Ceiling fans are not like air conditioners and they don’t remove the humidity from the air or lower temperatures. But you can save money and energy by using a ceiling fan and turning off your air conditioning when possible, or at least turning the thermostat up a few degrees and let the ceiling fan do the rest. Ceiling fans come in a variety of sizes, finishes, and styles. The three-speed, 52-inch diameter ceiling fan is the most popular. More expensive fans often don’t deliver better performance but have fancier finishes on the motor cover.
Here are some key points to understand: • Save energy. The recommended temperature is 78° during summertime, but some people like it cooler. Using a ceiling fan costs little to run and can make your room feel 4° F cooler. Besides, fans don’t cool the room, they cool you, so you can just turn them off before leaving the house. • Blade shape is important. You can get the idea of how well a certain ceiling fan moves the air by looking at cubic feet per minute numbers on its box. A higher number usually means better air movement, but a small difference in numbers really doesn’t matter. For example, tests show almost the same results for fans rated at 5,000 and 5,600 cfm. In addition, think twice before buying a fan with blades that have surface texture, such as bumps and ridges; they often make noise (compared to fans with small, smooth blades). • Wobble. Modern fans come with balancing kits – weights that you should attach to the fan blades to make a difference in blade weight and remove the wobble. This is a simple process, but it also requires time and effort.