Can Changing Ceiling Fan Direction Really Enhance Your Home’s Cooling Efficiency?

Winter has come to an end, and summer is on its way. After running your furnace all season, soon you’ll be switching to your A/C — and your high energy bills will continue. It’s important to find ways to reduce your energy use while still keeping your house comfortable. There are a number of things you can do, but one in particular involves your ceiling fans. They can save you energy all year long, just by changing ceiling fan direction.

Your ceiling fan uses very little energy, so you can save power in the summer by running it with your A/C. If your ceiling fan is running, you can turn your thermostat up by about four degrees, with no reduction in comfort. The air from the fan blows against your skin, creating a wind chill factor, which makes it feel cooler than it is. Your A/C doesn’t have to work as hard, and you still get to feel cool and comfortable.

Then in winter, you can save energy again, just by changing ceiling fan direction. When the fan blades rotate towards the left (counterclockwise), they blow air onto your skin. But when they rotate towards the right (clockwise), they draw the air up instead. Hot air rises, so as your furnace is working to warm your house, the second floor will be broiling by the time the first floor starts to get warm.

However, by changing ceiling fan direction to clockwise, you can create an updraft, which will draw cold air up towards the fan. That cold air displaces the hot air, which is then distributed to your home. To change your fan’s direction flip the switch at the base of the fan. Then, turn it on and stand under it. In summer, you should feel a breeze on your skin. In winter, you shouldn’t.

At Sobieski Services, Inc., our goal is to help our customers in Delaware, Pennsylvania, Maryland, and New Jersey learn more about energy and home comfort issues – especially HVAC and plumbing issues – so that they can save money and live in healthier, more comfortable homes.