If you are a homeowner in Vacaville, CA, you are likely using a lot of energy to keep your home cool in the summer and warm during the winter months. What if we told you that you can actually save a significant amount of energy just by understanding the purpose of the switch on your ceiling fans and utilizing it accordingly? Today, we would like to take the mystery out of what that switch on your ceiling fan is for. Once you know, you won’t believe you went this long without employing it to save you money during the hot and cold seasons.
What the Switch Does
The simplest answer for what the switch on your ceiling fan does is that it controls the direction in which your fan blades spin. The switch has two positions, one of which causes the blades to spin clockwise whereas the other position sends the blades counterclockwise. If the switch on your fan moves horizontally, moving it to the left is counterclockwise, and the right is clockwise. If it moves vertically, the bottom position is counterclockwise, and the top is clockwise.
Should you happen to have a ceiling fan with a remote control, there is often an F/R button, meaning Forward/Reverse. This button will change the direction of the blades. Some remotes simply require you to hold down the fan button until you hear a beep. Once that beep is heard, the ceiling fan will automatically change the direction of the blade rotation. For homeowners with a smart fan, the app controls will provide an option for changing the direction.
When manually changing the direction of the fan by utilizing the switch on its base, be sure to completely turn off the fan first. It may be necessary for you to use a safety ladder to flip the switch. If it does not feel safe for you to do this on your own, do not hesitate to have one of our licensed technicians do this for you in order to ensure your safety.
Why Is This Important?
It is fair to wonder why changing the direction of your fan blades is important. The science behind what it can do for your home and your pocketbook is actually rather astounding. You see, having the blades spin counterclockwise during the summer months helps keep you cool, cutting down on your central air conditioning use by pushing cool air downward in a tunnel formation. This creates a desirable wind chill effect, which comes from cool air brushing up against perspiring skin, causing it to evaporate quicker than it would otherwise. This is why your ceiling fan helps you stay cooler without needing to adjust your air conditioning unit.
When your ceiling fan is set to rotate clockwise, it has the opposite effect. In this mode, it pulls cold air upwards away from you during the winter months. Having your fan set in this direction provides an additional benefit. Since heat rises, the warm air from your heating device will often collect at the ceiling level. With your fan set to operate clockwise, it also helps to move this warm air around and down so that it is more evenly dispersed throughout a room.
When to Flip the Switch
It is advisable to flip your switch counterclockwise as soon as it gets to the point when you are going to be running your HVAC to cool your home. Then, you will go ahead and set it to clockwise once it gets to the point in the year when you will be running your heater.
You may find that you can hold off on running your cooling and heating system by a couple of months by utilizing your ceiling fans. If this sounds appealing to you, start using your ceiling fans in a counterclockwise rotation in the spring as soon as the weather begins warming up. You may find it unnecessary to employ your HVAC until outside temperatures reach their hottest point. In beginning to run your fans clockwise as temperatures begin dropping in the fall, you may be able to resist using your heating system until the coldest months of the winter.
How Much Energy Will This Save?
To get an idea of how much energy you can save by using your ceiling fans throughout the year, let’s look at how much energy a standard HVAC unit uses. Typically, you consume an average of 3,500 watts of power with a standard HVAC when it is in operating mode. In contrast, a normal ceiling fan utilizes 50 watts of power. That makes a massive difference, especially in the milder months of the year when you can use just the ceiling fan to help you stay warm or cool.
In the warmest and coldest months of the year when you need to run your system, each single degree represents a 3% increase in energy usage. It is worth noting then, that your ceiling fan can help preserve the desired temperature of a space by up to eight degrees. That means that you could keep your thermostat at 80 degrees Fahrenheit and lower the temperature of the room to 72 degrees Fahrenheit with your ceiling fan. That alone represents energy savings of 24%. If you are using fans and a system that is rated as being energy efficient, you could be saving even more. Saving energy is better for the environment and keeps your energy bill from getting out of hand during the harshest weather months throughout the year.
Ceiling Fan Placement
In order to take full advantage of how much energy savings you can get by using ceiling fans in your home, it is recommended that there should be one in every room that people spend time in. This means areas like the living room, den, dining room, and bedrooms. Even in having ceiling fans operating in every room of your home, you are still likely to save significantly more energy than changing the temperature on your thermostat.
Your Vacaville Ceiling Fan Experts
If you want more tips for saving energy with your current ceiling fans or if you want to have more installed, look no further than Cozy Home Services. Our company has over 20 years of experience in providing the right solutions to homes like yours. Our organization holds the prestigious Building Performance Institute certification, which means we are uniquely qualified to offer you and your loved ones the maximum in comfort, health, safety, and efficiency. We are dedicated to ensuring that the systems you use in your home give you an exceptional return on investment and the ideal amount of comfort throughout the year.
At Cozy Home Services, our expertise does not end with ceiling fans, either. We are proud to offer our clients a full range of heating and cooling services, including installations, repairs, and routine maintenance. You need not look elsewhere when you require a plumber because we provide exceptional plumbing services to the community as well. Contact Cozy Home Services today to hear more about what we can do for your home with our electrical services.
