Energy Savings using your fans to better cool or heat your home.

Heating and Cooling

 According to the U.S. Department of Energy heating and cooling costs accounts for about 56% of total energy used in a typical home in the U.S. making it the largest energy expense for most homes. Combining your traditional heating and cooling methods with the use of fans you can improve the efficiency of your system and save energy at the same time.

Using your Fans during the summer

It is important that you know that fans will not reduce the temperature when they are used, however they can create a “wind chill effect”. This wind chill effect combined with your air conditioning settings can help you to save energy keeping at the same time an acceptable comfort level.

Combine your fan with your air conditioning system and raise the thermostat by 4 to 5°F (3 to 4°C). The fan will help to make more efficient the air movement in the room and will create the wind chill effect that will make you comfortable, reducing at the same time your energy cost.

Always turn off the fans when you leave the room. Keep in mind that the “wind chill effect” makes you feel cooler by accelerating the process of evaporation in your skin; it does not actually change the temperature in your room. It is a similar effect to the feeling you get when you open the window in a moving car.

Using Fans during the winter

Similarly run your fan as an air circulator to better distribute the heated air across the room. The improved air circulation will help keep your home with a more uniform temperature without sacrificing your level of comfort. It is important here that you direct your fan toward the ceiling to avoid creating a wind chill effect. The air will circulate against the ceiling and down the walls. The effect will be a more uniform temperature distribution by de-stratifying the layers of warm air.

Energy Savings

The correct use of fans in winter will help reduce up to 10% in heating costs and up to 20% in air conditioning costs in the summer. Savings will vary and will depend on local climate conditions and energy rates.