What Direction Should My Ceiling Fan Spin?

What direction your ceiling fan should spin depends on the season and what you want it to do. Your fan direction in summer should push cooled air back down, while your fan direction in winter should help pull warm air through the room. Either way, you'll need to switch directions based on the temperature outside and the current HVAC system in your home.

A ceiling fan is a great way to reduce the energy needed to keep your home comfortable and cozy, but only if you set it properly. Let's take a look at which direction works best and when by exploring the right settings for:

• Summer mode (counterclockwise)
• Winter mode (clockwise)
• Tips for efficient ceiling fan use

With the correct ceiling fan setup to help things along, you could see substantial savings on your monthly energy bills and help your HVAC systems last longer. By taking some of the hard work of cooling and heating your home off your central systems, you let the fans carry some of the load, reducing wear and tear on any single unit. This guide examines when and how to get the most value from ceiling fans.

Need help with cooling or heating?

Contact Advanced Air to give your HVAC system seasonal maintenance backed by our 100% satisfaction guarantee. With thousands of 5-star reviews, you can see that we're committed to customer satisfaction.

Your summer fan direction should be counterclockwise. A counterclockwise spin pushes air down, doing two things.

1. Creating a windchill effect
2. Pushing already-cooled air back down into the room

While warmer air rises to the top of a room, your air conditioner is constantly adding cooler air from the vents. As your entire home reaches a comfortable temperature, the air pushed upwards gradually lowers in temperature. Using a fan to push that cooled air back into the room and reducing the amount lost to ventilation systems is a good way to help keep cool at a more affordable price.

Windchill is the other way that a counterclockwise spin helps with cooling. Pushing air down toward where the people are creates a palpable breeze that helps you stay cool, even without changing the overall temperature.

When you're running the heat in the winter, set your ceiling fans to a slow, clockwise motion. A clockwise spin helps spread the warm air throughout the room and improves the number of air exchanges per hour. One of the risks during the winter months is poor indoor air quality, and a clockwise running fan can do a lot to boost air health.

In addition to the breathe-easy effect of using a fan year-round, running a fan clockwise helps the room feel warmer. The gentle updraft created helps push warmed air down into the occupied space. It's important to keep the fan spinning at a low speed to avoid creating drafts, but the result is that you can often bump the thermostat down a few degrees without feeling chilled.

Ceiling fan direction is just one way to boost energy efficiency when it comes to heating and cooling. Here are a few other tips to help you get the best value out of adding ceiling fans to your home or using the ones you have more effectively.

The speed at which a ceiling fan turns affects the air volume moved with every second. If you want to feel cooler, that means moving more air and running the ceiling fan at a faster speed. If you don't want to cool off, run the fan more slowly to circulate air gently.

If the room doesn't have anyone in it, turn off the ceiling fan. It's often best to set ceiling fans to turn on and off with the light switch. This way, you only have to change the settings seasonally. Remember, ceiling fans don't actually change the temperature in your home. Instead, they change how hot or cool you feel while in the room. If you're not in the room, you don't need the fan.

Ceiling fans don't replace air conditioning, but they do support it. Keep the AC running while you use ceiling fans to get the most benefit.

Let the experts at Advanced Air make sure your air conditioner is in tip-top shape for the summer heat with a comprehensive maintenance visit. With our no-surprise pricing and a 100% satisfaction guarantee, you'll get an air conditioner that works better and a list of repairs that could be on the horizon.