If you regularly use the ceiling fans in your home, you should consider adjusting them according to the season. Ceiling fans don’t produce warm or cool air. They can still help to circulate air throughout your home, but you’ll have to rely on a heating, ventilation and cooling (HVAC) system to change your home’s actual indoor temperature. Depending on the season, however, you may want to adjust the direction in which the ceiling fans spin.

Counterclockwise During the Summer

For the summer months, you should adjust your ceiling fans so that they spin counterclockwise. A counterclockwise motion will result in the air being pushed down.

The summer months are typically hot in Georgia and the surrounding Southeast. When running your air conditioning system, heat will rise to the ceilings while subsequently creating uneven temperatures. Adjusting your ceiling fans to a counterclockwise spinning motion will promote more even temperatures.

Clockwise During the Winter

For the winter months, you should adjust your ceiling fans so that they spin clockwise. While a counterclockwise motion will push the air down, a clockwise motion will push the air up.

As previously mentioned, heat rises. With a clockwise spinning motion, your ceiling fans will pull up the cooler air near the floor. It will essentially create an updraft, whereas a counterclockwise spinning motion will create a downdraft.

How to Adjust Ceiling Fan Direction

How do you change the direction in which your ceiling fans spin exactly? Depending on the type of ceiling fans you have installed in your home, they may feature a switch on the side. Known as a direction switch, it’s used specifically to change the direction in which the blades spin.

Pressing the direction switch will change your ceiling fans’ spinning direction. If a ceiling fan is currently spinning in the counterclockwise direction, pressing the direction switch will make it spin clockwise.

In Conclusion

When the weather gets colder, it's a good idea to change the rotation of your ceiling fans to clockwise. This creates a gentle updraft that pushes the warm air near the ceiling downward into the room. A clockwise spinning motion is particularly useful in rooms with high ceilings where the warm air often collects out of reach.

As the temperature increases, on the other hand, you should adjust your ceiling fans so that they rotate in a counterclockwise direction. This creates a pleasant breeze-like feeling that improves how well your air conditioning system works. The moving air also aids in evaporating moisture from your skin, giving you a comfortable sensation even when it's hot outside.