Direction of a Ceiling Fan for the Winter

Summer Usage

• During the summer, ceiling fans are used to circulate air in a room in the house. The fan does not actually cool the air itself but simply accelerates the air's motion. People perceive it to be six to eight degrees cooler than it really is. Because the room feels cooler, you can raise your thermostat and not have to run a central air conditioning system for as long in order for the room to reach a comfortable temperature. The effect is therefore not unlike a wind chill in a natural wind outside; because of the motion of the wind, humans perceive it to be colder than it actually is.

Winter Ceiling Fan Usage

• In the winter, running a ceiling fan can save you on energy costs in a rather different way. Warm air often gets trapped in the area between the top of the ceiling fan and the ceiling. Since warm air naturally rises, central heating systems have to run continually in order to keep the room at a comfortable temperature. Running a ceiling fan can not only free the warm air trapped above the ceiling fan blades but can redistribute the warm air at the top of the room throughout the rest of the room. This recirculation of warm air lessens the need of a central heating system to force more warm air into the room.

Direction of Fan Motion

• Stand under the fan and look directly up at it. In the summer and warm months, the motion of the fan blades should be counterclockwise, whereas in the winter it should be clockwise. Blade direction is typically controlled by a toggle switch on the fan itself. Often, manufacturers print "clockwise" on one end of the switch to indicate which setting is which ("reverse" is always clockwise).

Testing & Other Considerations

• If you are not sure you have set the fan's motion in the correct direction for either summer or winter, there is a simple way to test its cooling or heating effect. Again stand directly underneath the fan; if it's set on the counterclockwise setting, you should feel a cool breeze coming off the fan. In the reverse position, you should feel the air around you gradually getting warmer as warm air is redistributed through the room. Make sure to adjust the thermostat on your central heating and cooling system according to how the ceiling fan affects the temperature of the room in order to reap all the energy-cost savings that proper use of ceiling fans can offer.