Struggling Fans Q: Why is it that most large 3-speed electric fans go on in the following order: "OFF-High-Med-Low"? It would seem more intuitive that the first setting after the "off" setting would be "low", not "high". Does it have something to do with the way the motor works? A: Your "the way the motor works" guess is on target: "It is harder to get the motor to start spinning at a slower speed than it is to get it spinning at a higher speed," says Marcus Glass, of Lamp Depot. In some cases, the motor simply would not have enough power to overcome the rest inertia at the slow-speed setting. Three-speed fans typically mount the blades directly to the rotating shaft of the motor, says Christine Roehl, production manager at Casablanca Fans. You need a "full jolt" to get them started up. Casablanca Ceiling Fans, on the other hand, start at a "low" instead of "high" setting because these fans have a flywheel mounted to the rotating shaft. The motor gets the flywheel spinning first and the flywheel stores the excess start-up energy as kinetic energy. This allows the fan blades to start at a slower speed. There's also the customer to think about. "Typically when an individual wants a fan on-they want to move air rapidly at first, then lower the setting to their desired level after a period of time," says Tony Hodge, Vice President of heatersnfans.com. When you turn the fan from "off" to on, it's on full-blast to cool you fast. Then you can moderate the breeze by switching next to "medium" or "low". (Answered by April Holladay, science correspondent, May 16, 2001)