Ceiling fans are an efficient and sustainable way to keep your home comfortable, in hot and cold weather. A ceiling fan can make a huge difference to your comfort, and it costs only about $1.20 a month to run one.
But choosing a new ceiling fan for your home isn’t always easy, especially with so many different options to choose from these days. Should you go for a contemporary minimalist design, or something more traditional? What about a windmill ceiling fan or a vertical design? It’s just as important to choose the right size and style of fan for your space as it is to choose an attractive design.
Consider Your Space
Before you go fan shopping, consider the size and features of the space in which you’re going to hang it. How big is the room? How high is the ceiling? Is the ceiling flat or vaulted? You should consider all of these factors when choosing a new ceiling fan for your home.
Ceiling fans should be sized appropriately for the space they’re in. Determine the square footage of the room where you want to hang the fan. If the room is small – under 75 square feet – you should be looking at the smallest fans with a sweep of no more than 36 inches. If the room is 76 to 144 square feet, look at fans 36 to 42 inches wide. If the room is 145 to 224 square feet, look at fans with a sweep of 44 to 50 inches. If the room is 225 to 400 square feet, look at fans with a sweep of 50 to 54 inches. If the room is even bigger than that, look at jumbo fans with a sweep of 60 inches or more.
The pitch and height of your ceiling also affect what kind of ceiling fan you can buy. A ceiling fan should be about eight to nine feet off the floor to create the best airflow in the room. If your ceilings are too low to hang a fan eight feet off the floor, you can buy a flush mount fan that hugs the ceiling without a downrod. This will leave about seven feet of clearance, which should be enough unless you have particularly tall people in your family. If the ceiling is higher than nine feet, you can buy a longer downrod to lower your fan to the right height.
If the ceiling is pitched or vaulted, you’ll also want to buy a fan with a longer downrod. The fan blades should be about 18 inches from the nearest wall. A longer downrod should enable you to hang your fan at the appropriate distance from the side of your pitched or vaulted ceiling.
Compare Fan Features
Fans these days come with all kinds of high-tech features that make them much easier to use than old-fashioned fans with pull cords. You’ll probably want to look at ceiling fans with lights to ensure that your room has adequate lighting. You may also want to buy a fan with dimmable lights, so you can control the ambiance in your space – dimmable lights are especially useful for bedroom fans if you like to read in bed at night. You can buy fans with remote controls so you don’t have to fumble for a pull chain, or a wall control that works on radio signals so you don’t have to run any new wiring. You can even buy ceiling fans with Bluetooth or Wi-Fi connectivity so you can control your phone via smartphone app.
Choose a Fan Design
Choosing the right fan design can give a lot of people the most trouble, because it’s a purely subjective choice and there are so many options available. Consider your home décor, and the architecture of your house. A ceiling fan will be a permanent fixture, so choose one that blends in with your home’s architectural features. For example, if you live in a contemporary home, choose a fan with clean lines. If you live in a city loft, consider something with a more industrial look. If you have oak floors and trim, buy a fan with an oak wood finish to the blades. If you have brushed nickel hardware in your home, make sure the hardware of the fan is brushed nickel, too.
Choosing a new ceiling fan can be a lot of fun, especially if you like shopping for new things for your home. Buy a fan that meets your needs and fits your overall decorating sense. You’ll be using this fan for years, so take your time choosing exactly the right one.
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