Tuesday, April 17, 2012

How do ceiling fans cool down or warm up a room?

The Concept II from Minka Aire


A ceiling fan, like the Concept I and Concept II fans from Minka Aire, cools a room by creating a "wind chill effect"; it does not lower the room temperature. "Wind chill effect" makes you feel cooler by accelerating the evaporation of perspiration on your skin. It's the feeling you get when you open the window in a moving car. If you have a ceiling fan in a room whose temperature is 80°F, running the fan can create a "wind chill effect" that makes you feel as if the temperature is 72°F. When used in conjunction with an air conditioner, a ceiling fan can lower energy costs (because you can set the thermostat of your air conditioner at a higher temperature).

The Bayhill ceiling fan from Fanimation.

A ceiling fan, like the Fanimation Bayhill, can also help lower energy consumption in the winter by up to 10%. The temperature of the air in a heated room varies in layers: the air near the ceiling is warmer than the air near the floor because warm air rises, so a ceiling fan can help push the warmer air that is trapped near the ceiling back down into the room, thus "de-stratifying" the layers of warm air. As a result, the warm air is circulated where it is needed and the heating system does not overwork to warm the room. To properly "de-stratify" a warmed room, the ceiling fan should be run in a clockwise direction. This pushes the air up against the ceilings and down the walls, to gently re-circulate the warm air without creating a cooling "wind chill effect."

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