Whether you’re designing a new home or reimagining an existing one, don’t forget the fans. Ceiling fans add value and comfort to your home while helping you cut down on gas and electric bills throughout the year. Before you start shopping, here’s what you need to know about ceiling fans for your home.
Rotation Direction Matters
We’ve all memorized “lefty-loosey-righty-tighty” when it comes to screwing things in. But did you know that the direction of your fan blades makes a difference? Unfortunately, “left cool, right warm” doesn’t have quite the same mnemonic value. Clockwise blade rotation draws air upward and redistributes it, which aids in warming rooms during the winter. Counterclockwise rotation does the opposite and forces a downdraft, which gives people the perception of the room being several degrees cooler. Relying on your ceiling fans to mitigate muggy temperatures can help cut cooling costs down in the summer by decreasing your need for central AC. Conversely, clockwise ceiling fans at low settings can ease the burden on your furnace in fall and early winter. Make sure to toggle your fan’s rotation for the season.
Don’t Forget to Dust the Blades
Once you get those blades into the proper rotation, you don’t want a bad case of indoor precipitation—the accumulated dust atop the blades showering down on you. Before you commit to putting your fans into service, be sure to dust the blades thoroughly, and don’t forget to dust them off over the course of the year, especially if you give your fans a rest for a while. A rolling stone gathers no moss, and an idle fan gathers a fair bit of dust.
Motors Matter Too
There are qualitative and quantitative benefits to installing ceiling fans around the house—they look nice and save on electric bills. But the sustained whirr of a fan’s motor can be an annoyance to people whose tolerance for ambient noise is low. When shopping for fans, look for DC motors, which offer quieter operations.
Keep Fans in Proportion to the Room
When it comes to what you need to know about ceiling fans, one size does not fit all. Bigger rooms call for bigger fans. And an oversized fan will prove too powerful for a smaller bedroom or kitchen—plus, it’s also aesthetically unpleasing. Most bedrooms will benefit from a blade span between 42 and 50 inches, while the master bedroom usually calls for up to a 60-inch blade span. For the living room, 60 inches is usually just the low end.
