Read below to know the proper fan direction for summer and winter and how to survive in spite of humidity and indoor pollution.
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Ceiling Fan Direction During Summer
The air direction of your ceiling fan during summer should be forward or downward. The forward direction in most ceiling fans means that the blades must rotate counterclockwise, which makes air hit you and apply the windchill effect. The air also dries your sweat if the weather isn’t humid.
The speed of your ceiling fan, on the other hand, depends on how hot the weather is. Set the ceiling fan to its highest speed possible if the temperature is through the roof.
Ceiling Fan Direction During Winter
The air direction of your ceiling fan during winter should be reverse or upward. Reverse direction in most ceiling fans means that the blades must rotate clockwise, which pushes the warm air on top of the room to the walls and then downward. The air will not hit and give you chills since it mostly hits walls.
The speed of your ceiling fan during winter should always be set to its lowest setting. The only purpose of ceiling fans during winter is to let warm air move and circulate throughout the room.
Problems With Air Sealing Your Home During Winter
People tend to seal every nook and cranny of their home during winter to prevent cold air from penetrating the house and warm air from escaping. Even though doing so keeps your house warm, the huge drawback is that it prevents you from getting fresh air and allows for the accumulation of air pollution inside your home.
Saving money and energy by insulating your house from the air outside is good, but you need to think about ventilation. The relative humidity in your home rises as you breathe, cook, and shower. It becomes more humid in your home during winter since the temperature inside is warm. Remember that more air droplets can be present in the warm air.
Humidity
The air stays humid since your house does not have proper ventilation and your heater is warming your house. Remember that air-conditioning and cooling units easily remove humidity from the air through condensation.
Your house, during winter, can also remove humidity and condensate water from the air, but it is a nasty and problematic process. By the way, water droplets on air condensate when they get in contact with an object or surface that has the same or lower temperature than the current dew point of the air.
The spots in your house with low temperatures are your windows, doors leading outside, basement walls, and your roof. They often have low surface temperatures because a part of them is exposed to the cold air or the cold ground outside and they are often the last place where the air, at its warmest temperature, hits.
It is true that the condensation on those places reduce humidity. However, it is only a short-lived effect. The condensate just cycles back to the air as tiny water droplets because there are no proper means to dispose of the condensate. After all, the condensate is just sliding down those places where nobody notices. The condensate can also cause water damage if they do not get back to the air and are absorbed by wooden materials.
Fungi
Warm humid air is a huge problem together with unnoticeable water condensation. The biggest issue with warm humid air is the encouragement of growth of certain types of harmful fungi, mold, and mildew. After all, fungi love warm and humid temperatures.These fungi can also cause infections, which can easily make a person ill. Family members who have asthma and allergies can suffer heavily from allergic reactions caused by pollens that these fungi generate.
In addition, fungi are unsightly and become formidable opponents in a short amount of time. It is not easy to eradicate all of them in your home once they have invaded and claimed their space.
VOCs
The absence of proper ventilation during winter can cause an accumulation of air pollutants. Volatile organic compounds or VOCs from fumes of furnishing and household chemicals can amass in your home until they become toxic and capable of making you sick.
Carbon Monoxide
Another issue arises when you use firewood to keep your house warm. Burning wood generates carbon monoxide, which is a colorless and odorless substance that can poison and even kill you when inhaled in large amounts.
Ventilation, Exhaust Fans, and Dehumidifiers During Winter
You have three ways to eliminatehumidity:
- Let air from outside get inside by opening windows and doors for a short amount of time.
- Install exhaust fans.
- Get a humidifier.
The first option is the cheapest method while the third is the most expensive solution.Opening windows and doors allows air outside to get in and the air inside to get out. Cold air outside is often less humid than your warm air inside. Of course, do not let too much air in if it is raining since the air outside will be too humid. However, you need to do so if you think the air inside your home is already too polluted.Installing and using exhaust fans can be tricky but they are less expensive methods to control humidity and air pollution in your home. Only turn them on during the warmest hour of the day.Dehumidifiers can be costly and energy-consuming. However, it can allow your heater or fire to perform better. It is easier to heat “dry” air than humid air.
Ventilation, Exhaust Fans, and Dehumidifiers During Summer
The good thing about these solutions is that they can be used during the summer to cool your house down. Opening your windows and doors can allow cool, clean, and dry air in. Exhaust fans can push humid air from your kitchen and bathroom when they are in use. And a dehumidifier can remove humidity, which causes hot air to feel hotter than it should be. Together with proper fan direction for summer, these solutions can easily help you beat the heat.