Beat the Heat- Ceiling Fans
One of the best things we’ve done to beat the summer heat is have a ceiling fan installed in our bedroom. The fan was fairly inexpensive, both to install and to run.
I love sleeping under the cool breeze. It allows us to keep our thermostat set at a higher temperature at night and saves us big money on our electric bill all summer long.
Here’s a few tips on buying a ceiling fan:
– Look for a model with an Energy Star Rating like the model shown above, called Sea Air from Hunter.
– It’s important to choose the right ceiling fan for your room. There are excellent guidelines found here.
– If you are replacing a light with a ceiling fan, look for a model with a light option.
– Ceiling fans often go on sale at the end of the summer season… it’s a great time to buy one.
Once your fan is installed here’s a few quick tips:
-Only run the fan when someone is in the room. Fans cool people not your home, so save energy by flipping off the switch when no one is in the room. (I didn’t know this and used to keep my fan running night and day, duh.)
-Keep your fan dusted to prevent allergens from flying around the room. Plus it’s much easier to clean it frequently (every couple months) than to wait until the dust has really built up… trust me, I’ve done it the hard way and it’s not fun.
-To clean my fan, I love to use my large Swiffer duster (with my re-usable cover) because it can be set at a 90 degree angle. After I’ve dusted, I sometimes wipe it down with vinegar water- which is one part vinegar to one part water. I wet my cloth in the vinegar solution, ring it out thoroughly and wipe down the fan.
-If you’ve let it get really dusty, Real Simple magazine recommends using a pillowcase to dust your fan. That way the dust goes into the case and not all over your room- brilliant.
We have so many ceiling fans in our house that if you turned them all on at the same time, the house would lift off it’s foundation!
And we love each and every one of them.
Can I add a tip? Only buy Hunter fans. They are the only brand I’ve experienced that don’t make any sound. Being a very lite sleeper, fans that make the slightest sound keep me up all night. No, I don’t work for Hunter nor does anyone I know. I’ve just lived in several houses with different fans and have been driven crazy by other brands. Whenever we install them we only buy Hunter, based on our experience.
What a great tip. As luck would have it, I have the same Hunter fan shown in the picture in my home. I must agree it is extremely quiet. Since this is the first ceiling fan I’ve ever owned, I don’t have a comparable. But I’m also a light sleeper and a noisy fan would drive me batty! Likewise, I have no affiliation with Hunter.
If your fans are really dusty, you can place the blades inside an old pillowcase and pull the dust off into the inside of the pillowcase. Then go outside and turn the case inside out to shake out dust, then wash the pillow case. Then you would want to use a cleaner to get rid of the residue. This works great when the fan is above a bed and you don’t want anything getting on your bed.
When I read this yesterday I thought “She is nuts! Ceiling fans DO cool rooms!”. So, today I tested my theory. My house has terrible circulation, so I run my bedroom ceiling fan all the time. It’s normally about 82-84 degrees in my bedroom. Today, with no fan – the highest it reached was 81. So apparently, you are NOT nuts, but I might be! ;)
I might be a little nuts too ; )! But irregardless, I think I’m probably right about the ceiling fans. I love that you tested out my theory.