We installed a fan in the living room, and for some reason the house feels cooler in every room. We even upped the temperature in the thermostat by 3 degrees. I though a fan didn't really cool air, but simply blows air on your skin making it seem colder. Does anybody know?
2006-07-01 09:11:27 · 24 answers · asked by SkyRaider 4 in Science & Mathematics ➔ Physics
It's more than just moving air making it seem cooler.
Fact is: A ceiling fan keeping air circulating helps to eliminate 'hot spots' and 'cold spots'
The more-even distribution of temp throughout your house ACTUALLY IS helping your central AC operate more efficiently!
All that heat near your ceiling and that cold near your floor was a burden on your climate control that you have eliminated.
2006-07-01 09:20:50 · answer #1 · answered by nowyermessingwithasonofabitch 4 · 1⤊ 1⤋
No, the fan does not cool the air, but I was told that the movement of the air from a ceiling fan can make the air feel something like 7 degrees cooler.
Just the air movement in the house is probably making the difference.
Try installing a whole house fan, they are not really that expensive. I live in brown house that heats up with an oven, If the fan is not on, even in May, the inside of the house will hit 90.
I don't have AC and get through summer after summer without AC as a result.
2006-07-01 09:22:13 · answer #2 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
Ditto to previous posters...it doesn't cool the air (lower the air temp like a heat exchanger in your AC unit) but is does make the air more uniformly the same temperature. That means that the AC is running more efficiently and your thermostat probably has a more accurate reading of the temp in the house/room.
Oh--and it does also FEEL cooler, even if the temp stays the same.
2006-07-01 09:32:15 · answer #3 · answered by Just a Suggestion 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Moving air increases the efficiency with which heat is dissipated and carried away. So your house should be objectively cooler with a central fan running. You can tell this by putting a thermometer in the house and comparing it to one that is outside.
But when the heat coming into the house meets or exceeds the rate at which the fan can move the air and carry the heat away, the fan is useless.
2006-07-01 09:23:31 · answer #4 · answered by sonyack 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
No dude. A ceiling fan only revolves really fast making the air around it revolve fast too. But when the weather inside the room is humid in itself, then the fan only revolves the hot air around it.
As the air particles travel with very high velocities in different directions because of the fan, their kinetic energy increases.
Hence they undergo collisions with each other which make neighbouring air particles move too.
Hence due to the increase in velocity of air particles, they gain energy from the atmosphere making it more cooler.
2006-07-01 09:20:48 · answer #5 · answered by addkorn 1 · 0⤊ 0⤋
yes, by circulating air within a room you create a breeze. If your standing in the open with the sun beating down on you, your burning up, but if there is breeze blowing, you feel cooler, yes? if you were in a room with no air conditioning, a ceiling fan would make the room cooler than it would be without one.
2006-07-01 09:24:14 · answer #6 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
It does not matter, The forward (clock wise) or Reverse(counter clock wise) is in conjunction with an Air Conditioner or Heater. I recently installed a ceiling fan: Operation Instruction below:
2016-03-27 00:22:47 · answer #7 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
Yes yes of course the flowing air causes your sweat to evaporate quicker and your body to be able to exchange heat more effectively, helping your body cool better than it would in still air of the same temperature. But there is also the matter of pressure drop due to air flow. Dynamic pressure tends to be lower than static pressure, so by the ideal gas law PV=nRT where n, R, and V are constant, Temp must fall in proportion with Pressure. Seems true, but then there must be higher pressure zones somewhere for the volume of air to remain constant. i dunno, but i'm pretty sure if you put a thermometer in front of a running fan the temperature will drop slightly compared to in still air.
2006-07-01 09:48:53 · answer #8 · answered by SHUT UP ALL OF YOU! 1 · 0⤊ 0⤋
A ceiling fan actually increases the temp. in a room by a small margin because of the heat generated by the motor.
2006-07-01 09:38:48 · answer #9 · answered by likeitis 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I have ceiling fans as well and I think they make a huge difference. I have no actual data to say that the air is actually cooled. I think it just feels that way.
2006-07-01 09:16:50 · answer #10 · answered by ? 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋