If you are looking to reduce your utility bill and efficiently cool your home this upcoming summer, ceiling fans are an inexpensive way to add that comfort to your home throughout the season and even in the winter. When you operate ceiling fans properly you can cool off or warm your home and save money at the same time by reducing the use of your air conditioning unit.
Ceiling Fan Direction in Summer – Forward/Counter Clockwise
On very hot summer days you can beat the heat with a breeze from a ceiling fan. A ceiling fan’s direction in the summer should be rotating counter clockwise or “forward” to which produces a Wind Chill effect when it creates downward airflow. Your thermostat won’t actually change but the room will feel like it’s several degrees cooler because of the wind chill factor.
When you are using a ceiling fan you can then generally raise the thermostat setting, which results in reduced air conditioning energy consumption of 40% or more while still keeping your room cool.
Ceiling Fan Direction in Winter – Reverse/Clockwise
Ceiling fans are generally thought of when it comes to warm weather. However, many people don’t realize that ceiling fans can also help warm up a room in cooler months. The ceiling fan direction in winter should rotate clockwise or “reverse”. Warm air rises and gets trapped near the ceiling so when the ceiling fan direction is in “reverse mode” it circulates the warm air from the ceiling to the floor which helps take the coolness out of the air.
Without a ceiling Fan the warm air would continue to be trapped near the ceiling and the floor level would continue to stay cold. Keep in mind that with reverse mode it only works if the fan is on low. If you have the fan on higher speed you might create a wind chill effect since it is already cold. Check your fan because some ceiling fans now come with a wall or remote control that has a forward/reverse option so you can change the direction with a push of a button. I hope you find this post helpful!