc).
Using the HVAC fan definitely helps a ton. Our vents are all below windows and this really causes the air to get moving.