Although it’s November, it’s still pretty hot in Florida. Ceiling fans can do a lot to keep you cooler during the long, hot months in Jacksonville, and they can save you money on utility bills too. What do you need to know to make the most of them? Here we’ll explain how a ceiling fan can help you to beat the heat and increase your home’s cooling efficiency.

Improving Comfort and Cooling Efficienwith Ceiling Fans

A ceiling fan makes people feel cooler on hot days via the wind chill effect that it creates, much like a winter wind can make a 30-degree day feel much colder. Increased airflow makes moisture on the skin evaporate more quickly, enhancing the efficiency of the body’s natural cooling system. So even though the temperature in a room isn’t changed by a ceiling fan, it can make people in the room feel a lot cooler.

How does that save you money on cooling bills? It enables you to turn the thermostat up a few degrees without compromising your comfort. The air conditioner won’t run as long or as often, thus reducing its energy use. While the ceiling fan will consume energy, it will use a small fraction of the amount used by your A/C system.

Making the Most of Ceiling Fans

Most ceiling fans are designed to improve cooling efficiency in summer and heating efficiency in winter, depending on the direction the blades are spinning. That direction is determined by a switch – either on the fan itself or on its remote control – with two settings: forward and reverse. During the summer, that switch should be set the blades to rotate in a counterclockwise direction. This setting allows the fan to blow air directly downward, creating the wind chill effect that works to keep you cool and comfortable.

Learn more about using ceiling fans and other ways to improve the efficiency of your air conditioning system from the pros at Ocean State Air Conditioning & Heating. Call us today at (904) 574-5619 for more air conditioning solutions.

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