Home Design – Air Conditioning vs. Ceiling Fans

Many people think they shouldn’t need a ducted air conditioning system if they have ceiling fans. But I’m afraid that’s not right, especially if they live in a hot climate. Fans of all kinds move the air around. This may make you feel slightly cooler, especially if you are sweating. But once the air becomes really hot, a fan will not cool you off unless you are wet.

We all know that hot air rises, so thunderstorms occur when a cool front moves in after hot weather. This hot air congregates around the room’s top in the house, especially if the ceilings are high. When you switch ceiling fans on, they push that hot air back down to the floor, making you feel hotter than before you switched them on. Freestanding fans don’t do this.

If you have both ceiling fans and an air conditioner (and get it serviced regularly) with a high ceiling, you’ll notice it all the more because the cool air from the air con will sink to the bottom half of the room. But if you switch on the ceiling fans, once again, you’ll feel that hot air getting pushed down. Eventually, the two will merge and equalise, but leaving ceiling fans off is far better, especially in scorching hot weather.

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