Does it Save Energy to Use Ceiling Fans?

Summer

• You can save energy on cooling costs during the summer by allowing your thermostat to stay a few degrees higher, preferably at 78 degrees Fahrenheit or above while using ceiling fans to keep you cool. Although ceiling fans do not technically keep a space any cooler, they do enact what is known as a wind-chill factor by sending moving air across the skin, which releases heat from your body. Using ceiling fans in this way lessens the cost of cooling without sacrificing your comfort too much.

Winter

• You can even use your ceiling fan to improve your comfort during the winter. Switch the fan rotation to counterclockwise to pull the heat that rises to the ceiling down to where you can enjoy it. By keeping the ceiling fan on low to pull down the warm air, you can lower your thermostat a few degrees.

Energy Efficient

• Energy Star offers a list of ceiling fans that lessen your heating and cooling costs by taking the burden off the heater and air conditioner. These fans are 50 percent more energy efficient than conventional units. Many ceiling fans come with energy-efficient lighting fixtures and for those that do not, Energy Star offers an energy-efficient lighting kit you can install yourself.

Considerations

• During the summer, only use the ceiling fan when someone is in the room. Because a fan operates on the wind-chill factor, leaving it on when no one is in the room to feel it just wastes energy. During the winter, the same principle applies, despite the fact it is pulling warm air from the ceiling and pushing it down. If no one is there to enjoy it, you are simply wasting energy by leaving it on.