Austin Heating And Air

It’s Time To Switch Your Fan Direction

How to Be More Comfortable and Save $$ This Summer

You know all those trendy DIY videos on Facebook and Instagram? (Of course you do, because what else have we all been up to while social distancing?)

Most of those hacks lead to hours of cleaning up glitter and hot glue, never to produce a finished or useful project. But some hacks are really useful—like changing the direction of your ceiling fans.

Changing With The Seasons

The direction your ceiling fan spins affects the air flow in your home. Duh, right? But this simple fact has a big impact on heating and cooling your home. With your fan set to the right direction, you’ll be more comfortable in the extremes of summer and winter, and you’ll save money, too.

It’s All About Redistribution.

In the colder months, ceiling fans should direct cool air upward toward the ceiling. This forces warm air down to you, closer to the ground. In warmer weather, your fan should do the opposite, forcing cool air down and warm air up and away from you.

So how do you correctly direct the air? Set your fan to spin clockwise in the winter and counterclockwise in the summer.

The clockwise (winter) motion redistributes the warm air around the room, making it feel warmer. A counterclockwise (summer) motion brings cool air downward and evaporates the humidity in the air. This makes you feel cooler without affecting the overall temperature in the room.

The Ultimate Fan Direction How-To

Changing the direction of your fan is so easy you’ll wonder how it got mixed up in all those terrible DIY videos.

If your fan has a remote control, check to see if changing the direction can be handled by the push of a button! If not:

  1. Turn off the fan and wait for the blades to stop completely.
  2. Locate the switch on or near the motor of the fan.
  3. Flip the switch. The downward position is for the summer and upward is for winter. (If your fan doesn’t have a switch on the motor, carefully tilt the blades of your fan. Tilting the blades to the right will push cool air downward.)
  4. Turn on the fan and make sure you were successful in changing the direction.

Pro-tip: Before you turn the fan back on, give it a little wipe-down. Otherwise, you’ll fling dust bunnies all over the room.

To check your work, stand under the fan. If you feel air, it’s moving counterclockwise. If you don’t, it’s spinning clockwise.

Can’t I Just Adjust My Thermostat To Stay Comfy?

You could, but we don’t advise it. Changing the setting on your thermostat has big effects on:

  • Energy Consumption
  • Wear-And-Tear On Your System
  • Monthly Bills

You can heat and cool your home more efficiently without even touching the thermostat—simply by switching your fan direction. Also, be sure to turn off the fan when you don’t need it, just as you do with any other appliance in your home.

Boooo… It Didn’t Work For Me!

If your fan is mounted on a vaulted ceiling, it’s probably too high to have a significant impact. In that case, it’s best to keep the fan running counterclockwise all year.

If your ceiling fans just aren’t doing the trick, it may be time to have your HVAC unit serviced. We’ve been providing expert heating and cooling services in Austin. We’d love to help you keep your home comfortable in every season. Give us a call!

Eddie
2023-10-04
From the get go, Kassidy was excellent in scheduling options and even managed to snag me an earlier time slot than previous discussed. She took the time to reach out and confirm. A major shout out to Jamie and Carlo—talk about pros. They were excellent on providing education and explaining the why behind my duct issues. This was the initial inspection and I’ll make sure to leave details once the work is completed.
Jose Carlos Rodriguez
2023-09-25
Awesome
Eric Corum
2023-09-25
Very professional, great communicators, and very thorough.
Agustin Hernandez
2023-09-21
Todo muy profesional desde que hablé para pedir información la Srita que me atendió muy amable y el técnico que vino a mi casa también muy amable y profesional resolvió todas mis dudas 100% recomendable
Cindi Taylor
2023-09-14
What an amazing team of people! I came home from vacation and my house was hot. It was hot outside- Austin in the summer hot. I spoke with Petra and she was able to get a technician out within a couple of hours. That in itself is quite a feat given it was after 1:30pm. Jaime Ortega was dispatched and came to check the system. This guy has great customer service skills! He is a is very respectful, polite, communicate well, explains what is going on and is very thorough. He was joined by Carlos, who is also very polite, considerate and knowledgeable. These guys make a really great team. I was told there were several problems and I explained I had been trying to deal with one side of my house not working properly and the other side never getting cool in the summer and warm in the winter. My electric bills over the last 2 months were unsustainable. They went into the attic and traced down all the ductwork, discovered some of it had been installed incorrectly and they formulated a solution. It was also decided by me to replace the entire AC system. By the time this was decided, it was well after 6:30pm. I asked when we would be able to get this to happen and they said - tomorrow! They showed up on time and regretably I did not get the 3rd team member's name- and he deserves a shout out too. They worked for more than 8 hours in that horrible heat- got the system installed and everything cleaned up, packed up, and left the space better than they found it. I really appreciate skilled professionals that respect someone's home and who take the time to talk with me and let me know what is going on, what they are finding and how to take care of my investment. I have chosen for several years to be part of their maintenance membership plan and I have never been disappointed- even when I have an unexpected event - like a system failure while on vacation. I have had the privilege of meeting one of the owners, talking with the administrative staff, and 3 technicians that are really awesome people. These guys care about the quality of work they perform and they work to keep their customers happy. No wonder they have such great reviews! I am very happy with the service I received, the way I was treated and the value they bring to their industry. Keep up the good work! I will certainly tell everyone I know to call you when they need help. Perfect name too- GRANDE AIR SOLUTIONS!!!
Lourdes Alonso
2023-09-09
A/C stopped working on a Friday night and Isael came out within the hour and got it working. He was really knowledgeable and showed us other areas to keep an eye on. He stayed long enough to make sure the system was lowering the temperature in the house.
Sascha Rips
2023-09-09
Our A/C went out late in the day on a Friday. Grande Air was able to get us in Friday evening and got our A/C up and running in just a short time. Prices were also very reasonable even though it was a weekend evening. We will definitely use them again for future A/C needs.
Kiersten Legge
2023-09-07
Jaime was AWESOME!!! Professional and let us know each step he was taking in diagnosis and repair. Love Grande!!!!!

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