Ceiling fans are great to have during those Summer months, but what most people don’t know is that they have a setting for Winter too. Changing the direction that your ceiling fan spins can help keep you more comfortable during all months of the year. Not only that, but you can give your furnace or air conditioner a break.

Summer Ceiling Fan

In the Summer, make sure your ceiling fans are rotating counterclockwise. This direction pushes cool air down to the floor, which is where you are. Have you ever noticed how cool wind can be when you are hot? That is because the cool air meets the perspiration on your skin and creates the wind-chill effect. Setting your ceiling fan to spin counterclockwise in the Summer months will help you save a little money by reducing how much you use your air conditioner.

Ceiling fans are not restricted to indoor use either. You can add a cooling effect to your outdoor patio by adding an outdoor ceiling fan

Winter Ceiling Fan

In the Winter your ceiling fans should spin clockwise at a low speed to pull the cool air up and away from you. This updraft pushes warm air down along the walls back down to the floor. Hot air rises, but by pulling cooler air up the warmer air needs somewhere to go so it is pushed back down to where you are. This allows you to save money by reducing your furnace running time.

One exception to this is if your ceiling fan is mounted on a two-story ceiling. The fan may to too high to make a difference and can stay in the counterclockwise rotation all year around.

Adjusting the Direction of Your Fan

Nowadays our modern ceiling fans have a remote/wall control to make adjustments to all the settings. This makes changing the direction of your fan very simple. Just press a button. If your ceiling fan does not have remote control of some kind to adjust the rotation direction then you will need to look for the toggle switch on the fan. For horizontal toggle switches, the left is Summer and the right is Winter. For vertical toggle switches, the bottom position is Summer and the top position is Winter.

If you would like to learn more you can ask us here at Alpine Temperature Control in St. George, UT.