ORLANDO, Fla. – If you’re trying to stay cool at home in the summer heat, it may come down to checking which way your ceiling fan spins.
Believe it or not, the direction of your fan blades matters significantly for your comfort.
In the summer, you want you to make sure your fan is spinning counterclockwise. This creates a downdraft and allows the air to reach the person, cooling them.
Many think that leaving their fans on when they’re not in a room or at home helps keep their house cooler, but that’s a common misconception. The fan itself doesn’t actually lower the temperature of the room, it cools people inside by way of the wind-chill effect.
It’s important to make sure you shut off your fan when you leave the room or house. The fan is doing nothing to lower the temperature of the room and you are wasting energy and money by leaving it on. The wind-chill effect only impacts living things.
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This could allow you to set the thermostat of your air conditioning a little higher while still staying comfortable while you’re home.
In the winter, you want the fan to spin clockwise. This creates an updraft and helps to circulate the warm air that hangs out near the ceiling down to where the people are. It also prevents the air from blowing on you. You can keep it on the lowest setting.
Most fans have a switch on the side to adjust the direction of the fan blades. Once you identify which way the fan is spinning, flip the switch in the opposite direction, if necessary.
Be cool!