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My husband and I disagree about the use of fans to cool down the house when we come home late in the day. We use a pedestal fan in our family room. I like the air to blow toward me - he says the fan should move side to side. Can you set him straight?

 

 

Glad I can help save your marriage.

 

You’re both right….sort of. A fan aimed at a person can make them feel several degrees cooler (fans don’t change the room temperature, they just make you more comfortable).  Perhaps you should become a two-fan family!

 

Buying the right fan is like buying the right shoes – there are dozens of choices, but once I find what I like, I’m ecstatic.  A great deal really sends chills down my spine, and prices on many fan units have dropped by 30-40% since June.

 

Bonus: According to the U.S. Department of Energy, you can “shoot the breeze” on hot days for about a penny an hour in energy expense using many floor, pedestal and table top fans.

 

At the other end of the size spectrum are window, ceiling, attic, and whole house fans.

 

Now, my sister and her husband just can’t stand changing the way they do things, but during that hot spell a couple of months ago, their ancient all-metal two-speed table fan just wasn’t up to the job.  So over the Fourth of July I took them down to our home improvement store and walked out with an Energy Star-rated ceiling fan/light combo to replace the overhead light in their family room.  Sis shut off the power and my handy nephew put the fan up in about 20 minutes (his dad, of course, directed the whole process!).

 

My sister’s face lit up when she turned it on the first time, and both of them were thrilled when I did the math (yes, me!) and showed how they would pay for the fan in about six months with the utility bill savings and the $35 rebate they get from Silicon Valley Power (www.siliconvalleypower.com/rebates).  The fan looks cool, too.

 

In its lifetime, compared to a conventional model, the Energy Star-rated fan prevents over a ton of carbon dioxide from entering the atmosphere.  I really like that.

 

That got me to thinking maybe I should try something new.

 

I’ve hesitated to go solar (my know-it-all brother calls it “PV” for photovoltaic), but a solar attic fan looks like the perfect entry-level solar product.

 

Where is the “steamiest” space in a house?  Probably the attic which, even if insulated well, still traps heat to the tune of 140, 150, up to 180 degrees or more!  That heat can radiate down through the ceiling if you don’t clear it out of the attic.  A mid-size solar attic fan (about $350-600 plus installation) costs a bit more than a standard electric model ($90-400) but the cost evens out because the solar installation doesn’t require an electrician.

 

The words “sale” and “free” always get my attention, and the sun’s free photons will save you $150/year in energy cost - and there’s a motivating $100 cash rebate. The fan pays for itself in about four years and, with no energy charges, it’s a free ride after that.

 

Finally, Ms. Steamed, if it’s facing a warm house after a long day that’s making you and hubby hot under the collar, consider a whole house fan. In the evening when the outside temperature drops, just open the door and some windows and run it for 20 or 30 minutes. As the name says, the whole house will be cooled down (but don’t be scared, the fans are normal size).

 

The icing on the cake is the cost of running the fan: between a penny and five cents an hour, compared to air conditioning’s 17 to 20 cents/hour – plus there’s a whopping $200 whole house fan rebate available.

 

 

Whew…never for a minute did I think there was so much to know about fans.

 

So cool it, Steamed, and get out the good silver, put a couple candles on the dinner table, turn down the lights – and turn the fan on!