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June in Westchester County and Fairfield County means the start of air conditioning season for most residents. Some homeowners try to wait as long as they can before running their central air. But who says you can't continue running your ceiling fan when the AC is on? Here's what you should know about your fan.
It's nothing new that a fan makes you feel cooler, but why? You feel more comfortable when your fan is running because of the physical air that it is blowing onto your skin. If you aren't close enough to feel this breeze, it won't cool you off.
If you've ever heard someone say a fan is just pushing around the hot air, they're on the right track. Because fans have mechanical motors, they use friction and electricity that can turn into heat. This means your fan can actually add heat to the room.
Yes! As you know, a fan pushes the air in the room around. That means that if your central air is running, it is moving cool air throughout the room. You can turn your thermostat up a few degrees when you pair it with a fan.
Just like your other home appliances, your fan is rated by how efficient it works. For a fan, this means how well it moves the air for the amount of energy it is putting in. This is called Airflow Efficiency.
Earlier we talked about how fans make you cooler from air that it pushes onto you. If you're not in the room, turn the fan off as it is not benefitting you in anyway.
By running your fan at a slower speed, you are preventing its motor from heating up and working hard. The trick is to get a bigger fan and run it at a lower speed for maximum efficiency.