Ceiling fans are extremely popular during the hotter months, but what about during the winter? Homeowners can keep their homes warmer using their ceiling fans if they know how to use them properly. Ceiling fans can help your central heating system heat your home during the colder months and save you money in the process.
Heating Your Home With Ceiling Fans
Hot air rises so when your central heating system is churning out heat, it all rises to the top of your ceilings. Utilizing your ceiling fans is the best plan of action for circulating that heat around your home. Ceiling fans can run in reverse, gently pushing the hot air off the ceiling and forcing it down along the walls to the bottom of rooms.
How It Works
- There is a switch on the motor casing of each ceiling fan in your home. Simply flip the switch up and it reverses the spin of your fans. This causes the airflow to reverse.
- Unlike the summer months, you want to run the fans on the lowest setting possible to slowly recirculate the heat produced by your central heating system.
- When you aren’t in a room, turn the fan off. Running fans in an empty room is a waste of energy when it doesn’t produce the heat, only circulates it.
- Exception: If the room where the thermostat is located has a ceiling fan, leave it on at all times. The thermostat will take a constant read of the temperature in that room and communicate to your central heating system an accurate reading.
- If you have an open stairway in your home, install a fan there to help redistribute the heat that rises to the second floor back down to the lower level.
- To actually save money using your ceiling fan, turn your thermostat down a few degrees. You will still get consistent heating throughout your home but your central heating system won’t have to work as hard to keep up with the dips in temperature.
Heating your home during the winter can be easy when your ceiling fans are used properly. For help with your central heating system or thermostat settings, call Estes Services. We perform routine maintenance on your system to ensure it’s running at peak performance levels.
