For about the cost of lighting a standard light bulb, you can feel more comfortable in your home all summer. If used properly, ceiling fans will lower your energy bills and help you bet the heat.
Ceiling fans have almost become standard in most homes. They look pretty, yes, but did you now that they can also lower your energy usage?
According to About.com, in summer, ceiling fans can lower the apparent temperature by making use of evaporation. When you’re hot, you perspire, or glow, if you live here in the South. And perspiration is the body's way of cooling off -- evaporation of the perspiration pulls heat away from your body, making you feel cooler.
A ceiling fan circulates the air, which rapidly increases evaporation. The more evaporation, the cooler the apparent temperature. You feel cooler, and this means the thermostat on the A/C can be set to a higher temperature. And that will save you money as well as use less overall energy.
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So what do I do?
First, stand underneath your fan, look up and observe the rotation of the blades. Are they turning clockwise or counter-clockwise? If they’re turning counter-clockwise, you’re good to go, you’ve got your fan set correctly for summer. If not, find the little up/down switch located on the side of your ceiling fan motor and move it to the opposite position. This will reverse the rotation of the blades and create a downward airflow. Now, run your ceiling fan on high speed to create a turbulent column of air. You should feel cooler right away as the air circulation increases.
Quick Tip
Remember that this type of cooling is only skin deep. That means... The increased airflow makes you feel cooler, but it doesn’t actually change the temperature of the room. So it’s important to turn the fan off when you leave the room. Avoid the energy drain of leaving a ceiling fan running when not in use.
