22 Jan Can Ceiling Fans Lower Your Energy Bills?
If we had to guess, we think it’d be pretty safe to say that you’re probably always willing to try anything that will help to lower your monthly utility bills. While you may think that means lowering your thermostat and sealing up cracks in your windows and doors — which you should do as well — you should also utilize another handy helper in your home: your ceiling fans.
How Ceiling Fans Help
A lot of people think ceiling fans cool the air in a room, but that’s not the case. In reality, fans help move and redistribute air in a room to create a more even temperature. When they do this, the room reaches your ideal temperature sooner and then your HVAC system can shut off sooner as well.
How to Use Your Ceiling Fans to Lower Your Energy Bills
In Summer
When you set your fan to spin counterclockwise, it pushes air back down from your ceiling, helping keep cooler air closer to where you are in a room, rather than your ceiling.
Any easy way to tell if the fan is spinning counterclockwise is by standing under it and seeing if you feel an instant breeze. If you do, great. If not, turn the fan off and flip the switch on the side of the base. During summertime, it’s best to run your fan on high.
In Winter
When it’s colder out, set your fan to spin clockwise, on low, so it redistributes warm air to the rest of your room. When the fan is spinning clockwise, it pulls air up to the ceiling and back out to the sides of your room to create a warm environment.
Make Sure to Turn Them Off
While using ceiling fans when you’re home can help lower your energy bills, there’s no reason to keep them on while you’re out. Just like having your HVAC running while you’re not home is a waste of energy, so is using your fans.
For more tips to reduce your energy costs, keep up with our blog! For all your heating and cooling needs in the Greater Pittsburgh area, give us a call today!