Ceiling fans

[Upgradable]

We have very high ceilings, 12 feet, and so have several ceiling fans in various rooms in order keep the temps constant throughout. Here in Oklahoma it gets very hot in the summer, and very cold in the winter. I can never remember which direction the fans need to be in the different seasons! Can someone help me out?

 

[Upgradable]

Nobody else knows? Who knew the ceiling fan was such an enigma?

 

[amc80]

I don't know, but google does.


http://www.ceilingfan.org/ceiling-fan-direction/

 

[kenny]

I have not heard the official word on this but I can speculate . . .

In the summer fans work by evaporating the moisture on your skin.
Evaporation is a cooling process since the most energetic H20 molecules are the ones that change from liquid into gas.

Evaporation rate increases as air current increases, so you want the fan to push air down towards you.
(Actually the motor produces heat so if you are not actually in the path of the breeze the fan is actually heating up the room. )

In the winter (assuming you live where a heater is needed) you don't want to be cooled by evaporation so I wonder why anyone would want to turn a fan on.
Perhaps if they heat the house a ceiling fan could help solve the problem of heat rising in a tall room.
We live near the floor so to heat the bottom of the room to 68 degrees it must be much hotter up near the high ceiling.
A ceiling fan will circulate the air so you don't have to set your thermostat as high to get it to be 68 near the floor.

Now, should the fan push air up or down?
I'd think it would be a wash overall regardless of whether the fan pushes hot air down or sucks cold air up, but again since feeling a breeze cools your skin perhaps sucking the air up would be preferred in the winter since you'd feel less breeze.

 

[Upgradable]

I think I'm going to write in Kenny on my presidential ballot.

Thank you for your clear, concise, and coherent statement of explanation for what it seems is a confounding concept.

 

[sonnyjane]

I have had ceiling fans in every home I've lived in for the last 30 years and never once did I have any notion that you are supposed to change the direction of the fan based on the season!

 

[amc80]

From that link I posted-
Ceiling fans are commonly linked with warm weather therefore many people don’t realize that ceiling fans can also help warm up a room in the winter months. The ceiling fan direction in winter should be rotating 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 helping take the chill 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. The reverse mode only works if the fan is on low. If you have the fan on a higher speed you will create a wind chill effect that you don’t want since it is already cold.

 

[Upgradable]

Thanks amc. I just went and looked at my fans (we have 6), three were going clockwise, and three counter-clockwise. Does that mean I'm covered throughout the year?

 

[amc80]

Thanks amc. I just went and looked at my fans (we have 6), three were going clockwise, and three counter-clockwise. Does that mean I'm covered throughout the year?

Sounds good to me! Ha.

How do you even make them go in reverse? Is there a switch somewhere?
(Asks the person who used to work in the electrical dept at home depot...)

 

[Upgradable]

Thanks amc. I just went and looked at my fans (we have 6), three were going clockwise, and three counter-clockwise. Does that mean I'm covered throughout the year?

Sounds good to me! Ha.

How do you even make them go in reverse? Is there a switch somewhere?
(Asks the person who used to work in the electrical dept at home depot...)

There is a switch on the body of the fan. My biggest problem is trying to figure out which way is clockwise. Clocks are on the wall. Fans are on the ceiling. Sounds easy, right?

 

[TC1987]

If you have a huge vaulted ceiling, it might be beneficial to reverse the fan so that it forces hot air down. If the ceiling is high, there probably won't be strong air currents hitting you, especially if you use the lower speed(s).

But if you have just an ordinary room with an 8' or 9' ceiling, and live in a colder climate, and you keep your thermostat set on the cool side to save money, forget even running that fan in winter. Regardless of which direction the blades are running, the result will just be to blow too much cold air on you.

 

[TC1987]

There is a switch on the body of the fan. My biggest problem is trying to figure out which way is clockwise. Clocks are on the wall. Fans are on the ceiling. Sounds easy, right?

Look at the pitch of the blades, and the "leading edge" of the blades. If you think about it a little, it should be obvious which direction of rotation tosses air up, and which way forces it back down toward the floor. But, like a said, in a cool room in winter, Off is the best. haha. Actually, I think if you don't reverse it in winter, it's still going to force the hot air down. But the advantage of reversing it is that, reversed, it tosses the air at the walls, and not directly down you, so it doesn't feel as drafty.

from http://www.maverick-electric.net/ceiling-fan-installations

 

[Karl_K]

I like the feel of air flow year round so run them pushing down all year round.
I feel stuffy in a room with no air flow so have fans on 24/7 year round.