FAQ Ceiling Fans - Summer and Winter mode explained.

Frequently Asked Questions - Ceiling fans

What is Summer and Winter Mode on a Ceiling fan??

Summer and Winter mode is basically the ability to change the direction the fan blades spin.  On AC type fans there is usually a switch located on the fan itself that can be switched to reverse the direction of the blades while newer DC fans have this reversing switch on the remote control handpiece.

The sole purpose of a ceiling fan is to move the air in the room and create airflow.  In summer the air flows down and creates a breeze, as we know a breeze is cooiling especially if we are hot and are perspiring, the breeze flows across our skin and the perspiraton creating a cooling effect. 

In Winter when we heat a room (In particular high vaulted ceilings or raked ceilings) the hot air will naturally rise to the top half of the room making the  the top hotter than the lower half of the room.  Unfortunately we are rugged up on the couch in the lower half of the room, so ceiling fans can be great at moving the air causing the hot air at the top of the room to circulate down to the bottom half of the room.  However even though the air is warm, when it blows down with a ceiling fan in normal summer mode it will eventually feel cool like a breeze and the warming effect will be lost.  So we reverse the direction of the fan and the air is still moved but it is blown up into the ceiling and tumbles down around the sides of the room.  This still moves the air around to distrubute the warm air that has gathered at the top of the room but without the breeze that doesn't feel right on a cold winters night.