Generally, the ceiling fan is located in the middle of the room.
But should it be located elsewhere depending of where is located the main heat source and the type of ceiling?
By example, in a rectangular room with a cathedral ceiling, with the woodfire heater located on one side (with the lower ceiling height) should the ceiling fan be located rather on the opposite side (towards the higher ceiling height)?
Where to position a ceiling fan in a room with a cathedral ceiling?
(9 posts) (7 voices)-
Greenbert
MemberPosted Thursday 2 Sep 2010 @ 8:56:11 am from IP # -
cool at home
MemberFor cooling, ceiling fans work 'on people' rather than 'on the room' per se, so I'd suggest that you look at where people would be in the room - lounge seats, dining table, desk, whatever, and position the fan accordingly. You can't be too far away from the fan to get the cooling benefit of it.
Posted Thursday 2 Sep 2010 @ 10:23:24 am from IP # -
dymonite69
MemberI find that having ceiling fans certainly helps push down hot air that stratifies near the ceiling. Next time change a light globe and see how warm it is near the top of the room.
There are various theories about placing fans. Some say place it near a wall which helps guide the flow around the room. However, good mixing of air also requires turbulent flow.
Posted Thursday 2 Sep 2010 @ 10:33:20 am from IP # -
dymonite69
MemberI think Greenbert is talking about how to recirculate warm air as opposed to evaporative cooling of people. But this principle should be acknowledge. It is not use pushing warm air directly onto someone. It is uncomfortable. However, most modern ceiling fans have a reverse updraft winter mode.
Posted Thursday 2 Sep 2010 @ 10:38:40 am from IP # -
I have always been puzzled about the "reverse up-draft winter mode" for room fans. I think it must be simply a marketing ploy with no basis in physics.
I would say that having the fan blowing downwards on the opposite side of the room to the heater would enhance the natural convective circulation, which seems desirable.
The arrangement Greenbert mentions, with the fan near the highest part, has the advantage of a very long distance from the fan to the first obstruction to the flow.Posted Friday 3 Sep 2010 @ 5:15:39 am from IP # -
dymonite69
MemberAnecdotally I find that the reverse mode produces less uncomfortable direct drafts.
Posted Friday 3 Sep 2010 @ 6:01:08 am from IP # -
Paul Denton
MemberI have a Cathederal ceiling and two ceiling fans which I use to circulate the heat from my wood fire, which otherwise rises uselessly to the apex of the roof.
So long as the air is stirred and moving the whole room warms up nicely. From a heating /comfort point of view, it really makes no difference which fan is blowing and in what direction, however, as dymonite69 points out, it is not comfortable sitting in a direct draft. The reverse up draft is not just a "marketing ploy", it is a "winter setting". Other than summertime it is not very pleasant to sit under a fan blowing air at you so I use the winter setting quite a lot.
Posted Friday 3 Sep 2010 @ 7:17:32 am from IP # -
petecat1
MemberI am facing an identical situation right at the moment, and am trying to decide how far from the ceiling to position the fan. It hangs from the apex/ridge of a high ceiling, with the stove situated by the wall at the edge of the slope (not the gable end). The electrician had hung it about 1.8-2m below the apex, which looks bad, and I'm sure is too far from where the hot air is going to collect. I was going to shorten the pole by about 750mm. Any thoughts?
Posted Tuesday 22 Feb 2011 @ 12:29:12 am from IP # -
petecat1,
If the fan's height annoys you, alter it to your liking. The electrician who installed it may have thought the height selected was best for summer circulation. Very hard to comment further without knowing the ceiling apex height and fan size.
Ceiling fans are capable of circulating surprisingly large volumes of air and typical household ceiling fans, depending on their size and efficiency, can move between 2.2 and +3 cubic metres of air per second. Having the fan 2 metres below the ceiling's apex should not effect the winter efficiency as air easily carries the way.
Posted Tuesday 22 Feb 2011 @ 4:07:08 am from IP #
