The 1 Super-Quick Thing You Should Do To Your Ceiling Fan In The Winter

Have you ever thought about the direction your ceiling fan spins? The answer to that is probably no.
It turns out that you should be thinking about it, particularly when the seasons change. And yes, that includes in the winter when you’re likely opting for space heaters and cozy blankets instead of turning on your fan.
When your ceiling fan spins in the correct direction each season, it can make your home feel warmer in the winter and cooler in the summer — and it may even save you some money.
Here’s what to know:
Ceiling fans are extremely useful for “controlling the way the air moves within a space,” said Katie Whitaker, founder of New York City-based home repair business Handyma’am. “It’s important to note that they don’t change the temperature of the room — they move air in different ways, and the way that your body interacts with that air changes your perception of the temperature.”
When your ceiling fan runs counter-clockwise, it pushes the air down, which makes you feel colder, they explained.
“And then when you have them rotating clockwise, they’re pulling air up, which is essentially pulling more warm air up into the room, because heat naturally rises,” Whitaker said. “So, you’re essentially just aiding that process in the winter.”
Having your ceiling fan move clockwise in the winter also eliminates the downward breeze that you’re probably used to feeling when sitting near a fan, according to Gary McCoy, the store manager of Lowe’s Central Charlotte in North Carolina.
The point of turning your fan on in the winter isn’t to freeze yourself. You don’t want to turn your fan on high.
“For the most efficient warming effect, allow your fan to rotate on a low speed, creating an even distribution of warm air and eliminating cool spots in the room,” McCoy told HuffPost via email.
“You don’t want so much wind that you come in and you can feel the breeze,” Whitaker noted. “What you want is just a gentle encouragement of circulation.”
Exactly how you change the direction of your ceiling fan depends on the fan in your home. If you have the installation directions, take a look at those. If not, experts have a few tips.
“First, you will need to look at your ceiling fan to understand which direction the fan blades are rotating,” McCoy said. “If you desire to change the direction of the ceiling fan rotation, be sure to turn off the fan and wait until there is no movement in the blades.”
“There is a switch, usually located on the fan’s motor unit right below the blades that when adjusted will change the direction of the fan’s rotation,” McCoy added.
For some newer fans, their spinning direction will be controlled via a remote, Whitaker explained. “And some of them will have just kind of a plate that pulls down, and there’ll be a little switch under there.”
You can also try googling the make and model of your fan (if you know it) to see if there are directions for your individual fan online.
This ceiling-fan-direction swap may save you money — Whitaker said some people claim that you can save as much as 15% off your heating and cooling costs by following this fan-circulation tip, but Whitaker said that’s subjective and depends on a few factors.
“It depends on how well insulated your home is. It depends on how efficient your heating or cooling system is. It depends on a bunch of different factors,” they noted.
Even if you don’t notice a huge savings, feeling warmer in your home during the cold winter months is always a good thing.
One last tip? Before changing the direction of your ceiling fan, dust the blades. This way, you won’t be circulating dust and other allergens throughout your air as you try to stay warm this winter.