Do your ceiling fans turn right or left in summer? (design, area) - Phoenix area - Arizona (AZ) - City-Data Forum

AZgarden · 08-08-2012, 12:37 PM

I remember I had a repairman come here and he told me my ceiling fan was rotating the wrong way for that season. So he changed it. Now I am not sure which way they are supposed to rotate in summer. Does anyone know? One way pushes the air up, another way down. So he said.

JGatti · 08-08-2012, 12:55 PM

Yes ceiling fans are designed to push and pull air. If it's cooler outside I open my windows and turn it on so it pulls air into my house. If it's summertime and it's hot I make it so it blow air on me. I've never seen one that does not have some kind of switch to do this. It is usually on the side of the unit and slides side to side. You can clearly feel the difference. I'd be willing to guess they are all the same as far as rotation. Mine push the air when they spin clockwise and pull the air when they rotate counter clockwise. But I still think it comes down to your personal preference on which way you want them to spin.

Bungle · 08-08-2012, 12:55 PM

Typically a ceiling fan in summer should turn counterclockwise to create more downdraft. In the winter it should be clockwise to circulate the hot air near the ceiling down the walls and around the room.

rational1 · 08-08-2012, 12:57 PM

Since everyone may not have the blades oriented the same way- you should ask if you want to blow air up or down.

Unless there is a place for the air to go then what the fan does is to circulate air. You will probably feel cooler if you feel the air blowing on you.

In winter you want the fan to circulate warm air near the ceiiing to the bottom of the room and you don't want to feel a breeze. So blowing up is probably better.

oldtrader · 08-08-2012, 01:09 PM

Easy way to tell if your fan is pushing air the correct direction. The blade is tilted not straight.
The air is pushed towards the direction that is pointed down for down, and up for up as the blade rotates.

In other words if you want the air forced down the fan must rotate towards the direction the blade turns up. If you want the air forced up, the fan must rotate towards the direction the fan turns down.

CheyDee · 08-08-2012, 09:32 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by PhxBarb

I remember I had a repairman come here and he told me my ceiling fan was rotating the wrong way for that season. So he changed it. Now I am not sure which way they are supposed to rotate in summer. Does anyone know? One way pushes the air up, another way down. So he said.

I'll try to make the answer as simple as possible.

In summer, the blades should rotate clockwise. This means when you are looking at it from below, it should be turning counterclockwise.

In winter, it's the reverse.

HTH.

azdr0710 · 08-08-2012, 10:40 PM

actually, it depends which way the blades are mounted/tilted....could be right or left...

air should be blowing down toward you in the summer and reverse in the winter.....

and there should be a small switch on the fan hub area to easily switch directions....have fan off when you make the switch...

maverick974 · 08-08-2012, 11:31 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by azdr0710

actually, it depends which way the blades are mounted/tilted....could be right or left...

air should be blowing down toward you in the summer and reverse in the winter.....

and there should be a small switch on the fan hub area to easily switch directions....have fan off when you make the switch...

Ding, ding, ding..........And we have a winner.........

pbenjamin · 08-09-2012, 01:41 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by azdr0710

actually, it depends which way the blades are mounted/tilted....could be right or left...

air should be blowing down toward you in the summer and reverse in the winter.....

and there should be a small switch on the fan hub area to easily switch directions....have fan off when you make the switch...

Exactly. I once had a Hunter Original that only went in one direction. The blades themselves could be pivoted so the tilt was in the opposite direction if you wanted an updraft.

CheyDee · 08-09-2012, 02:44 AM

I never saw a ceiling fan where you changed the blade's tilt. That must have been before my time.

I was trying to simplify things. The most precise reply is it depends upon the tilt of the blades. If you look at the blades, you can see one side of each blade pitches higher than the other. In summer, the leading pitch should be the higher pitch, (the upturned side). In winter, the lower tilt side should be the leading side.

For a very high ceiling, like the top of a staircase, you may want to do things in reverse. Since cold air sinks to the ground, blowing the air up will help keep cool air (coming from the upstairs vents) upstairs.