How Much Power Does A Ceiling Fan Purpose (Simple Tabular Array)

Even on days when a ceiling fan isn’t necessary to cool you lot down, it tin withal be dainty to accept a fan running to circulate the air. When fans work then oft, though, it is only natural to wonder how much power is being used to make and then, in addition to if the comfort is worth the cost.

It is important to hash out power through the lens of wattage, airflow, as well as efficiency. All 3 play a function inward ceiling fan power employment. For a comprehensive report of v height ceiling fan brands as well as their ability utilization, read on.

Average ceiling fan power usage is 31.vii-55.i W. Typically, increasing fan size increases the ability usage. While relatively similar across sizes, it seems that increasing the size of the fan can decrease its efficiency.

Ceiling Fan Power Usage as well as Efficiency: Background

When deciding on a ceiling fan, knowing its ability utilization is important, only it does non pass yous the total level of how the power is actually used functionally. This is where efficiency comes inward.

To observe the efficiency of a ceiling fan, you must combine the measurements of airflow and power utilization.

The ability exercise is measured inwards Watts (west) too the airflow of a fan is measured inwards cubic feet per infinitesimal (CFM), which refers to the volume of air that is existence moved per infinitesimal.

When the airflow is divided by the power usage, the mensuration of the fan’second efficiency is acquired. The unit of measurement of measurement is CFM/due west.

How to calculate the efficiency of a ceiling fan

How would you lot role the values of airflow and power use to notice the efficiency, as well as how would yous role the data to brand judgments well-nigh the ceiling fan? This tin best be described through an case.

Efficiency Explained Through Example

Suppose we have two ceiling fans; i that uses twenty west of free energy together with another that uses xxx westward of free energy.

With this data, we tin can confidently say that the first fan uses less ability. But this doesn’t mean it’sec the best choice. Although this fan does purpose less ability, it is non necessarily the best option when it comes to efficiency.

In lodge to detect out which is the about efficient, the airflows must be used.

Let’sec say that the commencement fan moves 1500 CFM together with the minute fan moves 4200 CFM.

To calculate the CFM/due west, yous can only carve up the CFM by the wattage.

For the showtime fan, yous become 75 CFM/west. For the second fan, 140 CFM/due west is calculated.

In the case of efficiency, higher is meliorate. The second fan has nearly double the efficiency for merely 10W more than ability. This means that the moment fan is far more efficient in addition to moves more air per infinitesimal piece using less energy to do and so.

So, finding out the power use of a fan is real helpful, but we tin’t cease in that location if nosotros desire applicable information.

Methodology

In guild to report the ability usage of a ceiling fan, as well as brand the results valuable to you lot, the reader, I volition be investigating v popular ceiling fan brands.

These brands include:

Hunter
Hampton Bay
Honeywell
Minka Aire
Harbor Breeze

There are many factors that can touch on the efficiency of a fan only since the size of the fan (in damage of blade length) is 1 of the defining together with distinguishing characteristics of ceiling fans, we will be focusing on the ability usage in addition to efficiency of v different sizes inwards each brand. These sizes are:

36″
42″
48″
52″
60-72″

I have solely chosen 3- or 4-bladed indoor ceiling fans to eliminate roughly of the variables that would skew the information.

Ceiling Fan Power Usage too Efficiency: Results

Ceiling Fan Power Usage and Efficiency: Results

Fan size	Wattage range	Average wattage	CFM range	Average CFM	Average efficiency (CFM/west)
36”	22-45	31.seven	2066-3878	2687	84.8
42”	three-52	36.2	2197-4083	3021	83.iv
48”	forty-42	41.0	2721-3851	3286	fourscore.ane
52”	39-75	55.one	2050-4269	3417	62.0
*lx”-72”	26-68	52.8	5142-8520	6688	126.vii

*Not all brands accept all the larger sizes. I selected a size inward this reach that was nigh popular or good-rated for each make.

Converting Power Usage Into Cost

Typically, when nosotros are worried almost power utilisation inwards appliances, we are not really concerned well-nigh the sum of ability used. We are actually concerned nigh how much it costs. So, let’s convert power use into price.

First, you lot should banker's bill that at that place are regional differences in the price of electricity. Each of the prices shown below is inwards American dollars:

In the the States, power costs about $0.159 per kWh.
For the Britain, power costs nigh $0.267 per kWh.
In Canada, power costs almost $0.114 per kWh.
For Australia, power costs well-nigh $0.217 per kWh.

Now we require to convert the average fan wattage into kilowatts per hour (kWh) inwards lodge to present the price of running the various fan sizes.

To do this, nosotros split up the average wattage past i,000 to go the kilowatt value. When wattage is provided, it is typically the hourly rate.

Fan size	Average wattage	kW	Hourly cost (U.S.)	Hourly toll (U.K.)	Hourly price (Canada)	Hourly price (Australia)
36”	31.seven	0.0317	0.005	0.0085	0.0036	0.007
42”	36.two	0.0362	0.0058	0.0097	0.0041	0.0069
48”	41.0	0.041	0.0065	0.011	0.0047	0.0089
52”	55.ane	0.0551	0.0081	0.015	0.0063	0.012
lx-72”	52.8	0.0528	0.0084	0.014	0.006	0.011

All prices are given in United States of America dollars

To hand yous a better idea of what this translates to each calendar month, permit’second calculate for ten hours daily utilisation, vii days a calendar week, over four weeks. Ten hours is a lilliputian over the average recommended bound of 8 hours, which gives us an overestimation of toll, which is e'er amend to work amongst.

Fan size	Monthly ability use (westward)	Monthly toll (the States)	Monthly cost (Great Britain)	Monthly cost (Canada)	Monthly toll (Commonwealth of Australia)
36”	eight,876	one.iv	ii.38	1.01	one.96
42”	10,136	ane.62	2.72	i.fifteen	i.93
48”	eleven,480	i.82	3.08	ane.32	two.52
52”	15,428	ii.27	four.ii	one.76	3.36
threescore-72”	fourteen,784	two.35	three.92	1.68	3.08

All prices are given inwards U.S.A. dollars

To go these fans yearly for almost x hours a solar day, the costs reach from $14 to $55.

Discussing the Results

Greatest Amount of Power Used by Ceiling Fans

The almost ability used past the ceiling fans considered above is 75 W.

Power Usage, Size, together with Efficiency

In general, it seems that the power use increases with increasing fan size. This tendency was consistent as size increased just was not true for the 60” to 72” ceiling fans.

For more or less argue, their average wattage is lower than 52” fans of the same brands.

At face up value, the about efficient ceiling fans seem to be threescore” to 72”. However, because efficiency decreased every bit size increased for the other sizes, this may be a production of using solely a few brands since 5 isn’t a dandy sample size (realistic for the function of this article, but non neat).

In other words, the information gathered for the 60” to 72” fans may non live true of all fans inside this size reach.

Assuming that information collected for the 60” to 72” fans are outliers, the 36” fans may be the near efficient.

Is It Expensive to Power a Ceiling Fan?

When comparison ceiling fans to other types of fans, ceiling fans fall into the eye of the cost range. Fan electricity employment can vary from $xx to $350 a year when they are work yr-circular.

The lower stop describes desk in addition to flooring fans. These are ordinarily fairly minor together with take a smaller power call for than a larger fan.

On the higher terminate is a misting fan. These are and then much more expensive because they necessitate the ability to spin the blades likewise every bit to spray H2O to make the misting office work.

As far equally the cost to run a ceiling fan 24/seven for a year, the numbers vary from $v to $138.

This covers both very depression power demands as well as really high ability demands.

Air conditioning tends to toll between $0.06 as well as $0.08 per hour. This adds upwardly to between $43.20-$57.threescore if it’second used all day. This way that running close to ceiling fans all year costs less than running an air-conditioning for 1 day!

Further Considerations

I entirely included 3- too 4- bladed fans to keep from skewing the data. So, what does this mean for fans with more than than iii or iv blades?

Increasing the issue of blades is likely to increment ability utilisation because the more blades at that place are, the greater the fan’second overall weight tends to live. Heavier fans take larger motors to rotate the blades in addition to larger motors tend to function more than ability.

However, more blades can besides increment the CFM, which agency that the efficiency may non change real much compared to the results provided above.

Although DC ceiling fans are not really popular since they are notwithstanding fairly new engineering science, having a DC ceiling fan rather than an AC 1 would brand a big divergence inwards the ability consumption of your ceiling fan.

If y'all accept a DC ceiling fan, it is probable that your fan’s power consumption will non check the tabular array provided inwards this article.

Most Energy Efficient Ceiling Fan

The nearly free energy-efficient fan that I take found together with which is readily available is the Reiga 52-in Bright White Ceiling Fan _{^{(amazon link)}}. Its efficiency is 234 CFM/west, which is about likely aided past the fact that it has a DC motor.

Although this fan is really efficient compared to other fans researched, at that place are all the same ceiling fans amongst near three times the efficiency.

The highest has an efficiency of 483 CFM/W and is from a company called AERATRON. These ceiling fans alongside efficiencies in the 400s are fairly rare, alongside in that location only existence about a dozen of them that I could find.

Although in that location are many ceiling fans that accept a higher efficiency than 234 CFM/due west, it is of import to bank note that the to a higher place-average efficiency for a ceiling fan is about 110 CFM/W.

An efficiency of 400 CFM/W would non necessarily be essential for your average dwelling house to accept. A lower efficiency would work but fine.