▷ How does the winter mode of a ceiling fan work?

Ceiling fans are for winter too

Achieve heating savings of 15-30%.

Every day more and more people are discovering the comfort of a ceiling fan while they sleep on hot summer nights. Trust in this appliance is growing every year and it is clear to us that a ceiling fan is an ideal solution to avoid the summer heat.

But what happens in winter, does it become a useless piece of junk? Of course not, the use of ceiling fans in winter is not yet a common practice in Spanish homes, but using your ceiling fan in winter allows you to save on heating and acclimatise your home by creating optimal temperature and air quality conditions for your wellbeing.

Do you want to know how a ceiling fan can help you save heating in winter? Read on, below we explain the summer/winter function of Arteconfort fans:

Air stratification in rooms

Within the enclosed spaces that make up the rooms in your home, air tends to stratify. What does that mean? Well, it means that warm air tends to rise towards the ceiling where it remains stagnant, while cooler air stays at the lowest part, very close to the floor. This creates different strata, or layers of air, which have different temperatures, the warmer the closer to the ceiling.

This effect is called air stratification.

Air-conditioning of rooms in the home in summer

When we turn on our ceiling fans in summer, we generate a direct airflow that gives us a breezy sensation and disperses the heat on our skin. In addition, this airflow is projected towards the floor where it pushes the cooler air upwards and cools the warmer air accumulated in the areas closest to the ceiling.

This break in the stratification of the layers of air is what causes the temperature to drop several degrees, in addition to which the breeze effect reduces the thermal sensation.

Air-conditioning of rooms in the home in winter

Reverse direction of rotation of fan blades

In winter, heating appliances generate warm air that rises very close to the walls towards the ceiling. While in the area closest to the centre and the floor of the room the coldest air remains, just where we spend the most time in our day-to-day lives. Due to the lack of circulation, the warm air accumulates on the ceiling, making it necessary for the heating system to operate at higher power to heat the coldest areas.

By changing the direction of rotation of the ceiling fan blades using the reverse function, the warm air from the ceiling is pushed towards the walls and down to the floor. In this way, the stagnant air from the ceiling is used to heat the cold areas of the room.

The winter mode (or reverse mode) doesn’t generate a breezy sensation, as the airflow will not be direct and the fan will appear to be switched off. This mode of fan operation will break the air stratification and increase the wind chill by homogenising the air temperature. In addition, the air circulation will help to create ventilation of enclosed spaces where the air is stale and creates a feeling of suffocation.

This simple gesture will allow us to save money by reducing heating costs by up to 30%, as we can change the temperature of the heating thermostat, making it consume less.

Switch from summer to winter mode

How to reverse the direction of rotation of the blades

It is very easy to switch between summer and winter mode on our ceiling fans. But you should bear in mind that depending on each model it is done in a different way, so first of all, identify which one is yours if you also want to use the fan during the winter.

Below we explain each of the models you can find:

Chain fan

To change the rotation mode on models with a chain, you will find the toggle switch on the fan body. It is marked with the letters S (summer) and W (winter).

Fan control with 3 speeds

To change the rotation mode on models with AC motor and 3-speed remote control, you will find the toggle switch on the fan body. It is marked with the letters S (summer) and W (winter).

PACIFIC and ZEN fan controller with 3 speeds

To change the rotation mode on the ZEN and PACIFIC models, you will find the toggle switch on the fan body. It is marked with the letters S (summer) and W (winter).

Fan control with 5 speeds

On DC motor 5-speed fan models, you can change the rotation mode by pressing the central button marked “F/R”.

Fan control with 6 speeds

Open the rear cover of the control unit that protects the batteries and you will see the toggle switch marked with the letters S (summer) and W (winter) to change the rotation mode on the 6-speed DC motor fan models.

RODAS fan controller with 6 speeds

On the RODAS model ceiling fan, you can change the operating mode by pressing the upper button indicated by two circular arrows on the control unit.

FASTFAN fan controller with 6 speeds

On FASTFAN fans with DC motor and 6 rotation speeds, press and hold the button with the “SNOW/SUN” symbol for a few seconds while the fan is switched on. You will see the indicator on the LCD display change. The fan will stop automatically and then rotate in the reverse direction.

How do I know what mode my fan is in?

Tips on how to recognise it

It is very easy to distinguish each of the modes if you are not sure which one your fan is in. First of all, remember to change the rotation mode when the fan is stopped.

Stand underneath the fan and see which direction they turn: if they turn anticlockwise (to the left) then your fan is in summer mode; conversely, it will be in winter mode if the blades turn clockwise (to the right).

Another way to recognise it is to stand under the fan, if you feel the airflow it will be in summer mode, if you don’t feel the direct airflow it will be in winter mode.