Ceiling fans: up or down in winter?

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JPapiPE

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I know I got a switch on my ceiling fan. And people say up for winter and down for summer, but can someone explain to me how reversing your fan and sucking heat up beats blowing hot air down and spreading it about the house?
 
In theory: you want the fan air blowing on your chair as directly as possible for a chilling effect.

In most instances reversed in Winter will remove the chilling effect and still stir the air removing the stratified air. Reversed is supposed to jhave less velocity on a typical person sitting in a typical chair in a typical room. YWMV.
 
next time you have a fire, reverse the fan (blowing up) start the fan go stand right directly next to a wall and feel the heat hitting you on top of the head. it pulls the cold air off the floor directs it to the celing and pushes it across the celing and down the wall. I went to celing fan school (yuk yuk)
 
I do the opposite. In the summer, I reverse my fan (blowing up). It gets cool here at night--by reversing the fan to blow up, it draws the cool air in from the open windows. In the winter, I have the fan blowing down to circulate the hot air down. Might not be the right way...but it's how I do it.
 
In your case Joe, Id mount one on the floor so you can ride around on it
 
NF CT said:
I've heard arguments for both ways.

But, my preference is down in summer - so I feel the cool breeze - and up in winter - so I keep the air flowing but don't feel the cool breeze.

Hope this helps.

It all depends on you. What a ceiling fan does is to mix the layers of air. It takes the warm air from the ceiling and moves it to the floor, either straight down or by pushing it out on the ceiling and down the walls.
 
From some old threads:

A ceiling fan will address the heat stratification issue. In the winter, run it in reverse (blowing upward) to create a thermal loop. As it draws up air, it will force warm air to run down the walls (the source of cold) and then to the stove to be reheated and start the loop again. Running the fan this way also reduces drafts which make one feel cooler when the fan blows downward (summer mode).

Human skin will feel cooler with wind blowing across it. In the winter, you don’t want this ‘wind chill’ effect. By circulating the heat in reverse, it will travel down the cooler outside walls before returning up the middle of the house to the ceiling fans. That’s a good thing. It’s leaves the interior feeling much more comfortable and evenly heated and puts the heat where it’s needed, at the outside walls. It's a similar reason why floor registers are placed on the outside perimeter walls in a modern forced air heating system.
 
more up guys than down guys, we win
 
Hanko said:
In your case Joe, Id mount one on the floor so you can ride around on it

I'm a little disappointed Hanko that I now have to take my ceiling fan off the back of my truck...I swear I was getting an extra 5 miles per gallon with the fan on high...The biggest problem was remembering to reverse the fan when I backed up. Which I do more than occasionally....Just to see where I have been.
 
thats funny, i know a guy that has two celing fans, so he run em both and logs multi engine time
 
I think it depends on the heights of the ceilings. Down south they might have higher ceilings to allow the heat to raise in the Summer. So in that case, the fan might be pulling the heat up in the Summer and blowing it down in the Winter.

My ceilings have always been lower up here in the N.E. So if I were to pull the heat up in the Summer. The heat would still be near my head. If I tried to blow the heat down with lower ceiling heights, it doesn't have far to go. I usually blow the air down in the Summer while sitting under it for the breeze. I pull the air up in the winter and it doesn't have far to go then it hits the ceiling and side walls and then goes back down. Spreading the heat throughout the room.

These days, people really like the looks of high ceilings. So it's not just to give the heat a place to escape in the South or a lower ceilings in the north to keep the heat lower. So I can see where someone in the north with higher ceilings may need to do something different than I do with lower ceilings. I have stayed in high ceiling cabins in the winter and all of the heat sits up high. I'd be freezing in the lower living area but it would be really hot in the loft. So it may be a good idea to blow the air down from a high ceiling in the winter. Do what works for you and your ceiling height.
 
With the price of oil and gas rising, those high ceilings are looking more like a liability. If you want to look at a cathedral ceiling, go to church once in a while. ;-)
 
Jesus, can't I get a straight answer here? If I wanted this abbi-dabbi I would have relied on my own instincts... or asked Hanko....LOL. Seems like the forum ,so far, is divided on this issue...I guess I'm on my own here. Where is Brother Bart when you need him...or A.P. for that matter...(probably painting a fake Mona Lisa) and you the Maestro "Woody...Be Green; what kind of an answer is that? Seems I shall have to go to the gutter to seek my knowledge... I shall report back to this forum once I have gained enlightenment. In the meantime there are laws to break and crimes to commit....
 
Go back and read posting #9 in this thread. That is the complete answer.
 
more up guys than down guys, we win

Hey add in another "up" for the winter. Im not just jumping on the band wagon to be on the winning team I really do it that way. And I have energy wasting high ceilings (18 ft) in most of my house. Its not even a church but a real house. Fans do even out the temperature in the winter . (But only when in the up mode.)
 
Ok lets settle this. mount them on the wall and blow or suck sideways. that will make everybody happy. I love threads like this, it shows some of you guys do have a sense of humor
 
mount them on the wall and blow or suck sideways

I vote for suck. I think that blowing would cause an apparent wind that would feel cool to human skin and make you feel cold. Do we have anyone who likes to blow?
 
Hanko said:
Ok lets settle this. mount them on the wall and blow or suck sideways. that will make everybody happy. I love threads like this, it shows some of you guys do have a sense of humor


Now Hanko, my good friend, what is that representation in your avatar? Is it your airplane, tanning bed, or weight lifting bench?
Chillin Like A Villian
 
this is off thread, craig will probably chew my ass out. That is my 42% wesks solution RC. One of 8 in my airforce.
 
Just turn on the damned fan one way or another and live with it for a time, them reverse it and live with it for a time, and decide for yourself which direction you prefer to run your fan. Rick
 
sawdustburners said:
fossil said:
Just turn on the damned fan one way or another and live with it for a time, them reverse it and live with it for a time, and decide for yourself which direction you prefer to run your fan. Rick
should i try that with my propeller hat? is it safe?

If your hat has a chin strap, then give it a go...if not, then you stand to lose your hat. Rick
 
If the prop hat is running in reverse no chin strap needed. Might make you walk a bit heavier though.
 
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