wood stove & ceiling fan

[coachgrd]

Started up our new wood stove for the first time this weekend. I've been so impressed with the BTU's it puts out. We've not had the furnace kick on all weekend so we're pretty relieved about that (considering we just had the tank filled at $2.15/ gal.)

Anyway, I'm getting conflicting ideas on how I should best circulate the air with the ceiling fan. Some folks have said that I should have the fan running in such a way that it draws the cooler air on the groud up and mixes it with the warm air that rises. Then again, I've been told that it should be set so that it pushes the warm air that rises, down to the floor.

Thoughts?

 

[Dmace]

We have forced hot water baseboard heat in our 3000 sq.ft. colonial and having the ceiling fan on so that it pulls the heat up really circulates the heat more efficiently in the winter. I have the fans blow the air down to the floor in the summer months because it tends to spread the A/C better.

Here is a little diagram to explain what I mean:

This is from a ceiling fan manufacturers website, Signature Lighting
with a little explanation: " The third pull chain is for Forward/Reverse. This setting would usually be changed once per year .Downdraft for summer to create a wind chill to give a cooling effect. An Updraft in winter to circulate the hot stratified air off the ceiling and back down to the floor without creating a wind chill."

 

[Tig]

I agree with Dmace. Not sure about the physics of it all but you can certainly tell if it's not pushing air in the correct direction.

 

[Highbeam]

Ceiling fan on low blowing towards the ceiling as described above. Otherwise it blows cold air down on you while starting the fire on a cold morning. Really you just need to keep the room from stratifying into hot on top and cold on bottom so it doesn't really matter until you consider the wind chill effects of downward blowers.

I tried both ways. I run my energy star fan on low (6 watts) continuously through the winter.

 

[txdon]

The warmest way is with the fan in reverse or blowing up. It will circulate the warm air accumulated at the ceiling to go down gently near the walls. If the fan is blowing down the effect is cooler because of the breeze.

 

[gsganzer]

Txdon hit it right on the head for the correct reason. You don't want to feel the breeze, because it will actually make you feel colder. Breeze in the summer, no breeze in the winter.

 

[charlz]

In my experience the standard answer applies: it depends

I have a pellet stove in my main, 2 story, living room. If the pellet stove is running full-time I like the fan blowing down as it helps spread the air out on the first floor and keeps the upstairs from getting too hot. If the stove is running part time it feels to cold/drafty on the first floor to have it blowing down so I reverse it.

Charles

 

[anthonyk]

I had the same question so I wrote a letter to one of those "Ask the Scientist" columns in the Houston Chronicle, and he said the same thing:
Blow down in the summer, and up in the winter"
Of course his answer was like that song "Alices Restaurant" with circles and arrows and .......pretty complicated.

Makes sense I guess


anthony

 

[jbrumberg]

Thanks for the information . Right now I am doing an "experiment" with my subjective observations relative to feelings of warmth. For many years I have set my living room ceiling fan just the opposite as you guys recommend. I believe I got my original information from the Weather Channel and maybe my ceiling fan owners manual; but I am not always in agreement with their advise and their "forecasts" (mine are more "accurate" ). Jay

 

[MikeD74T]

Another vote for up in winter - down in summer. MikeD74T