While we are used to utilising our fans in Summer, few of us realise that our fans can be used in Winter, as well. Many modern fans, like those from Martec, have a Summer/Winter mode that can help you cool your house in Summer while keeping it toasty warm in Winter.
Reasons to Use Your Ceiling Fan in Summer Mode
By using your ceiling fan in Summer, you can save up to 40% on air conditioning costs. This is due to the fact that circulating the cool air with a fan means you can reduce the use of air conditioners. Further, fans create a wind chill effect on your skin, making a room feel up to 8 degrees cooler.
In Summer, a ceiling fan pushes cool air down, evaporation perspiration and creating the wind chill effect mentioned above. This allows you to feel cooler without affecting room temperature. Further, an outdoor fan can help you feeler cooler, allowing you to spend more time outdoors or entertaining.
What Direction Should a Fan Spin in Summer?
Most ceiling fan Summer modes spin counter-clockwise to direct cool air to the ground. Blade design also contributes to the downward movement of cool air. If you are not feeling cool air, then it is possible your fan is spinning the wrong way, in Winter mode. The Summer/Winter mode can be found as a switch on the side of the fan or on the remote control.
Reasons to Use Your Ceiling Fan in Winter Mode
Choice’s recent article on “How ceiling fans can slash your heating costs” discusses how using a heater and ceiling fan together can help save you money,
“Running a heater and a fan might sound doubly expensive, but the opposite is actually true. Fans are far cheaper to run than hungry heaters (by a lot) and reverse mode means your heater has to do far less work to maintain a constant temperature.”
In Winter we close up our homes to heat them and retain the heat. But this creates limited circulation through the home. As a result, the warm air rises and you don’t feel all the benefits of your heating system.
Putting your fan in Winter mode allows the fan to draw air up into the centre of the room, then redistributing it down the walls to the floor, mixing the air in a room. This actually warms the room up more than just heating alone. And as Choice author Jason Treuen points out,
“So the heater and fan’s total power consumption is less than half used by the heater alone, which can make quite a difference to your bill over time. Here’s the heatmap showing how the fan circulates hot air near the ceiling more evenly.”
Using your fan in Winter mode, combined with heating can actually can save you up to 15% on your heating costs. It also reduces the cost of heating fuel, electricity, or gas. Modern ceiling fans will have a Winter mode, that allows your fan to redistribute warm air around the room and your home in general.
When air is no longer stagnate in a room, meaning there is less condensation and humidity in your room. It also lowers the risk of dehydration.
What Direction Should a Fan Spin in Winter?
If your fan is in Winter mode, it should be spinning clockwise. The air won’t be cooling as it is in Summer mode. So if you don’t feel a cool breeze coming off your fan, then you are in Winter mode. You don’t want to cool the air down in Winter, rather you want to draw the air up.
When running your fan in Winter, it is better to have it on a lower setting than you would use in Summer. You want to achieve a gentle mixing of the air, not a draft. The exception to this is if you have a large space or high ceilings.
How to Switch Summer/Winter Mode
Modern ceiling fans, like those from Martec, feature easy Summer/Winter mode switching. Fans generally feature a switch on the hub or motor housing of the fan. Some fans also feature a switch on Martec ceiling fan remote controls. These switches are designed so as not to detract from the aesthetic of the fan.
Explore Martec’s innovative range, today, to find the best fan for your needs. Our fans are not only aesthetically pleasing, but convenient all year round.