In addition to their aesthetic decorative quality, ceiling fans, if used properly, can help cool and heat a home. The operative word is properly. Many people who employ ceiling fans fall short of the proper operation intended for their use. Because of this, the ceiling fans waste energy more so than conserving it. One resource suggests ceiling fans conserving energy for winter use is merely theoretical. Many ceiling fan manufacturers and home builders, however, swear by them.
How the Ceiling Fan Works
The main function of the ceiling fan is to circulate air in the room. Most ceiling fans have two positions--forward and reverse--that need to be changed during the season they're being used in. If the ceiling fan only has one position, although very rare, it is intended for summer use only and should not be used in the winter months.
As the blades rotate, they recirculate the air. Just as standard floor-style or window fans work, fans only make it feel cooler to the person when they're in the room. Ceiling fans are not going to cool the house down by being used. They will recirculate the air and make it feel cooler to the occupants in the room by mildly reducing condensation in the air. In the summer, when no one is home, leaving the fans on to cool the house is not going to work and will waste energy
In winter months, however, quite the opposite is true.
Winter Use
Placed in the reverse position--this is set in clockwise motion when looking at the rotating blades--and placed on the lowest setting possible, the ceiling fan moves the air around the ceiling. Since hot air rises and since most ceiling fans are installed on tall or cathedral ceilings, the temperature near the ceiling when the heat is running can be in upwards of 30 degrees Fahrenheit higher than near the floor. With the fan running, the air is pushed around the room from the top down. A ceiling fan is not going to push the air back down to the floor. It will circulate the ceiling and because the motion of the air is constant, it will drop some of that air onto the edges of the room and walls. Placing the speed position of the ceiling fan any higher than the lowest speed possible is only going to create a draft in the house that will defeat the purpose altogether.
Unlike summer usage, a ceiling fan operating in the winter can remain on, since no matter what heat setting you place the thermostat on, the heat is most likely still going to operate on really cold days. The purpose of the fan in the winter is to move the trapped hot air rising and recirculate it around the room.
Energy Savings: Fact or Fiction
The only way to tell if you're getting any results in energy efficiency is to compare two winters back to back--one using the fan(s) and the other not using the fan(s). Since no two winters are ever alike, however, you make not be comparing apples to apples. The energy cost to operate a ceiling fan is equivalent to running a 100-watt light bulb. So running one in the summer when no one is in the room is the same idea as leaving a 100-watt light on when no one is home. In the winter, it can be left on--lowest setting possible--and it will recirculate the air trapped in the ceiling area. Whether this saves money or not, the fact remains that it's more appealing to many people to recirculate the trapped air than it is to just let it sit there and keep the ceiling warmer than the rest of the room.
If desired, you can turn off the fan when no one is home in the winter and only use it when someone is home. While this will certainly save you some money, it may not work as efficiently as you desire. The debate about whether to adjust your thermostat down when you leave and turn it up when you're home is another energy efficiency debate. If you're worried about conservation, then by all means, turn the fan off and the heat down. If you're trying to even out the house with radiant heating to minimize the furnace operation, set the thermostat to a comfortable, acceptable energy-saving position, and leave the fan on the lowest setting.
Tags: ceiling fans, when home, 100-watt light, around room, being used, cool house