Modern science has brought us scores of energy-saving advances to make our homes more comfortable--argon-filled windows, high-efficiency heat pumps and polymer sealants to name a few. Though most of these are born of technology, a child of the Industrial Revolution is still one of the most sensible solutions to home comfort: the ceiling fan. Fans have been a simple but charming supplement to home heating and cooling for more than 100 years.

Of course, fans have enjoyed a number of improvements during this century. The best of today's ceiling fans benefit from better motors, materials, finishes and controls than their air-churning ancestors. And thanks to the fan's lasting popularity, today's selection is staggering. A visit to a lighting showroom, lighting store or a fan specialty shop will reveal scores of styles, configurations, sizes, materials, finishes, prices and accessories. Or you can request catalogs from manufacturers listed in the resource guide below.

Fans make sense
Why this lasting popularity? Certainly charm is one big factor. A fan fixture can bring distinction to a room. And for some people, the steady, quiet whirl of paddles evokes the romance of bygone days, of sultry summer afternoons.

More importantly, there's the fan's practical side. It makes a room more comfortable and lowers energy bills. By forcing warm air downward in the winter and stirring up breezes in the summer, it decreases demands on heating and air conditioning systems, operating on just a few pennies a day.

During the summer, using a ceiling fan in conjunction with an air conditioner will allow you to set the thermostat higher without a noticeable difference in comfort. A fan's breeze will make a 79-degree room feel more like 72 degrees. By raising the thermostat, you can save up to 30 percent of your air conditioning bills, depending upon your home's construction and where you live.

In the winter, a fan will recirculate warm air that naturally rises in a room and is trapped at the ceiling. You simply turn it on in the reverse direction (most have reversible motors). By bringing warm air down into the living space, the furnace is needed less.

Fans: a primer
A ceiling fan consists of a few basic parts, namely an electric motor with a housing; blades and the "irons" that hold most types in place; a downrod or other mounting device. In addition, many fans are designed to receive decorative "fitters" beneath the blades that hold lamps and glass or crystal shades. Some have a control that is wall-mounted or a hand-held remote.

The lion's share of fans are sold by a few companies, including Hunter, Casablanca, Emerson and Fasco. Many other companies import or distribute fans under a variety of labels. Most large manufacturers make housings, blades, fitters, and shades in a wide variety of styles that you can mix and match to create a fan that has the look you want. Many of these same fan makers also produce specific models that are sold complete--prepackaged--through mass merchandisers and home centers.

Surprisingly, most fan parts and pieces come from only three manufacturing sources in Taiwan. This is why fans offered by competing companies often look similar. Many American companies import, repackage and distribute these components.

Some companies stand out from the pack by being more innovative in design or by utilizing better materials, finishes or proprietary manufacturing processes.

Casablanca boasts parts made of die-cast zinc, hand-lacquered blades of hardwood veneer, and the most sophisticated controls in the industry (see below). The Hunter Original--the fan with 100 years of experience--is made in America and features a limited lifetime warranty (as do several other companies' fans). Emerson makes their own motors domestically.

Judging quality
You can buy ceiling fans for as little as $39.95 or for several hundred dollars, depending upon quality. High-quality fans have several traits that you're not likely to find for under $100. They move air effectively and quietly. The parts are well designed, made from high-grade materials, and given lasting, attractive finishes. Motors have several speeds. And they are backed by a long-term warranty (at least 10 years).

Although fans are rated by the amount of air they move, measured in cubic feet per minute (cfm), these ratings are not terribly relevant both because they are not based on universally-accepted standards and because you seldom use a fan at full speed.

Movement of air is a factor of the pitch, length, and number of blades, their distance from the ceiling and their revolutions per minute (rpms). A weak motor can spin short blades quickly if the blades are at a minimum pitch of about 10 degrees, though this type of fan is likely to be noisier than a fan with a motor that swirls 14-degree, longer blades more slowly.

The idea is to buy a fan with a motor that is the strong, silent type. Though the best motors have traditionally been made by American companies--General Electric and Emerson--manufacturers in Taiwan have cultivated a reputation for making high-quality motors that now rival American-made ones.

Some inexpensive fans sold through mass merchandisers have motors made in China; these have proven to be unreliable, as evidenced by high return rates. Low-end fans lack quality in construction and design--they're likely to wobble and hum even at low speeds.

A motor should have sealed bearings that require no lubrication (these should run quietly for up to 12 years). The best measure of motor quality is a company's reputation and warranty. Also be sure the fan you buy is listed by U.L. or an equivalent testing agency.

Blades
Fans have from three to five blades; the traditional number is four. Though the number of blades doesn't affect performance much, it does affect cost. Generally speaking, the more blades, the higher the cost. Blades come in several lengths, measured by the full blade sweep (diameter) they produce: 30, 42, 44, 46, 50, 52 and 60 inches. Most manufacturers only make two or three different lengths.

Blades are made from a number of materials and given a wide variety of finishes. Natural wood and painted blades are made from solid wood, cross-laminated veneer (plywood), and less-expensive veneered constant-density board. Finishes include natural, appliance white, cherry wood, oak, walnut, burled camphor, bleached oak, white, faux granite, rosewood, black, high luster, colors and more.

Some blades are reversible; for example, they might offer a bleached oak look on one side and a painted white finish on the other. You simply turn the blades over to change the fan's appearance.

Other blades are made of clear or smoked acrylic. Hunter's Original Outdoor fans feature blades of washable sail cloth stretched over a frame; fabrics are available in several colors. Both Casablanca and Fasco have similar offerings.

Sizing and locating
A rule of thumb from Hunter is to use a 52-inch fan for up to a 400-square-foot room, 44-inch fan for up to 225 square feet, and 42-inch fan for up to 144 square feet. For rooms more than 18-feet long, consider using two medium-size fans.

If possible, put it in the middle of the room, close to where people gather. Be sure blade tips are at least 24 inches from walls or sloping ceilings. Fans mounted close to a ceiling may produce a "cavitational effect," which means they move less air. Some surface-mounted, low-profile fans--Hunter's, for example--are designed to circulate more air than standard models.

For ceilings taller than 8 feet, you hang the fan from a drop rod. The distance the fan should hang down from the ceiling will depend on the ceiling's height (but never lower than 7 feet from the floor). Here are the suggested lengths of drop rods for ceilings ranging from 9 to 13 feet or more:

Controls
Most fans are mounted at a ceiling box where a light fixture was formerly located. Typically, the light switch is replaced with a control that allows various fan speeds and --if the fan includes lights-- light settings . It's important that this control have a capacitor design and it should be made by the same manufacturer as the fan to eliminate buzz and hum.

Fans located at an electrical box that isn't controlled by a wall switch can be operated by a pull chain or, for some brands, a remote control.

Casablanca's "Intelli-Touch†" remote control is very sophisticated. This control features programmable light and fan settings. It will even automatically adjust fan speed to suit changes in room temperature and turn the fan light off and on in an irregular sequence when you're away from home.

Installation
All fans should come with complete ceiling mounting kits. Though techniques vary with manufacturers, the job of hanging a fan is quite similar to that for mounting a new light fixture. Most fans require some assembly and all demand support that's strong enough to hold their considerable weight. The junction box must be labeled "suitable for fan support," otherwise you must retrofit a new box onto the ceiling. For places where there is no box, you can buy easy-to-install fan supports.

--Don Vandervort

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