Even with all of the advances in air conditioners in the last decade, one of the most effective ways to keep your home comfortable uses a very old technology – the ceiling fan.  With the wind-chill effect of moving air, the breeze produced by a ceiling fan can make a room feel like it’s three or four degrees cooler. That means instead of keeping your thermostat set at 72, you can crank it up to around 75 or 76 and lower your cooling bills during the summer without losing any comfort.

Here’s why it works. The human body releases heat in three different ways – convection, radiation and perspiration. Ceiling fans create a moving air current that directly aids the convection of heat from the skin into the air. When the air around your body is cooler than your skin, the air will absorb heat from your skin and rise up toward the ceiling. Cooler air will fall into the area around your body and continue the process. The faster that the air is moving, the faster the heat will be removed from your body.

There are two ways to get higher air flow from your fan – a larger motor or larger fan blades. Fans with large motors tend to be louder and can be problematic in areas where papers are kept (like offices). Larger blades can deliver more air flow at lower speeds but may not be practical in smaller rooms. In general, the more expensive the fan is, the quieter it will be and the fewer service issues it will have. We suggest using a 36- to 44-inch fan in rooms up to 225 square feet and 52+ inch fans in larger rooms.

For more expert advice on ceiling fans and other ways to efficiently cool your home without breaking the bank, please call the trusted professionals at Overland Park Heating & Cooling. We’ve been serving the Greater Kansas City area since 1983.

Our goal is to help educate our customers in Overland Park, Kansas about energy and home comfort issues (specific to HVAC systems). 

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