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Ceiling Fan Direction How To Turn During Summer and Winter
Reversible ceiling fan direction is one of the many features of these fans that offer a unique advantage. Using these fans, which are designed to install on the ceiling, is highly advantageous.
Aside from the fact that there are plenty of Energy Star fans, these fans are naturally energy-efficient because they simply don’t require that much power to run. Even some non-Energy Star rated products use only as much power as a 100-watt lightbulb. This makes them better to use than traditional electric fans and air conditioners.
The best part is, they can also help you save money because you only need to buy a single product that can provide both energy-efficient cooling as well as heating for both the summer and the winter seasons. All you have to do is change the direction of the fan blades, a feature available in most, if not all, ceiling fans today.
Ceiling fan Direction During Summer
During the warm summer months, most people would rather use air conditioners. However, this can be very costly due to the high power requirement of air conditioners.
These ceiling type fans, however, use up little energy but provide excellent cooling as long as you use the right ceiling fan direction. The way they work makes sure of this.
These ceiling-based fans do not lower room temperatures the way an air conditioner does. However, it cools rooms without much energy use by simply making air circulate around the room.
This produces a breeze that goes around the room, keeping it airy and fresh. To make the air flow stronger, just open all the windows to let the fan circulate the air better.
According to studies, effective air circulation can make you feel around 8 degrees cooler than the actual room temperature. This also reduces cooling bills by up to 40 percent.
To provide cooling, set your ceiling fan to rotate in a counter-clockwise movement during the summer. If you get confused, just keep the 3 C’s in mind, which stand for “counter clockwise cooling.”
Ceiling fan Direction During Winter
These fans are also dual-purpose; they offer not just cooling but also warming. This means you get to save not just on air conditioning but also in home heating.
The ideal direction of a ceiling fan during winter is clockwise. Air in a room has varied temperatures. The air nearest the ceiling is always the warmest; it is around 15 degrees warmer than air nearest the floor.
Since the warmest air in a room is located nearest the ceiling, the clockwise direction pushes the warm air downwards.
The clockwise direction is already effective since warm air is known to be lighter than cool air; the lowest speed setting is ideal for such purposes. The fan will then move the warm air down the walls and recirculate around the room. This means it causes a warming effect, which is not possible if you use a conventional electric fan.
Statistics show that fans used for heating in the winter months have reduced home and commercial heating costs by up to 10 percent.
Exceptions to the Rule
However, there are some exceptions to the rule of ceiling fan directions in the summer and winter months.
One exception pertains to ceiling height. If the room’s ceiling is higher than 8 feet, a ceiling fan cannot easily push the warm air downwards in the winter months. So if you use your fan in the winter, don’t be surprised if you don’t feel the heating effect if you’re running it at the lowest speed. You will enjoy better heating results if you use medium or high speed.
Another exception is when your fan is used alongside an air conditioner in a room. This applies usually to larger rooms that are used for gatherings. Regardless of whether it is summer or winter, you can use the clockwise direction to move the cold air around the room if the air conditioner is turned on.
Also, since ceiling fans make you feel cooler because the air is sent directly to people inside the room, you can also reverse the recommended direction during summer if you don’t want the air to go directly to you.
The area or room you are going to place the fan in should also be considered in choosing the ideal direction. For example, in the dining room, these fans can make food get cold faster if you use the usual counter-clockwise rotation. The same goes for when these fans are used in bathrooms so that you won’t catch a cold draft when you step out of the shower or when you’re bathing.
On the other hand, when you use a ceiling-mount fan in the kitchen, you’d want to push the warm air downwards towards the floor so the kitchen won’t feel warm. This means that in such a situation, you can turn the fan clockwise even in the summer. These are just some of the exceptions to the rule of ceiling fan direction during winter and summer.
Choosing Your Fan
Before you buy one, make sure the model you choose comes with reversible air movement so you can use it both in the summer and in the winter. And since controlling the air movement is related to fan speeds, make sure your fan comes with at least three fan speeds. A remote control or wall control that can be used to conveniently control or adjust the rotation of the fan and fan speeds will also be a convenient feature to have.
