Ceiling fan placement

[Christopher Nelson]

My master bedroom is approximately 16' x15'. Two walls have windows, one has two doors, and the last one door. The placement of doors and baseboard heat limits the placement of the bed to one likely place with another possible but really much worse. Something like:

+---------------------------| window |----------+ | 1 | -- | door | | -- | | | | -- -- | +---------------+ window 2 | | | -- -- | Bed | | door | | | | | | -- | | | | +---------------+ | +--| door |-----------------------------------------+

I'm getting ready to put up a ceiling fan with a light. I have full attic access so there is no logistic reason to favor any particular location. Placing the fan in the center of the room is the first, obvious choice but it's over the corner of the bed closest to the center of the room. If I center the fan on the wall where the head of the bed is, the fan is over the other side of the foot of the bed. If I center the fan on both windows, it's roughly centered on the foot of the bed.

I hate centering the fan on furniture that might move so I'm trying to work off doors, walls, and windows. Any strong arguments for any of these choices? Did you put yours over the bed and wish it was centered in the room or vice versa?

[RBM]

When in doubt, center it in the room. Your situation is not atypical. No matter where you put it, it creates some type of imbalance. The fan will work fine and look most visually correct in the center.

[sligoNoSPAMjoe]

What is the purpose of the fan? Distributing heat, distributing cool air, decorative ???

[Chris Nelson]

Move air in the spring and early summer to reduce the use of A/C.

[HeyBub]

Put the ceiling fan where it will do the most good for you.

If you ever sell the house, or the esthetics bother someone, hang ANOTHER ceiling fan to balance the look.

[Walter R.]

While traveling in the tropics and staying at cheap hotels (we/of air conditioning), I found that the fan was usually located directly above the bed. Makes sense, fans cool by evaporation of skin moisture. No moisture, no cooling. It's the bed where all the sweating takes place. :-) That's where the fan should go.

[Wayne Boatwright]

On Sat 13 Jun 2009 11:55:31a, RBM told us...

That would have been my answer, as well. A ceiling fan is designed to create air turbulence throughout the space, not in a localized area.

[aemeijers]

Agreed. The only time I would go off center is if there was a sloped ceiling, in which case you want it on the high end. And despite what one poster said, above the bed makes some people freak out, or whine that there is a draft. OP, what does SWMBO say? That is the only opinion that really matters. If she ain't happy, you ain't gonna be happy.

Wish I had a master BR that big....

-- aem sends...

[John Grabowski]

*Center of the room is first choice, but I have had a number of customers request that it be centered over the bed because they want to feel the breeze.

[sligoNoSPAMjoe]

So you want to place it to reduce cooling loads. Since I don't know your situation, I would have to guess, so my guess is centered over the bed, so it will have the most effect on the bed area.

[stan]

Hey; that suggests a design idea! A ceiling fan with variable pitch blades? During each rotation the blades would alter pitch; steering the air (to some extent?) in a different directions! Expensive? Probably yes. More complicated and therefore the antithesis of simplicity for us 'do it your self' repairers. Anyway; here, it's more a case of putting another blanket on the bed rather than needing a bedroom ceiling fan. Some people here with heat pumps have never ver bothered to learn how to switch them over to Air Conditioning. Alongside the cool North Atlantic it doesn't get hot enough. Anytime it does, very occasionally touch say 80 degrees F, and it's somwhat humid we are complaining about a 'heat wave' and the local media are talking about whether it's the hottest on record since 1953 etc.

[Mark Lloyd]

When I installed a ceiling fan, I but it over the bed.

[SteveB]

Only in very large rooms, or rooms that are not square or rectangular. Otherwise, centered usually always works, although if it has lights on it, it might not shine just where you want the light. I think for flow, centered is optimal, but off center would still adequately move air. Another consideration is wiring. You might want to just put it where you won't have to make a new run of wire.

Steve