Which Direction Should My Ceiling Fan Spin?
Ceiling fans are attractive additions to households and businesses, and can help save on energy costs. They can be used year-round to cool or warm rooms, and motors are reversible to achieve the proper effect. Here's determine which direction your ceiling fan should be spinning for maximum efficiency.
How Fans Work
Ceiling fans cool rooms not by lowering the actual temperature, but by creating a windchill effect. A wind chill effect speeds evaporation of sweat from your skin, thus making you feel cooler. The same effect is seen when you roll down your car windows or fan yourself with a magazine.
Summer Months
During warm weather, set the fan so the blades spin counterclockwise. This will blow a column of air straight down, which should produce the maximum wind chill effect, especially if the fan is positioned directly over the area you wish to cool.
Winter Months
In the winter, reverse the fan motor so that the blades turn clockwise. Warm air rises naturally toward the ceiling. Operated at low speed, the fan will create a gentle updraft that will force warm air down into the room. Even turning clockwise, the fan still must operate at a low speed to avoid undesired wind chill effect.
Other Factors
During the summer, if the fan does not seem to be cooling, experiment--try reversing the motor to see how much air you feel. If the air moves very little with the blades turning in either direction, check the motor and the pitch of the blades (the angle at which they are slanted--the more the pitch, the more air each blade catches and moves).
In some cases during the summer--for example, in a large room with a centrally located overhead fan and furniture near a wall--a column of air pushed straight down might not be the most efficient. Try reversing the motor to maximize the windchill effect near the walls.
Usually, however, the fan should spin counterclockwise in summer and clockwise in winter.
Considerations
Using ceiling fans to warm rooms during the winter can save up to 10 percent on your energy bills. Because warmer air will be circulating in occupied space, a central heating unit will not have to work as hard to maintain a comfortable temperature.
Tags: chill effect, wind chill, effect, Ceiling fans, Ceiling Spin