Using a ceiling fan to help heat your home
It gets cold in Atlantic Canada during the fall and winter months, and we have no choice but to rely on sources like furnaces, woodstoves and, in recent years, heat pumps to warm our homes.
I didn’t list all heating sources but notice I didn’t mention a ceiling fan. Most people who have them wouldn’t think of using them during the colder months. However, ceiling fans can act as an efficient and costeffective option to help heat your home.
Here’s how.
People use their ceiling fan in the summer to cool off. The fan doesn’t cool the air, but rather the counterclockwise circulation of the fan blades creates a downdraft from the ceiling to the ground. This circulation creates a wind chill effect to help evaporate moisture off our skin to cool us off.
However, most ceiling fans have a switch or chain that can make the fan spin clockwise instead of counterclockwise.
The clockwise spin creates the opposite of a downdraft — an updraft. As the air circulates from the ground to the ceiling, it’s spread out and pushed back towards the ground.
Warm air rises and collects near the ceiling when it’s cold, creating a temperature contrast between the floor and ceiling. In turn, it requires more heat and energy to maintain the room’s temperature.
Using an updraft effect from a ceiling fan instead helps redistribute air back to the floor to help maintain a more uniform room temperature.
Factors such as the size of the home and room will determine overall effectiveness, but it’s possible to save up to 15 per cent or more on your heating bill by using a ceiling fan in the winter.
It might not seem like much, but it’s a trick that’s both energy efficient and costeffective.