In Southern California and Nevada, ceiling fans can be used both summer and winter to reduce the workload on your air conditioning and heating equipment. The key element, as you may have guessed, is air circulation.

During the summer, run your ceiling fan counterclockwise. This circulates a soft breeze through the room. The fan isn’t actually lowering the temperature in your home, but you feel cooler thanks to the wind-chill effect — the wicking of moisture and heat from your skin. This can allow you to set the temperature on your thermostat a few degrees higher without becoming uncomfortable.

When the weather is mildly warm, using ceiling fans can make it possible for your cooling system to cycle less frequently. The wind-chill effect can be enhanced by opening windows, pulling cooling air through your home.

During the winter, simply reverse the motor so the fan turns clockwise. Run it at a lower speed in this direction. A gentle updraft will result, and as warm air rises to the ceiling, the fan will force it back down and circulate it through the room. The longer you can keep the heat in your space, the less your heating system will have to work.

If you live in a mildly cool area, or your home is only cool in the evenings, fans may allow you to keep your heating equipment turned off altogether. Once more, you can adjust your thermostat by setting it back a few degrees.

A few factors to consider when shopping for and installing ceiling fans:

• Install ceiling fans in rooms with ceilings 8 feet or taller. Any lower, and you’ll sacrifice efficiency and endanger residents.
• Larger fan blades move more air than smaller blades, performing effectively even at lower speeds.
• Rooms longer than 18 feet may need multiple fans to keep them comfortable.
• Be sure the model you select doesn’t operate too noisily.

Never thought ceiling fans could help with lowering the workload on your heating and air conditioning system? For more info and other questions like, “what is hvac?”, visit AC Pro now!

Our goal is to help inform our customers about energy and home comfort issues (specific to HVAC systems).  For more information about ceiling fans and other HVAC topics, download our free Home Comfort Resource guide.

AC PRO services the Southwestern United States including Southern California and Nevada.  Visit our website to see our special offers to get started today!

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