With the weather steadily heating up in Indianapolis, many homeowners are on the lookout for ways to increase their home’s energy efficiency and keep their living areas cooler. But there’s one tactic that many homeowners often overlook, even though it can boost home comfort without any upgrades or additional expense. This spring when you have the impulse to turn on the air conditioner, try the ceiling fan instead and you might find that you can delay kicking on the A/C, or at least change the thermostat to a higher temperature setting.
Ceiling fans don’t just move air around. The direction they move the air is important. During the summer, fans should rotate in a “forward” or counter-clockwise (when viewed from below) direction, forcing air downward. This has two benefits: first, it moves air over your skin, cooling you. (This is the same phenomenon that causes “wind-chill” in winter.) Second, it displaces the cool air near the ground, mixing it with air in the two yards or so above the ground that encompass human activity. With the cooling effect from the ceiling fan, you can turn up the thermostat a few degrees, delaying the time when your A/C turns on (and saving energy).
During the winter, changing your ceiling fan direction so the fan rotates in its “reverse” or clockwise direction means that air is being gently drawn upwards. This displaces the warm air that’s risen to the ceiling, forcing it back down to human height.
Your ceiling fan draws less energy than a furnace or air conditioner, and for homes with ceiling fans already installed, knowing this simple trick can make life more comfortable. To learn more about changing your ceiling fan direction, and other tips and tricks to get the most out of your home HVAC system, contact Mowery Heating, Cooling and Plumbing.
Our goal is to help educate our customers in Brownsburg, Indiana and surrounding areas about energy and home comfort issues (specific to HVAC systems).
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