Correct Ceiling Fan Rotation Direction | Cool in Summer and Warm in Winter

Most home owners have seen this switch on the side of their ceiling fan but don't change the position with the seasonal changes. There is a correct rotation direction for warmer summer months and an opposite rotation direction for the cooler winter months. Properly setting rotation will help your home feel more comfortable and also save you money on your power bill.
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[@littlescarface2]

Down for Summer…Up for Winter Thanks you made easy to understand

[@mburn8133]

Plain & simple for me up for summer/down for winter...thanks!

[@ginamarie1140]

Thank You!! Why can’t anyone make it this easy!!

[@justagermericangirl496]

Thanks . That's all I came here for. I can't feel shit. Down or up. I'm busy!

[@maribelsantana7738]

Thanks so much! I had it in the wrong setting all this time. 😮

[@MHS_ART]

Dam for 5 years I had it on the wrong way lol I live in Florida! Now my house feels cool! Thank you I wish I saw this 5 years ago

[@EverydayHomeRepairs]

👍

[@jhard94]

I live in south Florida and I feel like no matter what I do, certain rooms in my house will not get as cool as other places in the house.

[@MHS_ART]

@@jhard94 oh cool man. I’m from port Charlotte

[@andyc9902]

Lollol

[@JJ.ANDERSEN.201]

lol, same here 🤦🏻. thanks for the tips!

[@jennyhair1548]

Thank you! You’re one of the only people who explained it according to how the fan blades are oriented. Thank you thank you 😊

[@killjoycola]

I remember finding this as a kid and not knowing what it was. I flipped the switch and my room was freezing in the winter lol. It was perfect

[@kevinmansell8746]

me too now it is on winter it is freezing lol

[@jeremyfox5353]

So what if your vents are on the floor. Wouldn't you want to pull the cool air up?

[@killacrush3437]

Finally someone explains other than clockwise or counter clockwise because you don't know if you're looking up at the fan or if they're looking down through the fan when they explain it that way. I would simply add when you look up at the fan it should be going counter clock wise in the summer

[@kylealexander7024]

Usually. Sometimes people replace the blades and like to do it backwards. The feel method he uses here is best and then once u figure it out mark the switch for summer and winter.

[@dogface6040]

Don't rely on direction. Some fans come with reversed blades: it's just their design. The proper measure of fan is ALWAYS FLOW DOWN TO THE FLOOR, SUMMER AND WINTER. This is different than most advice, but it is the correct action. Why down in winter? Because that's the only way to push the heat trapped at the ceiling into the space. Running the fan in the Upflow direction won't circulate heat to the floor, it just creates a circulation at the ceiling.

[@petem6503]

@UCSkuxm8cfa9URDF68kqK76Q The confusion is so universal! Even fan mfrs get it wrong. Consumer Reports got it wrong. The company doing my AC maintenance got it wrong. Velocity on the inlet side of a ceiling fan is quite low because the air quantity is distributed across a much larger vector perimeter than the discharge air concentration: discharge air velocity varies with the diameter of the blade section, so the tips produce more velocity than the center. In many prop fans, the center of the discharge side actually has air moving TOWARD the fan.

[@anonymous-fq8kl]

@@petem6503 wait what

[@petem6503]

@@anonymous-fq8kl It do dat! The perimeter (tip of blades) actually delivers more than the fan total air flow, and the balance comes into the discharge side of the hub. The flow profiles depend on blade/hub diameters, blade speed, blade angle. Not all models do it all the time, but some will. Centrifugal fans (eg, furnace fans) do something similar, with the air flow at the scroll perimeter (upper half of the discharge duct) flowing away from the fan, but the air in the lower half of the duct actually goes backwards. Air flow in the vicinity of the fan is very turbulent.

[@justcuzitsepic5874]

I was shopping for a fan ceiling in Amazon and it mentionned this in one of the panels. I had no idea. Thanks a lot

[@nilkaelisrose7267]

Thank you so muccchhh I live in Texas and moved into a place that the fan didn’t seem to do anything for keeping cool. I just fixed with this video. I appreciate it

[@joannac9194]

Thank you so much. I never could understand the clockwise and counterclockwise. Simple as can be with your directions.

[@mikefatah]

This makes perfect sense. Best to have air blowing downwards in the summers esp if your AC vents are in the ceiling.

[@abelreyes7290]

Thanks. Your video explained it perfect. Just watching the blades going in the direction made put the switch where it needs to be.

[@Dank_Farrik]

He didn’t explicitly specify or have a zoom-in shot, but it seems all fans (at least in the US) are universal in that the up position is for winter and the down position is for summer. Hope that helps. Don’t forget to clean the dust off of your fans while you’re at it so you’re not blowing around allergens! Cheers.

[@AXI0M-xr]

oh shoot i already did it but i’m too tired to check or clean where the dust went

[@kennyu2073]

Thank you

[@nameholdingplace]

Bro just explained the part I was looking for and saved me some time. Ty

[@violamaria6586]

Thank you Mr. Farrik 😊

[@ministerraphaelneal3112]

What about from left to right?

[@sharoncouch9193]

Great tip on closing the registers during the summer time and open them during winter months. No one has ever shared that. Thanks

[@sharoncouch9193]

Sorry wrong video but it’s here to share the tip

[@wpgspecb]

I have had the opposite effect. The "winter" setting actually made my room cooler and didn't dry my mouth out at night (im a mouth breather/snorer). I feel like the "wind chill effect" doesnt take into account that the top 2 feet of most rooms are entirely warm air.

[@TheMixingBowlHomestead]

Thank you. I know what the button does, but never remember which side is for cooler air circulation. So, thank you much for this video. 👍

[@jonvee7014]

Amazing how many don’t realize this….. it makes a huge difference

[@DavidPerez-xo7nh]

I had it the wrong way for about 2 yrs..🤦..August is 🔥..Now I switched the switch.. Feeling cooler now..👍

[@danabutler6151]

Thanks bro. This video is perfect for people who are not household inclined

[@dawnbuckner2369]

I do appreciate this so much because now I know how to get quality air flow

[@kenjones7612]

Thank You I have been looking for a very long time as to which way was which to be sure I was doing it correctly. Your guide was super helpful.

[@boydalexander4652]

I don’t live in Midwest but I still live in a part of the country that has the seasons so I should still be changing the direction of my ceiling fans.

[@maddydog]

This was the best video on this subject, good instructions easy to understand thanks!

[@monreyes4957]

Clarification. Now I know counter clockwise is for summer. And clockwise is for winter. The blade explanation helped me understand. Thank you.

[@cynthiabrown372]

Thank you!!!! Such a difference.

[@monreyes4957]

I've always thought counter clockwise is for winter. Now I know. Thank you.

[@KeithCopeland778]

Thank you for a simple explanation!

[@sb9442]

Thank you for ... clear.... information....

[@donnadynes7988]

Until I found you,I've been doing it all wrong!!! Thank you for putting it in lamens terms ❤

[@MrFastlane345]

Every television station says run it counter clockwise! Even some fan manufactureres say the same thing. If you can feel the air coming down if you are under the fan, you have it right.

[@nycchisolm4560]

The little things..Thank You

[@gabrielmatthews9142]

Thanks man finally know what to do!

[@JPerry2337]

Great info thanks it helped a lot!!

[@MrDelco]

Thank you Joe Flacco!

[@bartololeo7411]

you just changed my life. thank you.

[@fm1224]

Depends

[@phuZbut9813]

I think it depend on where the air registers (vents) are located. In our mobile the vents are in the floor whereas in most homes they’re in or near the ceiling. To me it seem like pulling the cool a/c air up from the floor registers would make more sense in our case. The opposite if the registers are high up.

[@faith8139]

I have the same question. My son's house has AC floor vent/ducts, and they are small. Cool air comes from them but not with any force. Would it make sense to try having the ceiling fan pull "up" the cool air? Upstairs does not cool off well. Thanks to anyone who can weigh in on this.

[@MorganReece]

This has been exactly my experience. We live in mobile home with vents on the floor. When I followed the instructions for this video, I immediately felt a warm draft coming down from the ceiling. Switched it and the room is cooler.

[@ffdjr1313]

Faith id have the unit replaced and ducts and inspected. Prob needs larger ducting and bigger registers. However I’m in central California and I love AC.

[@MH-Tesla]

@@faith8139 In summer you close all the basement vents and open the main floor vents. In winter you open the basement vents and adjust upstairs depending on the room. South facing rooms usually closed more in daytime and north facing open. Cold air drops down and heat rises. This is critical in summer! Always close the basement vents. Then your air flow will be greater/faster because the same volume of forced air has less space to flow to.

[@dorberry0000]

Yes exactly my mobile the registers are on floor so my ceiling fan pushes down the warm are my fan is in the kitchen so keep my living room warm

[@raginghyena0512]

Thank you so much. I get hot in the day I’m sick and tired of my ac giving me problems

[@qba4455]

Great, thank you

[@francinedelery8758]

Thank you very much👍🏾

[@CeilingFanVideosOnYT]

Sometimes downdraft can be more useful than updraft even in winter, if low speed is slow enough or if the ceiling is high enough. In fact, Emerson "Heat Fan" was introduced when they got an idea how fans can be used to push heat down, and all "Heat Fan" are downdraft only and there were some reversible fans before then, so people got an idea of using fans to push heat down even before starting to use updraft to push heat down.

[@MTLTV-eu4nv]

At one time, I was at Home Depot during the winter time. They had the fans going on high speed, and I felt how warm the air was while standing beneath the fan. In a room with the ceiling as high as Home Depot’s ceilings, it is more effective to do downdraft even when using the fan to push the warm air down during the winter time. The funny thing is that I’ve also seen them not turn on the fans during the winter.

[@ITWorksSoftware]

Thank you!

[@TheAsmrAddict888]

It depends on where your ac air is coming from even though cold air drops and heat rises. But heat fills a room over time. If your ac is floor ducts you want it to pull up. To raise cold off the floor and up. If it's up high on your wall or window then push down. But only while running. If it's off and your room is hot you want to pull-up to raise the heat up and out in summer. Winter is again the same but opposite.

[@norynemoss6331]

Thank you. I had that question. 😊

[@lanrebloom7030]

But aren't you raising cold air up?

[@uniqmusiq88]

Thank you!!!!

[@TheAsmrAddict888]

@@lanrebloom7030 yes if you want the room to be cold and the ac duct is on the floor or low. Cold air drops, heat rises. Eventually the room would fill up cold doing nothing to help it. It will just take longer for the cold to fill from the floor up and push the heat out further. If the ac duct is up high on the wall or window it naturally will begin to drop and need less help to cool the room compared to the floor. Adding ceiling fans and just fans in general can help make all of this happen faster and helps save energy. Its the same idea in winter and you want the room to be warm. If the heat ducts are on the floor, baseboards etc heat will rise floor area warming up first with the mid to ceiling area chilly still. Pulling the heat up warms the room faster. If heat is high on the ceiling the warm air collects slowly warming a room because heat rises and naturally doesnt want to go down with colder air wrapping around your legs and frozen feet. 😄 so counterclockwise ceiling fan will push hot air down to the floor. Clockwise sucks air up from the floor. This is all especially helpful when a home isnt insulated well with drafts. Where its harder to keep any room at a regular comfortable temperature. Well insulated homes have less need for extra meaaures.

[@annaelizabeth5971]

You said it better than any of the videos on this subject I've watched animation Mark maybe you should be like a KZbin video editor, clarifying what people are trying to say but don't quite get there LOL thank you!😊

[@patrickmulligan7994]

Thanks so very much for this wise information. The Power Company and local news keep saying counter clockwise for summer heat. 😢 So confusing and wrong sometimes 😅 Thanks !

[@debbiecookson6882]

Thanks,somuch, very helpful

[@elemonator8319]

Thanks your input did help tons brother. I just subscribed.

[@joannevicory7668]

Thank you very much⚘️

[@JJSmalls]

My winter heating bill was insane last year because i didn't realize my fans were rotating the wrong direction Thanks

[@tdginter]

You also may have had your thermostat higher than necessary. Every degree turned up, makes a huge difference. I keep mine as low as I can tolerate in the winter.

[@Longing4theWoods]

Well i was 37 years old when i found this out…

[@walteremmons95]

I didn't think there was a video about this😂😂 thanks my guy

[@Fwixi]

Very helpful thx!

[@waynereeder5541]

Thank you sooo much.

[@April-cu8xc]

Thank you

[@marktruppner5601]

Thank you.

[@MartaWyngaard]

Thank you❤

[@tamoor14]

Awesome thanks

[@lesbrown8099]

Thanks!

[@deniseharris7920]

Thank you!!!!

[@MTLTV-eu4nv]

When I was in elementary school, we had ceiling fans in the classrooms. However, during the cold weather (most of the school year), the teachers never turned the fans on.

[@andrewminor8230]

No duh

[@chanelchanel4666]

@@andrewminor8230 🤣🙄

[@andrewminor8230]

@@chanelchanel4666 amosc??

[@laddie013]

I also have it set the opposite. Heat rises so why do I want to push the heat down in the summer months? When I turn my fan on low in the winter I immediately feel the heat being pushed down. Now I’m SO CONFUSED!

[@MsPepsi819]

THANK YOU!! MY AC went out yesterday & it is like the east side of hell in here! I did have the fan going the wrong direction because I couldn't tell which was clock/counterclockwise while it was moving. Saying you should feel the air is the best way to describe it. I'm hoping it helps a little till the repairman gets here. (It's 92 outside & 90 inside right now) 🥵🥵🥵

[@The88AB]

What's the East side have to do with anything?

[@sarahspears9000]

Thank you for actually showing and explaining this!

[@the.redwood.runner7608]

I find having my fan in updraft mode during summer nights with a higher fan speed cools my room better then downdraft. I'll feel colder in downdraft mode just because of the wind but personally I am not a fan of wind so the updraft reduces that and has more of a calm breeze and also helps pull air into my room from my cracked window leading to cooler Temps at night. Downdraft during the day tho

[@uniqmusiq88]

Good tip thanks!

[@bhatkrishnakishor]

Consider using pedestal fan placed near window, to pull in cooler air during night.

[@johnieboi3613]

Thanks 😊😊😊🙏🏼🙏🏼🙏🏼

[@innergoof19]

Thanks for helping me settle the argument with the wife. Our fan spins the "other way," I explained to my wife because "it must've been made in Australia." Unfortunately she didn't think that was funny. (Dad joke)

[@Omar-gr5xy]

Never knew you could do that

[@MrFastlane345]

Well, blade pitch is not so common to most people, but that forward and reverse switch is either up or down. Down for summer or up for winter. Some people live in a warm climate location so may never have to push the switch to the up (winter position)

[@TheMixingBowlHomestead]

Update. I made the change based on your video and all bedrooms are nice and cool. Since the temps are up and down (50-70 degrees), some days it feels like I have the AC on. Once again, thank you. You are helping me to save on electricity. 👍

[@fm1224]

Video very subjective depends where your AC ducks... Go back and read all the comments you'll have a better understanding.

[@TbsTurtl3]

Thank you sir good thing my little brother figured it out lol I wasn’t home at the time he told me my room was hot so he fixed the fan he’s 13-14 idk tbh lol I’m 24..

[@beckywyant1216]

Thank you my husband and I had this argument and I was right 😂

[@vanessadvenegas]

Question is it the same for all fans? For example pull little black switch/button down for summer and push up for winter?

[@JareBareXP]

it makes so much sense but does it need to be in the highest setting for it to work? id love to see some since with "wind tunnel" testing

[@iluvpinkandgold]

All this time I had my damn fan going the wrong way?!?!?! Omg life changing. Wondered why my room was always the warmest in the house 🤦🏾‍♀️

[@JacanaProductions]

what about a tall house with vaulted ceilings? I feel that a lot of hot air rises and is lost to the top story of the house so wouldn't forcing it back down on the 2nd floor help it escaping to the 3 rd floor?

[@shereecase5933]

I have floor vents in an older home. Would I want the opposite?

[@CaliforniaKevman]

Well. I have two fans, and it's not clockwise or counter-clockwise since they are opposite. It's about the blades; do they cut up (rotate with the higher side gong first) or cut down? Cut up for cooling, cut down for warming.

[@smitty5098]

So my question is if i live in a split level and the basement is freezing and up stairs is hot would the fan up stairs pull the colder air up and umbrella the up stairs in the winter setting???

[@ColinBrazier]

Personally, it doesn't matter as long as air is circulating the entire room is well balanced. Feeling the air will make you feel cooler though

[@estherpalmer3418]

I have going the correct way but the descriptions, clockwise and counterclockwise seem backwards.

[@jamesg6587]

Sure. Hot air rises to the the ceiling in the summer. It makes all the sence in the world to want to push that hot air down on you to stay cool. I guess a hot wind blowing down on you is better than no wind at all, right? Circulating hot air from the ceiling throughout the room, mixing with the cool air at the bottom of the room makes the room feel cooler? I'm glad I found this video, Now I'm going to install a fan in the attic to blow down in my house so I can take advantage of all the cool air up there. I may just turn off my AC altogether. Who are you again?

[@Rachel-bn4uo]

Thank you. My only problem was my switch is side to side and i always forget which side was which. 😢😅

[@1carmeng]

Okay but is it up for winter down for summer are the ones that go side to side is it left for summer right for winter that's what I need

[@Tony_Seed]

I would I want the hot air above to blow down onto me? I find it works better in winter more for cooling I leave it all year round in Florida

[@Panthorius]

Q: What speed would best be used for efficiency? Is too little speed a bad thing say for the winter time. Thanks!

[@lorielizabethwade7505]

I've read several opinions and they all suggested a slow rotation for the winter months.

[@newfad2008]

I was replacing the pull switch, pulling all the wires I noticed the housing of this switch that goes up and down was broken, with tge springs in it separated. Now do I have to replace it or the fan and lights still work?

[@princesskabliav]

I did not know this! Thank you! I also live in a home built in the 1950’s. I have multiple random light switches that do nothing in the kitchen, however, am not able to find one to turn on the lights and fan. I have to manually pull down the strings to turn on or off the fan or light. Are there any way to figure out if there are a light switch that is just... dead?

[@EverydayHomeRepairs]

Good question! So for 1950's and 1960's houses it is common to wire switches to control the top outlet on your wall outlets. This was usually used to plug in lamps and then by keeping the lamp set to the on position you could use the wall switch to turn on/off the lamp. To test this, plug something into the top wall outlet(s) in the area and use the switch to see if it turns on/off. Let me know what you find 👍

[@androm303]

My son has a loft bed and I'm not sure what to do to keep it cooler up higher in the summer/warmer up high in the winter. Would I want do the opposite of what it says in this video? Help please! TIA.

[@sunewjenkuzo2835]

Nice but I still need like 3 fans to cool my room down the ceiling fan and floor fan are not enough

[@ellisgillett8302]

I always want my fan to blow cold air that's why I have it on, I don't even have my radiators turned on all year lol

[@neayndinardo9317]

Imagine yourself having this conversation with your toxic baby mama ...

[@paulrich4274]

What if you have high ceilings and a dormer with a window ? Also my ceiling fan over where our fireplace is located is 10' above the floor. Would it make more sense to set it clockwise at a the lowest setting ?

[@EverydayHomeRepairs]

If I were in your shoes I would want to basically set it once and not change it since it is so high off the floor. I would pick clockwise with the air being pushed down to try and pull some of the warm air off the vaulted ceiling. This might provide a little unwanted draft in the winter depending on your location but is probably the best compromise.

[@Aki2024.]

My question is the heat rises so why do you want it downdraft? And the cold sinks so why do you want it updraft?

[@Fishingtuts]

What speed in the winter?

[@REDDLADY2]

The switch down for summer, up for winter. Did I understand this correctly?

[@fredymoran31]

Yup!

[@REDDLADY2]

In the summer you want to "cool down" . In the winter you want to " warm up" 😃 That's a easy way to remember.

[@stephanielee9160]

My switch is left to right so which way do I turn it?

[@BunchofBrambles]

I feel The air on updraft on my bedroom ceiling fan

[@cedardog764]

clockwise vs counter is not the best explanation for most. The clearest and most simple is in the summer the high side of the blade should be the leading edge, and in winter the low side is the leading edge.

[@adriancontreras6797]

Ok which way is forward

[@botalley1595]

They're both moving forward regardless of direction. The high side should be the leading side in summer and low side should be the leading side in winter.

[@somebody3162]

For a minute there I thought that little button was to detach the fan so I never pressed it

[@Synnnister_]

Both settings feel like it’s sucking it up by that I mean I can feel more air above the fan than below on both

[@fm1224]

That's because it's actually going in a circular motion

[@videohuggy5308]

Many years ago, Consumer Report debunked the effectiveness of running the fan backwards. And if you search online, you can find a graduate study from Harvard on this very subject. It also concludes that running the fan backwards uses more energy to get the same destratification.

[@ShunShines]

So my house, open concept, staircase in centre of my home coming from my nice cool basement that leads up to main floor thats 2nd, then to the 3rd floor which has a loft on either side above that, both 3rd and lofts hot as hell. My ceiling fan is at the height of the lofts smack dab in the centre of the house. If i were to take your advice, and pretty much every other source i read, counterclockwise is what id want in the summer months. Im sorry to me this makes no sense whatsoever. Heat rises. Why would I want to be pushing the hot air from my upper levels down to the rest of the house? Would it not make more sense to have it go clockwise and pull the cool air from the basement up to the rest of the house??

[@singingselves7036]

hi when I move the knob to summer mode it does not work, but it does in winter mode. Any ideas?

[@glengalloway2508]

Probably a bad switch.

[@tic857]

What if it's not changing direction with the switch?

[@lonburgundy1]

Lol he said shed a little light 💡

[@reyluna0]

My fan is moving side to side in its fastest setting What should i do?