A seasonal adjustment to your ceiling fan will increase your comfort in both hot and cold weather. Here’s reporter Mike Lipsitz with a simple ceiling fan hack many of us forget to do…
If you have a ceiling fan, you want it to blow air straight down in the summer for a better cooling effect. Confirm this by looking up at the fan to make sure the blades are spinning counterclockwise. If they’re not, turn off the fan; once it comes to a stop, locate a small toggle switch usually on the side of the motor housing and switch it the other way. Turn the fan back on to confirm it is now spinning counterclockwise. When the weather gets cold, set your fan blades to spin clockwise again. This will pull warmer air off the ceiling and down into the room. Lastly, a ceiling fan will make you feel more comfortable by blowing air across your skin, but it cannot lower the temperature. For this reason, it is best to turn the fan off when you’re not in the room.
