Ceiling Fans Buying Guide

Ceiling fans can be a great addition to any home or room. They can provide a room with comfortable air movement, appropriate lighting, and a nice decorative touch. Choosing the proper ceiling fan or fans for your home is an important decision. This guide will help you better understand the way ceiling fans work, and the will highlight the different styles and options available.

Why Purchase A Ceiling Fan?

The main purpose for a ceiling fan is to provide ventilation and to improve air circulation throughout a room. Proper air circulation is beneficial because it can improve the effectiveness of your home cooling system during warm weather and your home heating system during cold weather.

For cooling purposes, the breeze created by the ceiling fan will bring the cool air to you and create a "wind chill". The "wind chill" will make your environment seem cooler than the actual temperature of your home. Therefore, you can set your thermostat at a higher temperature in the warm summer months for energy savings and still remain comfortable.

Our grade school science classes taught us that light warm air rises above cold dense air. For heating purposes, the ceiling fan will circulate the air to bring the warm air back down from the ceiling so that you can enjoy it in your living space. Therefore, you can set your thermostat at a lower temperature in the winter to save energy.

Styles of Ceiling Fans

There are three major ceiling fan styles: traditional hanging propeller ceiling fans, directional ceiling fans, and rotational ceiling fans.

Traditional Hanging Propeller Ceiling Fans

The traditional hanging propeller ceiling fan is what people normally think of if you mention a ceiling fan. The fan hangs perpendicular from the ceiling and the blade rotation is parallel to the floor. There are hundreds of these fans available in various finishes, blade quantities, blade sizes and there are endless lighting fixture options to fit every home daccor, room size, and room function. Basic traditional ceiling fans are typically the least expensive of all three styles. Popular brands include Casablanca, Hunter, and Progress Lighting.

Directional Ceiling Fans

Like traditional propeller ceiling fans, directional ceiling fans hang from the ceiling. The difference is that directional fans have the capability of being manipulated to hang at a particular angle to better ventilate a specific area rather than an entire room. These fans are desirable when only one area of a room requires additional ventilation and no additional lighting is required.

Rotational Ceiling Fan

A rotational ceiling fan is a combination of the first two styles of ceiling fans: traditional propeller ceiling fan and directional ceiling fan. Rotational ceiling fans are normally provided with one or two sets of propellers that rotate independently.

In rotational fans, each set of propellers is provided with its own motor which makes a complete fan. The rotational fan in the photo above is provided with two sets of propellers (or fans). The fans are attached to a horizontal support rod which rotates on a vertical axis. As the propellers turn, the horizontal support rod turns. The position of each fan motor housing can be adjusted to increase or decrease its angle to the horizontal support rod. The entire unit is designed so that horizontal support rod will turn faster when the fan motor angle is increased. Ultimately, the axial rotation speed about the vertical support bar is dependent upon the fan motor speed and the fan motor angle to the horizontal support rod.

Rotational ceiling fans are claimed to circulate air more efficiently for heating and cooling purposes than the traditional propeller ceiling fans. They also tend to be more expensive than traditional propeller ceiling fans.

Available models of rotational fans are the Duplo-Dinamico and the Vent-Bettina by the Matthews Fan Company.

Features to Consider

Lighting

With the exception of directional ceiling fans, most ceiling fans can be provided with integral lighting fixtures or lighting kits. These can incorporate lighting fixtures with a single bulb or multiple bulbs and lighting can be directional (up, down, and/or adjustable) or simply decorative.

Some manufacturers, such as Casablanca, design their fans to be part of a series of lighting fixtures (with the same decorative features) so that you can decorate a room or your entire home using the same lighting fixture theme.

When choosing a fan with an integral lighting fixture or lighting fixture option, consider the use of the space where the fan will be located and the level of lighting that is required. For instance, bright lighting is usually essential for a kitchen or bathroom, whereas low lighting or dimmed lighting is more desirable in a bedroom. Some fans are even designed to use halogen bulbs for bright, natural lighting.

Controls

The original and traditional ceiling fan controls have always been pull chains, light switches, and fan direction switches for manual and local control. These features are still popular and universally available. The industry is now offering hand-held or wall-mounted remote controls that can allow you to adjust the fan speed, direction, and/or the light level. Some remote control packages allow multiple fans to be controlled from a single controller. Computerized controllers can also be purchased to automatically adjust the fan speed based on the time of day/night and cooling/heating requirements.

Consider special fan controls before purchasing your fan to make sure that the controls you require are compatible with the fan that you are planning to purchase.

Decorative Features

Ceiling fans can be purchased to fit any designer's needs. They can be purchased with very basic designs or very elaborate detail. Many ceiling fans are designed to match a specific theme such as: Arts and Crafts, Contemporary, Victorian, Sports and many more.

Ceiling fans are available in several finish types including decorative metal finishes (pewter, chrome, gold, brass, bronze, antique, etc.) and many types of wood (teak, oak, pine, cherry, etc.) and various painted finishes in every color of the rainbow. To be sure that your ceiling fan finish will be durable, look for a guarantee or claim that the ceiling fan manufacturer uses rust, scratch, and tarnish resistant finishes.

Some manufacturers such as Hunter and Casablanca give you the option to fit your ceiling fan with lighting fixtures and special fan blades for a nearly custom design that will fit your style perfectly. Many different types of ceiling fan blades are available in different designs and finishes that are made to resemble anything imaginable like: palm fronds, boat sails, and baseball bats. Some manufacturers are even expanding their blade horizons to include non-traditional materials such as: rattan, fabric, bamboo, and bead board.

Fan Size

Traditional ceiling fan sizes are measured from the tip of one blade to the tip of the blade opposite it (or the diameter of the fan from blade tip to blade tip). A traditional ceiling fan should be sized based on the size of the room (or the portion of the room) that it will serve. Therefore, a small ceiling fan should be chosen for a small room. Following are some recommendations for approximate ceiling fan sizing:

Rotational ceiling fan assembly sizes are measured from the tip of the blade on the first fan to the tip of the blade on the second fan (where the first fan is opposite the second fan on the horizontal support rod). In the case of the overall rotational ceiling fan having only one fan (rather than two), the fan is measured from the tip of the blade on the one fan to the tip of the horizontal support rod opposite the fan.

Directional ceiling fans are measured across the diameter of the fan propeller or from blade tip to blade tip.

Ceiling Height and Slope

Before buying your ceiling fan, consider your ceiling height and slope (or angle). Most manufacturers recommend that ceiling fan blades be positioned from 7 to 8-feet above the floor for the most effectiveness and best possible creature comfort. Low-profile ceiling fans are available for installations where the ceiling is only 8-feet tall or shorter so that you can maintain the maximum clearance between the blades and the floor. If your ceiling is more than 9-feet tall, optional extension down rods can be purchased for mounting some ceiling fans so the blades remain the correct distance from the floor.

If the ceiling where your fan will be mounted is sloped (or angled) rather than flat, special mounting systems are available for ceiling fans to enable the fan to be installed so that the blade rotation is parallel to the floor rather than to the ceiling.

All extension down rods and mounting systems should be designed to keep the ceiling fan unit from vibrating or wobbling.

Location

Ceiling fans have traditionally been designed for indoor dry locations; however, people are now installing ceiling fans in outdoor locations and places with a considerable amount of humidity. If you are installing a ceiling fan outdoors, consider a fan with a UL (Underwriter's Laboratory) listing specifically for outdoor (wet) or damp locations. If your fan will be in an environment with a considerable amount of humidity (like a bathroom, kitchen, or indoor pool), make sure that the materials of construction prohibit rust formation and mold growth. Keep in mind that painted steel may not be rust resistant if the unit was not finished properly and if the paint becomes scratched or marred.

Price Range

Traditional Hanging Propeller Ceiling Fans

Traditional basic ceiling fans can be purchased for as low as $40 with or without a lighting fixture or lighting kit. These lower priced ceiling fans are usually finished with white paint, have particle board blades, and do not have decorative detailing. On these lower priced models, you may be sacrificing durability along with decorative detail. Durable fans have motors, blades, and lighting that are well-designed and manufactured to last. When purchasing a ceiling fan that you want to last for several years, look for ceiling fans with warranties from manufacturers with nationwide networking service centers.

Fans with decorative metal finishes (like pewter and chrome) and solid wood or other decorative blades can be priced as high as $700.

Directional Ceiling Fans

Directional ceiling fans are not offered by many manufacturers and, therefore, the pricing is not very competitive. Typical directional ceiling fans constructed of stainless steel or with a chrome finish are priced at approximately $400.

Rotational Ceiling Fans

Like the directional ceiling fans, rotational ceiling fans are not offered by many manufacturers and are not competitively priced. The price range for rotational ceiling fans is approximately $700 to $1,200. The price is dependent on the number of motors and type of finish.