My heat pump blew out a few weeks ago and I've been relying on my wood stove to cut the chill at night. I've got ceiling fans in my house and if you have a ceiling fan, you know there is a switch that reverses the blades, so you can have the blades blowing air down, or up.
A lot of folks don't know why to reverse directions of the blades, or when, or don't use the switch at all. Here's How and Why. In some ways it seems counter-intuitive, but when you think about it it will make sense.
In hot weather, the blades should blow the air down, to the floor
the switch will be in the down position
Hot air rises, but it's not the temperature that makes you feel cool. It's the movement of the air on your skin that makes you cool off. In hot weather you want to feel the air blowing on you.
In cold weather, the blades should blow the air up, towards the ceiling
the switch will be in the up position
When the blades blow upwards, the hot air at the ceiling is forced to move out in all directions and back down again. It distributes the hot air evenly throughout the room. To blow the blades down, it pulls cold air up from the floor as the fans blows air on you. Even in a warm room, on a cold day, even warm air blowing on you will feel cold.
How do I know this? Well, years ago I read the instructions to a ceiling fan. And then it made sense!
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One thing about any fan that blows air in the room ... it's terrible for music. If you have any kind of fan running in a room where you are playing music, you will never get your instrument in tune!
Now off to tend my fire. It's chilly this morning!