The Benefit of Ceiling Fans

Here on the South Shore, the winters can get blisteringly cold, while the summers can also get quite hot. You may find your energy bills fluctuating dramatically during summer and winter while staying manageable in the milder spring and fall. Using your ceiling fan to your advantage greatly reduces your energy expenses during the more extreme months.

If you didn’t know, ceiling fans can help both cool down and warm up rooms, depending on the direction of the fan’s circulation. It’s common to turn on the fan without thinking much about the direction that the blades rotate–if you’ve done this, you’re not alone! Paying attention to your fan will help you reduce energy costs, saving you from unknowingly raising your energy bills. In conjunction with your heater or air conditioner, ceiling fans greatly supplement your comfort while reducing expenses.

Keeping Warm

If you wonder how your fan can keep you warm, it’s very simple. On the base of the fan, you’ll notice a switch. If you toggle the switch and then turn on the fan, you’ll notice that the blades now rotate in a clockwise, rather than a counterclockwise, direction. When reversing the rotation direction like this, the blades now push air down from the top of the room. Hot air naturally rises to the ceiling when you heat your home, which makes it feel cooler closer to the ground. The fan circulates and pushes down the warmth so that the room feels warmer and your home has fewer cold spots.

Keeping Cool

Ceiling fans don’t really do anything to change the temperature of a room, but they circulate the air your HVAC system produces so that you feel more cool or warm air circulating throughout your home. If you toggle the switch again so that the blades rotate counterclockwise, the breeze the fan produces will remove the heat envelope from around people, making them feel cooler. Fans set to rotate counterclockwise will draw the air from around the room upward, spreading it across the ceiling and down the walls, creating the effect of a breeze that makes the room feel cooler.

Get in Touch!

At Ken Duval, we prioritize your comfort through the seasons with reliable HVAC service, on-time fuel delivery, and home energy-saving tips like these. Get in touch to schedule your next tune-up or place a fuel delivery order.