Six fans running at all times

[mm]

Six fans running at all times

I was at friends on Sunday, and it was 94 out and their AC was on, and it was comfortable in the house, and they also had on 6 fans on the first floor. (Perhaps more in the finished basement where one son lives.)

Each of the three bedrooms on the first floor had a ceiling fan that was running; there was a whirring fan in the hall, on a 40" stand.

A table fan in the living room, and an oscillating table fan in the dining room.

A couple and two grown kids live there, so never are all those rooms occupied, and when they eat together, which is often and lengthy, only one room is. Most of the time, two, maybe 3 rooms have someone in them.

It seems to me they're making it harder for their AC to keep up with the hot outdoors, and at the very least, they're paying to run the 6 fans and then paying again to remove the heat the fans make, only a couple of which are actually making them more comfortable.

Is it worth saying anything to them?

[Tony Hwang]

Hi, Sounds like they are scrambling air flow which may not be good thing to do.

[krw]

We have ceiling fans in each of the bedrooms and great room (2) (and one on the back porch, but no AC there ;). The bedroom fans are in use whenever we're using the room or are going to within the next few hours. The great room fans don't get turned off from April to October. The fans allow us to keep the temperature a bit above what we normally would (generally 77F) without them and we normally keep the upstairs heat pump off (there are only two of us and the master is on the first floor). The great room ceiling is

20', so those fans really are needed to mix the air for the AC.

[Steve B]

Sounds to me like they are out of your control, and need to be brought back under your control. Hell, yes. And don't mince any words. What's the worst that could happen? Lose their friendship? It wasn't that good to start with if your level of acceptance and tolerance of their behavior is what it is to risk the friendship over some fans.

Are you going to report this back at the Gulag? Either that you instigated some energy savings, or just want to get them into the room with the facial rat cages? Will your own carbon credit account benefit?

I wouldn't say anything to them. I'd just turn the very obvious and wasteful Republican conservatives in to the proper authorities for the proper punishment.

HTH

Steve

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A fool shows his annoyance at once, but a prudent man overlooks an insult.

[Ed Pawlowski]

"mm" wrote

No, they'd not understand the logic.

[Phisherman]

Depends, but you got to keep in mind that it's not your house. They may have a reason you don't know about. I might make a joke and say, "This house is great for flying a kite."

[hallerb]

a buddy has family like that no AC, the family leaves fans running

24/7 even when no one is home and often windows are shut for fear of rain.

his family doesnt get that each fan running is adding more heat from the fan motors.

sadly many are clueless over stuff like this.

I wouldnt say anything they wouldnt believe you:(

[jamesgangnc]

Moving air feels cooler. If you use fans you can set the thermostat higher. If they're happy I'd leave them alone.

[ransley]

Just how does it make AC work harder, moving air makes you feel cooler and its their house. Whats next, telling them how to water and cut their grass and when to change motor oil?

[dss]

The real problem is the grown kids living at home. The human body generates a tremendous amount of heat, even at rest. Once they are gone the air conditioner and fans could probably be used less. The fans are cheap compared to extra adults.

dss

[Cindy Hamilton]

I have central AC and also continuously operate ceiling fans in the two bedrooms and the living room. It keeps the hot air from collecting at the top of the room. Otherwise, I'd have to crank down the thermostat even farther and end up with cold feet.

The HVAC vents are at floor level as is customary in the North.

Cindy Hamilton

[Harry K]

Yep. I turn on the funace fan when it begings to be a bit too warm. That staves off the A/C starting for a time. Yesterday it didn't start at all until I turned the fan off. Within about 10 minutes the a/c kicked in. Put the fan back on, a/c completed its cycle and didnt' fire up again all afternoon. Running a fractional horse furnace fan beats running a multi horse compressor motor.

Harry K

[trader4]

I wouldn't have the fans running in the rooms that are not occupied. I have fans in my den and in the bedroom. I only put them on if I'm going to be in there. But in the grand scheme of things, this isn't a big deal. Those fans don't use much electricity nor do they generate much heat. That's why they are cost effective to begin with. So, you could ask them why they run them in unoccupied rooms, but I certainly would not make some issue of it.

[mm]

I don't run them all at once, only the room I'm in. Two if I'm going back and forth. And regardless of whether I did or not, I wouldn't be trying to tell them I'm better than they are. Whether their fans are making the rooms they are not in hotter, and costing them money just to be hotter, are matters of fact. And the facts don't depend on the good or bad habits of whoever is teling them about it.

[mm]

You may well be right. They both have Ph.D's, the man's in mathematics. I've always thought that math and physics and home repair were all closely related, but I had a lot of trouble explaining something very simple, like how some simple light or telelphone circuit worked.

[mm]

Tactful, and that's very good, but I know if you said that to me, I woudln't get it. I might not even tie it to the fans, and certainly not to a suggestion I turn some of them off.

[mm]

That's what I was asking about.

Thanks to you and everyone who offered help.

Maybe I'll do that.

Definitely not.

[Ron]

mm doesn't believe that ceiling fans make you feel cooler.

But, in rooms that are unoccupied, yes it is stupid to run fans in those rooms, and even more stupid to cool them at all if the rooms aren't being used on a daily basses.

[Eric in North TX]

While fans in rooms not occupied is likely just laziness, I feel that if you can tolerate the wind and the noise, running fans can save money on AC. I do it, so I can set the thermostat a couple of degrees higher, and it works. I have ceiling fans in all rooms, 2 in large rooms, and run them when I'm there. The exception being the upstairs bedroom which has one running constantly during AC season so you can stand to go in there during the setback when it is up to 90 degrees in there. I also have a box fan and a small oscillator which are used infrequently but make living at a higher setting closer to pleasant. Those fractional HP motors all put together don't =3D the air handler, let alone the compressor & any heat is produced is negligible. Trust me, I'd love to run the AC at 72 degrees, and as soon as I win the lottery I will.

[HeyBub]

The only downside I can see is that you might get hit in the mouth for being a buttinsky and accused of acting like a government employee.