Slash your heating bill with your ceiling fan?  Pippin Brothers, Lawton, OK
February 6, 2013

Your ceiling fan is so misunderstood. You normally look at it as a secondary option for staying cool in the summer. But it has a purpose in winter, too.

By having your fan spin in reverse (clockwise) on a lower speed setting, you can reduce your heating costs by up to 15%, (or nearly $150 a year), and still maintain the same level of comfort.

Seems counter intuitive, right? It’s actually very simple how this works.

Saving money by turning your ceiling fan in reverse
To help you understand why a ceiling fan in reverse would save money in the winter, remember why it helps you save money in the summer.

On its normal setting, your ceiling fan creates a wind chill effect by forcing the air down. This cools you down so you don’t need to rely on your air conditioner as much. So you save money from reducing how much energy you use.

Same concept during the winter, except this time you're reducing how much you need to use your furnace.

Understanding your ceiling fan in reverse
See, when your ceiling fan turns clockwise on a low setting, hot air is:

  • pulled to the top of the ceiling
  • pushed to the edges of your room
  • forced down along your home’s walls to the floor

Then the hot air travels to the center of your room and gets pulled back up again by your ceiling fan for the process to happen all over again.

This equalizes the temperature of the entire room, reducing your furnace usage and therefore reducing your heating bill as well.

Simple, right? Most ceiling fans have a switch on them with the word “reverse” above it. Just click it, and your fan should start turning clockwise.

Knowing many ways to reduce your heating bill
Putting your fan in reverse is just one of many ways you can reduce your heating bill.

To reduce it even further, check out our previous post: 12 Tips to Reduce Your Winter Energy Bills.