The fans have made a significant improvement in our comfort
In our local area, Winter time arrives early and seems to last forever. I respectfully start running the gas furnace sometime in September. The two of us expect below frosty temperatures and snow on the ground by Halloween. There’s often blizzard conditions over Christmas, and every one of us rely on the heating system until early May. I take the long Winter time as the perfect chance to clean our house. Since I’m trapped inside because of the freezing and snow, I take fortune of it. I transfer from one room to the next with our vacuum cleaner, bucket of soapy water, ladder and disinfectant. I launder the curtains and bed linens and transfer furniture around. I clean down the walls and ceilings and clean the windows and the overhead light fixtures. This past winter, when I climbed up on the ladder to clean the ceiling light in the kitchen, I noticed a significant increase in the room temperature… Down near the floor, the air felt borderline freezing… Up near the ceiling, the air was moderate enough to cause a sweat. I realized that the overheated air from the gas furnace was rising straight up. This problem was forcing higher thermostat settings, resulting in the gas furnace laboring harder, running more often and using more energy. Because of the high cost of our bi-weekly heating bills, I am always searching for new ways to reduce household energy consumption. I’ve insulated, caulked, invested in a smart thermostat and replaced windows. I decided it was time to invest in ceiling fans… Ceiling fans are available in all unusual sizes, styles and prices, but my partner and I were able to handle the upgrade ourselves. The fans have made a significant improvement in our comfort. The rotation of the blades pushes the heat down toward the floor in the winter. In the summer, every one of us can reverse the direction of the blades so that the heat is pushed up toward the ceiling.