Did you know that ceiling fans won’t actually reduce the temperature in your room or home? It’s true. The average temperature of a room with moving air is approximately the same as one with air that’s still. In fact, the temperature may go up slightly due to the heat that’s produced by the motor of the fan.
What a fan can do is to cool down the space through convection. As the air moves around your skin, then the sweat present will vaporize at a much faster rate. This is going to absorb heat from your body. It’s the heat transfer that helps you feel cooler, even though the room’s temperature stays the same.
If you want to use a fan to cool your home, then there are a few things you need to know. Keep reading to learn what those things are.
What You Need to Think About Prior to Installing a Ceiling Fan
If you currently don’t have a fan in your home, you may be thinking about having one – or several – installed. There are a few things you need to think about before you install it.
- The number of fan blades: The more blades that are on the fan, the quieter the fan is going to operate; however, it’s going to move the air at a much slower rate. By using a fan with fewer blades, you can increase the amount of airflow per blade while using a lower speed.
- The size of the fan: A larger room is going to require a larger sized fan. For example, a living room that’s between 144 and 225 square feet needs to have a 44-inch fan.
- Wattage and lighting: If you are installing a fan with a light kit, make sure you know the maximum wattage rating for that particular fan. It’s also important to understand that a high-wattage incandescent lamp that is going to increase the heat in the room. Opt for LEDs instead.
- Choose a reversible fan: A fan isn’t just going to circulate the cool air around your rooms during the summer. In the winter, a reversing fan can pull the air up and push the warm air near the ceiling down.
Offsetting AC Costs Using Fans
It is going to cost quite a bit to cool down a whole room. Each degree the temperature goes up, it means you are spending more to get it to go back down. When you add ceiling fans to areas that are used more often, it can help you reduce the total amount of energy you spend helping to reduce your cooling costs.
By installing a fan, you can adjust your home’s thermostat by approximately two to five degrees without having to worry about jeopardizing your comfort. This is going to help reduce your cooling costs by about 10 percent.
If you want more information about keeping your home comfortable while reducing energy costs, talk to the pros. They can help provide you with an AC tune-up that is going to make the system operate more efficiently.