Does a Fan Affect the Temperature of a Room?

About Fans

• Although fans do not in themselves change the temperature in rooms, they do circulate air, allowing pools of cool and warm air to mingle, increasing the comfort level of room occupants. Ceiling fans are most effective at making a room feel cooler or warmer, because of their ability to either push warm air down or pull warm air up toward the center of a room.

Cooling

• Ceiling fans typically come with a small switch on the fan's base that changes the direction of the blades. Running the blades counter-clockwise helps to cool a room, because it pushes warm air down and forces it to mix with cooler air pooling toward the floor. If you have an oscillating fan, point it toward the ceiling where it can break up blocks of warm air and mix them with cooler air in the room.

Warming

• Ceiling fans can also help a room feel warmer. Use the switch on the base of a ceiling fan to make the blades move in a clockwise direction. Warm air rises; moving the fan in a clockwise direction will suck the warm air toward the ceiling faster and then distribute the warm air throughout the room.

Cooling Tips

• Using your ceiling fans in tandem with your air conditioner can help you save on electricity bills; allowing the fan to evenly distribute the warm air with cool air will mean you don't have to run your air conditioner on its highest setting. If you have an oscillating fan, point it toward the ceiling for a similar cooling effect. During the day when the sun is high, put a box fan in an open window; allow the blades to face outward to pull the warm air from the room and push it outside. During the evening when the outside temperature cools, put a box fan in the window with the blades facing inside, to push the cool air from outside into the room.