Q. Will running my ceiling fans while using my cooling system help to cool my house faster and keep it cooler so the system doesn’t run as frequent?
Believing that ceiling fans help to cool a home is a misconception among many people. As most would like to think of ceiling fan usage as a more cost-effective alternative to running the air-conditioning system, ceiling fans do not cool the temperature in a home. They simply move the air around.
Moving the air around will not trick your thermostat into believing the house is cooler. Your AC system will shut off when the air temperature, controlled by air conditioning output, has reached your desired comfort setting.
What a ceiling fan is good for is tricking you into feeling like it is cooler than it actually is. This leads us to how ceiling fans can help to save you money, but not by cooling your home faster. When you are directly below the circulating fan your body temperature feels cooler.
The comfort you experience from the fan allows you to set your thermostat to a higher temperature. Raising the temperature setting in your home by as much as two degrees can save you up to 10 percent on your energy bill.
To make the most out of ceiling fan usage, don’t run them when you are not at home. There is no point. After all, you are not there to enjoy the cool breeze they produce. Continue to run your air-conditioning unit at temperatures that are comfortable to you. Just remember you can take advantage of your ceiling fan’s personal cooling capabilities while at home to raise your thermostat setting, thus increasing your electricity bill savings.
About AirNow Cooling & Heating
AirNow Cooling & Heating is a full-service air-conditioning and heating contractor located in Millbrook, Ala., serving Montgomery, Autauga, Lowndes and Elmore Counties. The business services and installs heating and air-conditioning systems. In addition to completing scheduled service checks, repairing existing equipment and installing new equipment, the company finds ways to reduce the energy bills of its clients with a thorough cost-benefits analysis.
AirNow offers a patented Straight Forward Pricing Guide™ so that customers know what the price is before a project begins. Meanwhile, to contact AirNow Cooling & Heating for a service call, a free quote on a new HVAC system or further information on any of its services, please call (334) 384-6050 or email service@airnowhvac.com.