You are right that the radiator can be used only for the illusion that the wind is blowing.
I assume that you have physical bodies attached to nodes that should be affected by the wind.
In your -update: method,
-(void)update:(CFTimeInterval)currentTime
{
if (windOn)
{
for (SKNode *node in self.children)
{
if (node.physicsBody.categoryBitMask == whateverCategory)
{
[node.physicsBody applyForce:CGVectorMake(200, 0)];
}
}
}
}
, . .