Run ceiling fans all the time?
 

I was told that the current advice is to run the ceiling fans all the time to keep the air circulating and prevent mold. This includes times when no one is in the room. Has anyone else heard this and if so, is that what I should be doing? I have lived in Florida for 24 years and not done this. I have never had an issue with mold.

As long as the humidity levels are kept below 60% you do not need to do this. Ceiling fans are to provide comfort when you are in the room, as circulating air help evaporate the moisture off of your skin, thus keeping you feel cooler. They do little when you are not in that room. That being said, rooms can feel fresher when the air is moving. Keeping closet doors open and spare bedroom doors open can also help. My wife often keeps a few ceiling fans running on low, but it is not a requirement.

Ceiling fans should blow down in the summer and up in the winter. This will help keep the moisture from forming on the windows during the cooler months as long as you keep blinds somewhat open during the winter months. Basically it is all about humidity levels and dew points in the winter.

Moving ceiling blades do not show dust as easily.....:D

Hope that helps....

Frank

We were told to run the fans if we were going to be away for several days.

It's all about humidity, not circulation.

We always run our fans as we were told it brings the air or heat down in to rooms and for the few dollars it costs to run on low all the time we feel a huge difference in the coolness in the house. So for us, its a yes All the time. House feels stuffy when they are off

When we are away:
Our Home Watch company has instructed us to open all our closets doors and leave our fans running on low (for air circulation).
We also have a dehumidifier.

Running ceiling fans all the time is going to increase your electric bill. They use more juice than, say, light bulbs.

since heat rises why would you want to pull it back down in the summer.

ceiling fan cost per google
 

to run 48 inch ceiling fan for 18 hours on high cost $5.82 a month....Well worth it!

Thank you so very much for your input. I noticed I can keep my thermostat a couple of degrees higher which will save a lot of money. Now I am going to open the closet doors!

It's amazing to me that air circulates OK when you are home but apparently the air "knows" when you aren't home so it's stops circulating unless you have the fan on. Wastes of money and electricity, IMHO.

Whether I am home or not I choose to have air circulating - just a personal preference.

I only run ceiling fans when someone is in the room. The benefit is the air moving over your skin.


I was told that running the fan on the AC all the time might cause mold in the duck work in the attic. Reason is the duck work might stay damp.

I set the fan to circulate which lets it run when AC is not needed but not all the time. I also have returns in all rooms and closets.

we run ours 24/7 year around.....helps keep air circulated and balanced.

Cost is negligable.

We have some fans almost 20 years old and still going...not much of anything to wear out actually.

All comes down to a matter of choice and comfort level (pun intended).

It obviously brings down cool air from vents or heat in winter. We find homes are stuffy if fans not on