Do Ceiling Fans Save Energy?
In India, ceiling fans are installed in almost all the houses. Not all the houses have the luxury of using air conditioners due to the practical challenges of installing an air conditioner in the property or due to budget of Air Conditioner
Even in the properties, both residential and commercial, where air conditioners are installed, the use of ceiling fans can help in reducing the energy bills.
What do ceiling fans do ?
Ceiling fans circulate the air in the room and make the place ‘feel’ cooler.
Ceiling fans cannot change the air’s temperature, but the effect of moving air makes the room feel cooler and comfortable during the heat of the day.
Moving air helps in the faster evaporation of the air on the skin and thereby bringing down the body temperature.
How does ceiling fan help in saving energy?
Running the air conditioner consumes more energy than the ceiling fans.
If the weather is moderately hot, instead of switching on the air conditioner, running a ceiling fan will create a comfortable environment for the occupants in the room.
Even when the mercury hits high, the use of ceiling fans can still help in reducing the energy consumption. You can set the thermostat to higher temperatures with ceiling fans on.
When the occupant count in the room increases, your air conditioner needs to slog longer to maintain the optimal temperature. Using ceiling fans can help in faster thermostat cut-off times.
Key Factors To Remember
You cannot cool the room and bring down the temperature just by switching on the ceiling fan without the use of an air conditioner.
In extremely hot tropical weather, you will need an air conditioner to create comfortable indoor environments. In such situations, ceiling fans could just be used as additional support equipment.
Leaving the ceiling fans turned on in a room where there are no occupants will do no good but waste energy.
Maximum benefit is achieved when the ceiling fan is designed to push the air downward effectively.
Selecting the right sized ceiling fan based on the room size is vital if you want to save energy by using it along with an air conditioner.
Additional equipment means additional maintenance costs. You need to consider this when calculating savings that you are trying to achieve by installing ceiling fans.
Actual energy savings could be enjoyed when you increase your air conditioner’s thermostat temperature by two to three degrees higher while using it along with a ceiling fan.
Conclusion
You can save energy by using a ceiling fan along with an air conditioner. You should however, have a clear understanding of how energy savings are achieved. Having partial information or knowledge about saving energy with the use of ceiling fans will only make you waste energy instead of saving energy.
