Ceiling fans help even with the HVAC vents in the ceiling. Mixing air is a good thing. I'd run them in the Winter, too, but drafts make it feel colder so it defeats the purpose. The really don't use a lot of electricity.
a human body produces about the same amount of heat as a 100 watt light bulb
Ok, how much more does it take to suck away the heat generated by a ceiling fan? A dollar a day? Ten dollars a day?
I'm in full agreement that the heat from the fan has to be dealt with by the air conditioner, but how much does that really take?
Should I worry more about the insolation from opening the curtain on the south-facing window so my houseplants can get light?
Cindy Hamilton
We have the opposite problem, keeping warm. No AC except the odd newer house that has a heat pump that can be reversed to do AC.
BTW here is one quote ...................... "The total amount of heat produced over a period of time is equal to the total calories consumed minus any useful mechanical work performed. If a person consumes an average of 2400 kilocalories per day, the average heat produced is 100 kilocalories per hour or 116 watts.".
Since a kilowatt =3D about 3300 BTUs that 116 Watts =3D approx 380 BTUs.
Since it got a little warmer here recently (mid/late June) have noticed can often keep house comfortable with the formal heat off and incidental heat from the fridge, a few lights, in the evening, occasional cooking, couple of computers, maybe the TV, letting the shower water to cool down to room temperature etc.
Also the sun is sometimes in evidence but when that happens of course all the leaves on our approx. 70 trees are out and not much reaches the windows!
Each fan probably does not use any more than say 10 to 15 watts? Or about one tenth the amount of heat of one human body. And fans keep air moving thus helping human perspiration to evaporate and one to feel and be cooler. probaly more efficient than cooling all the air in the house to a greater degree.
Of course if I had the chance I'd build into the side of a hill for easier and more efficient temperature control, summer and winter. Our unheated (except for heat filtering down from the living floor above), almost fully in ground and unfinished concrete walled basement stays around 50 deg F during our winters.
The correct opening line for the conversation is:
"Hey, that must be just one of your many fans."
I wonder how many watts of heat, a fan generates. 50 to 100 maybe.
Hmm. So, a baby in a crib creates the same heat as a teenager, who creates the same heat as a granny in a wheel chair? I didn't know that.
About half as much electricity as the fan uses. IOW, an infinitesimal amount.
*Far* more. That amounts to real heat, particularly in the summer. Can you feel the heat from the sun? Can you feel the heat from the fan?
No.
"Hey, can you turn that fan on high? I'm hot!"
I use only fans at that 94F level though that's about when I close up and turn on the AC. The fans are set to allow whole house air flow. Being more south probably of some of you, we don't consider 94F that hot if there is a nice breeze and inside, it would be 5-6 degrees cooler.
Correct. Thermostat set 84, checked bills and it's less with fans and 76F thermostat for same comfort level.
If some well meaning yahoo were to say it would be cooler without the fans, I'd politely turn them off until the sweat started dripping off their nose then offer to turn them back on. Then again, they'd probably get stupid and say without the fans it would cost the same to set the temp to 70.
...and?
Sure, unless one of them is a politician. ...or posting to the Usenet.
No, fans help move air so AC works better; more evenly.
We do the same, except the ceiling fans in the great room don't get shut off between April and October. The room is big enough that the air needs help circulating, even if the AC is off. Yes, we can keep the temperature several degrees warmer with fans running. I prefer it because I really don't like AC, but living in AL there isn't much choice.
I don't generally run the upstairs heat pump because the downstairs works fine as long as air is moved. It gets way too hot otherwise.
I wouldn't. I don't mind it 67F in the Winter, but 72F feels too cold in the Summer. I guess the difference is the way we dress.
And not necessarily the same brilliance?
nope. people with a/c on think they need fans also. They don't really know what they want.
Clueless.
Yep. If it feels good...
I don't think it's 10. Probably not even a dollar. I've known for a while that I treat different kinds of waste differently. If a movie production wastes loads of film, or gasoline, or has to build a mockup house to blow it up, that doesn't bother me, but if they take this year's model car that runs well and blow that up, I really hate that.
Here what bothers me the most is not the wasting, but that they make heat just to pump it outside where it is already hot. I wouldn't turn off a fan if I were only leaving a room for 5 minutes, or even longer, but I think they just haven't realized that they are making heat with the fans. Like a couple posters said.
Well it's not infinitesimal. The fan uses roughly what the wattage rating is on the fan itself. I've never looked.
The total heat is like you say, twice that much.
I think they do keep their shades closed. They had a big bay window facing east on their previous house and put in special glass and planted a tree to keep the heat out.
Not the best test. The heat from the fan is dispersed all over the room with the blown air. In fact it's in six rooms, so the most one can feel is 1/6 of the heat, and that's if he could be everywhere in one room at the same time.
You have a good memory. That's pretty much true regarding the summer, but people here tell me they do and I wasn't going to suggest otherwise to my friends.
Heheheheh.
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