Wall Fans

A few decades ago, the ceiling fan became all the rage in home décor. Everywhere you went, whether to your mother in law’s home or your best college buddy’s new house, you saw ceiling fans. Now, a new idea in home cooling is gaining ground, the wall fan, or wall-mounted fan. These stylish home accessories serve many of the same great functions of ceiling fans but with a whole new look. Wall fans come in a variety of kinds and looks, from the most functional looking to the most fancy.

If you have heard about wall fans and know people who have them, you may be wondering what the advantages are to having them in your home. You may wonder why people are purchasing and installing this kind of fan as opposed to ceiling fans or floor standing fans. You may also wonder why a wall fan is a good idea for homes with central air conditioning and heating.

First of all, fans of any kind are great for the home. Fans circulate the air, keep it moving. This means that the air in your home will be fresher and more healthful. As the fan pushes the air, it draws in new air from other rooms and from outside through windows and doors and even through tiny openings in the wall or ceiling that you don’t see. Wall fans are great for directing this type of air flow through your home.

Wall fans are also perfect for summer cooling and for keeping your house warmer in the winter. A wall fan running in the winter helps distribute the hot air that comes from the vents or radiators. This means that hot air that collects near the ceiling is pushed down into the room where it can be felt by you and your family. In the summer time, the same is true of the cooler air coming from your window unit or central air conditioning. Or, if you don’t use air conditioning, the movement of air from wall fans has a cooling effect on your skin. Use of wall and other fans in your home can lower your heating and  cooling bills by as much as 20 percent.

What makes wall fans so good for this kind of air distribution is that they can be directed to blow air in a number of different directions. Most wall mounted fans swivel side to side and up and down so that they can be pointed in the direction that is most efficient. The most efficient flow of air often changes in the home from season to season. Wall fans give you versatility that ceiling fans do not.

Wall fans come in a variety of kinds, styles, and power ratings. There are wall mounted fans that are designed to move large quantities of air in short periods of time. These fans often have powder-coated metal blades housed in wire cages to protect the spinning blades and keep out hands and fingers. The powerful motors stand up to constant use and move many cubic feet of air through large spaces such as open ceilinged family rooms or loft spaces.

Other wall fans are designed to be more stylish. The Internet retailer Fanimation offers a number of very posh looking wall fans that will smarten up any home décor.  The Old Havana wall fan for, for example, can give your house a touch of the tropics, with its scrollwork design and antique copper finish. The fan has three speeds and comes with an optional remote control.

There are also smaller, more portable wall fan types that come in durable plastic constructions. These are often affixed to the wall with simple mounts that can be installed and uninstalled easily for movement from room to room. Air King makes extremely affordable wall fans of this type, including the 9018 Air King wall fan. The fan has three speeds and has a 90 degree oscillating fan head. This is a great wall fan for crowded areas of the home.

No matter what the style or make of fan that most attracts your eye, the purchase of a wall fan is a great investment at a small cost. Wall fans are not generally too terribly expensive, but the money you will save in terms of heating and cooling costs can be substantial. Yes, wall fans can reduce your heating and cooling bills by 20 percent! That’s a great way to keep your cool.