Australian households generate almost one-fifth of Australia’s greenhouse gases – that’s more than 18 tonnes per household each year. Which is why it is more important than ever for families to lower their carbon footprint. This can be done by choosing energy efficient appliances. This includes one our most used appliances in summer – the ceiling fan. Today we are going to discuss how your ceiling fan can help reduce your carbon footprint.
What is a Carbon Footprint?
We’ve all heard of a carbon footprint, but what exactly does that term mean? Essentially it is a way to measure greenhouse gas emissions. Greenhouse gases like methane and carbon dioxide trap heat in the atmosphere. This, in turn, contributes enormously to global warming. Scientists and researchers determine a carbon footprint by the sum of these greenhouse gasses that are released into the atmosphere, either directly or indirectly by our action. This is usually given in tonnes per year. A carbon footprint can be applied to individual, families, events, products, companies, and even countries.
How Do I Measure My Carbon Footprint?
You can measure your carbon footprint by measuring your lifestyle and regular activities that would result in greenhouse gas emissions. Common lifestyle factors include:
General waste
Dietary choice
Purchasing habits
Transport use
Electricity use
You can measure your own carbon footprint at: https://www.conservation.org The website will not only tell you what your carbon footprint is, but also tell you how many trees it will take of offset your carbon footprint.
Why Do I Need to Know my Carbon Footprint?
The higher your carbon footprint, the more you contribute to global warming and climate change. By taking individual action to lower our own carbon emissions, we can help reduce overall consumer demand. As a result, we can force industries and bigger polluters to act. By making small changes you can show that you don’t stand for business as usual and demand change.
Wanting to take one simple action to change your carbon footprint? Below are our tips on how your ceiling fan can lower your carbon footprint.
Using Ceiling Fans to Lower Your Carbon Footprint
Ceiling fans are far more environmentally friendly than air-conditioning. Fans circulate the air in the room, which provides a gentle, cooling breeze. Ceiling fans can even be more hygienic as the air is circulated in the room, providing a gentle, cooling breeze while air conditioning can capture mould, mildew, and even cold viruses, which can circulate back into your home the next time you use the air conditioner. Fans also won’t let out the same, musty air into the room like air conditioners can.
Ceiling fans are also much more cost effective than air conditioners. Air conditioners can use up 1000 watts or more. A ceiling fan, however, uses around 30 watts and even as low as 50 watts.
Below are our tips on how your ceiling fan can help lower your carbon footprint
1: Adjust Your Fan to Summer Position
Most fans are set to a clockwise position but also have a counter clockwise position as well. Each of these are appropriate for different seasons. There is an easy way to tell if your fan is in the right position for summer. Turn it on and stand under it to see if you feel a breeze from the fan. If you do, it is set on the summer ode. In general, this is the counter clockwise position the fans spin in.
During the summer, you should have your ceiling fans running on higher air, blowing directly down below the fan. This creates the best air movement in the room to create the necessary breeze effect to cool you down.
2: Adjust Your Fan to Winter Position
In the winter, it is important that your fan runs in the opposite direction to circulate warm air through the room. This is done by reversing your ceiling fan; this will cause the fan to run clockwise, allowing the blades to pull air up in the centre of the room and push it down at the edges. This forces warm air and cool air to mix in the room, keeping it at a steady temperature. As a result, our heating will have to work hard to keep the house warm.
3: Set Your Air Conditioner Warmer in Summer
When you run your ceiling fans constantly on a hot day, try raising the temperature of your air conditioner by a few degrees. While your ceiling fan doesn’t cool the air by itself, it does help circulate the cool air better. This, in turn, creates a breeze effect that makes the room feel cooler. As a result, you save money by not running your air conditioner as hard for as long, and reduces your carbon footprint.
4: Turn Your Ceiling Fan Off When You Leave Home
Some new air conditioners can be programmed to turn on and off based on when you are home. Others can be adjusted from your smartphone. Unfortunately, you can’t do the same with ceiling fans. They have to be turned on and off manually. It is important to always turn your ceiling fans off when you leave home. This saves you power, money, and lowers your carbon footprint. Make it a habit to check the ceiling fan is off whenever you leave the house, or even when you leave the room.
How to Choose a Ceiling Fan
Your home can be more energy efficient by installing ceiling fans in your home. They can help improve sleep in bedrooms, especially in warmer months. When choosing the right ceiling fan for your home, here are some of our tips:
1: A Fan That is Too Small is a Waste of Energy
The first thing you need to consider when buying a new ceiling fan is the blade angle. If a fan has an angle of less than 12 degrees, it won’t be anything but a decorative piece. It will use far more energy and increase your carbon footprint, with very little cooling power in the home.
When buying a ceiling fan, you want blades that can push the air upward or downward – depending on the season. If the blades are at too low an angle, meaning they are nearly flat, are no good either. They act like an airplane, the fan blades cut through the air, which means they don’t create that cooling breeze effectively.
2: If Your Room Needs Light, Choose a Light Assembly
It might not seem like a necessity when you go to buy a fan, but if you are installing a ceiling fan in a room without good lighting – or you are replacing the current light fixture with a fan – then you need more lighting in the room. So, getting a light assembly added to the fan is a smart move, and will save you money later on. It can lower your carbon footprint, too. Rather than having multiple lights in the room to replace the old one, you are simply adding a lighting assembly instead. Less lighting to light a room means a lower carbon footprint.
While climate change is a complex problem that needs a global response, every small individual effort makes a difference. Making changes to your lifestyle and home appliances can go a long way to lowering your carbon footprint and help make a change. If you are looking for a ceiling fan to help you cool your home better and more efficiently, explore the Martec range today. We have ceiling fans to suit all homes and even outdoor spaces. Or contact our friendly team, today, for advice!
