Celebrate National Ceiling Fan Day Every September 18
National Ceiling Fan Day is a relatively new holiday, begun in 2013 by Fanimation. Its goal is to promote the energy-saving advantages of using ceiling fans to help cool your home.
Now, no a ceiling fan alone isn’t going to keep you cool on the hottest days of summer. But running a ceiling fan along with the air means you can set the thermostat a little higher and still be comfortable.
And National Ceiling Fan Day falls at a time when the days & nights are starting to be a little cooler … Yes, we know you can still get sweltering days in September and even early October, but overall it’s usually a bit cooler (in most of the country, anyway). So you can turn off the air more often and just use the fan.
In addition to its creator, Fanimation, the day is supported by many fan manufacturers, including Hunter Fan Company, Westinghouse Lighting, Emerson Ceiling Fans and many more. It’s also supported by several home improvement stores, ALA-member showrooms, and energy conservation programs like the US Green Building Council and the Alliance to Save Energy.
A Dash of Energy Trivia
You’ll be doing the earth a favor by celebrating this day, as you and your fellow ceiling fan users save trillions of kilowatt hours of energy consumption.
For every 2 degrees you raise your thermostat while running your ceiling fan you spend about 15% less in energy costs.
How does this work? Well, your air conditioner can use more than 100x the amount of electricity as a ceiling fan running for the same amount of time.
And when you’re running a ceiling fan, you can raise the temperature set point of your air conditioner by several degrees. That’s because people in a room with a ceiling fan running can feel as much as 8 degrees cooler.
Do you remember which way your ceiling fan blades should spin? Yeah, we’re always forgetting, too. So here you go:
- When it’s hot and you want to cool the room, ceiling fans should spin counter-clockwise.
- When it’s cool and you want to push hot air down into the room, spin them clockwise.
Scroll down for some ideas on celebrating this unofficially cool holiday.
How to Celebrate National Ceiling Fan Day
If the days have turned temperate, turn off your air conditioner, open the windows and turn on your ceiling fan!
Or if it’s still hot, turn on the fan and turn up the thermostat by a few degrees. With the fan running, you’ll feel just as comfortable as before.
Don’t have one? Today’s a great day to buy a ceiling fan. Retailers may have them on sale in honor of the day.
And even if they don’t, the money you save on running the air will soon pay for the fan!
If you’re moderately handy (and experienced with electricity), you can even install it yourself.
(If you’re not comfortable working with electricity, definitely have someone put it in for you).
Will you be participating in National Ceiling Fan Day this year?
