Ceiling fans are great and cheapest means of home cooling. Ceiling fans offers your house comfort, fresh air, décor lighting. Choosing proper and best ceiling fan or fans for your home is a very important decision. This ceiling fan buying guide will help you understand how a ceiling fan works and how to choose and select the best ceiling fan for your home.

Ceiling Fan

Why do we need a ceiling fan? The main purpose of having a ceiling fan is to provide ventilation and improved air circulation throughout a room. This is needed to cool your room during warm weather and even warm your room during cold weather.

During hot days, the ceiling fan circulates cold air through the room and makes it cool. You can set your thermostat at a lower temperature in the winter for comfort and saving energy.

On cold days when warm air rises up, the ceiling fan can circulate the air to bring the warm air down from the ceiling and make the room warm. You can set your thermostat at a lower temperature in the winter for comfort and saving energy.

There are mainly 3 major types and style of ceiling fans - traditional hanging propeller ceiling fans, directional ceiling fans, and rotational ceiling fans.  Let us now understand these 3 types of ceiling fans.

Traditional Hanging Propeller Ceiling Fans: These are the most common and widely installed ceiling fan. The fan hangs perpendicular from the ceiling and the blade rotation is parallel to the floor. These ceiling fans are available in wide range with various finishes, blade designs, lighting fixture and in all budget and fits every home décor and room size. These ceiling fans are least expensive.  

Directional Ceiling Fans: Directional ceiling fans are those that hang from the ceiling and can be manipulated to hang at a particular angle to better ventilate a particular area rather than an entire room. These fans are suitable when only one area of a room requires additional ventilation and no additional lighting.

Rotational Ceiling Fan: A rotational ceiling fan is a combination of traditional propeller ceiling fan and directional ceiling fan. Rotational ceiling fans are normally provided with one or two sets of propellers that rotate independently.                 

Rotational ceiling fans are capable of circulating air more efficiently than the traditional propeller ceiling fans. Rotational ceiling fans also are more expensive than traditional propeller ceiling fans.

Following points need to be kept in mind while buying a ceiling fan:

1. Lighting: Most ceiling fans, except of directional ceiling fans, can be provided with integral lighting fixtures. Ceiling fans can incorporate lighting fixtures that helps home decor.          

When choosing a fan with a lighting fixture option, keep in mind the use of the space where the fan will be located and the level of lighting required. For example, bright lighting is usually required in a kitchen or bathroom, whereas low or dimmed lighting is desired in a bedroom.

2. Controls: Most traditional ceiling fan controls are - pull chains, light switches, and fan direction switches for manual and local control. These controls are still popular. Ceiling fan manufacturers now offer hand-held or wall-mounted remote control that can allow you to adjust the fan speed, fan direction, and the light level. Some remote control packages allow multiple fans to be controlled from a single controller.                                 

You need to consider special fan controls before purchasing your fan to make sure that the controls you require are compatible with the fan that you purchase so that you get comfort and your money’s worth.

3. Decor Features: Ceiling fans can be used for home décor. Wide ranges of decorative fans are available these days. Ceiling fans are available in various finishes such as - decorative metal finishes (chrome, pewter, brass, bronze, gold, and antique), wood (cherry, oak, teak, pine) and various painted finishes. You should always select durable, rust, scratch, and tarnish resistant finishes.

Some manufacturers offer custom design to suit your style and taste.      

4. Fan Size: Ceiling fan should be selected based on the size of the room where it has to be installed. A small ceiling fan should be chosen for a small room.

5. Ceiling Height and Angle: Before you purchase your ceiling fan, take into consideration the height and angle of the ceiling. It is recommend that ceiling fan blades should be positioned 7 to 8-feet above the floor for best results and comfort. Low-profile ceiling fans should be installed where the ceiling is 8 feet in height or shorter. For high ceiling rooms of say 9 feet tall, an optional extension down rods can be used.  

If the ceiling where the fan will be mounted has a slope or angle and is not flat, special mounting systems are available for ceiling fans to enable the fan to be installed so that the blade rotation is parallel to the floor rather than to the ceiling. 
 
PriceRange

Traditional Hanging Propeller Ceiling Fans: $ 40 to $ 700.
 
Directional Ceiling Fans: $400 to $ 2000.

Rotational Ceiling Fans: $700 to $1,200.