So, you decided to get a ceiling fan for one or more rooms in your house. It seems pretty easy, right? Just go buy a fan and install it. But that’s where you’re wrong. Unfortunately, like many things in life, choosing a ceiling fan can be a little bit of a challenge sometimes. You have to figure out what type of room you’re going to put it in, the style of fan you need, whether or not you want smart features, and more. Thankfully, the internet is full of resources to help you find the information you need to make the right ceiling fan purchase. Today, we’re going to provide a short beginner’s guide to buying a ceiling fan to make your life easier. Check it out below.
Selecting A Fan Style (Ceiling Fan)
The first step on your ceiling fan journey is choosing the fan style. This is going to involve understanding what you want from the fan and how it’s going to be incorporated into your space design. First, you’ll need to identify what kind of theme you want for the decor. Is it going to be a modern, more streamlined look? Do you want something rustic or wooded? Or is an industrial decor style more your speed? These are all important questions to consider when choosing a fan style. It’s also crucial to know the types of ceiling fan styles.
There are modern, traditional, tropical, nautical, industrial, rustic, farmhouse, and windmill fans just to name a few. There are even larger, multi-blade fans like Hunter Fan’s windmill ceiling fans that not only look amazing, but sport ten blades and resemble a windmill. Remember that there are a wide variety of different ceiling fan styles that can work for any aesthetic, so spend some time deciding what’s going to look best for your room before committing.
Measuring Your Room
When choosing a ceiling fan, knowing the size of your room is going to go a long way toward helping you decide on a fan. Smaller rooms will need smaller fans. Conversely, larger rooms will require slightly bigger fans. Fans can range from very small diameters to larger than 72”. That means you need to know your room’s area before making a decision. Calculating your room’s area comes down to measuring its length, measuring its width, and multiplying those numbers together. That’s all it takes to figure out a room’s area.
Once you know the area, you can start looking at different sizes of ceiling fans. Many vendors have a chart to tell you what size corresponds to the square footage of a particular room. Using this valuable tool can help you determine the proper size ceiling fan so you don’t get something that’s either too big or too small for the space. Another consideration for choosing your fan is the type of mount you need for the room. If your room has a high ceiling, you’ll likely need a download (a handy device from which your fan can hang). On the other hand, if you have a low ceiling, you should be able to get a hugger ceiling fan that can handle low-profile rooms.
Choosing The Number of Blades
Once you’ve locked in a style for the ceiling fan that you’re going to get and know what size, it’s time to figure out how many blades you’re going to get. Ceiling fans can have two or more blades. The number of blades can affect a few different things. It can impact the fan’s efficiency, blade pitch, balance, motor performance, and even the overall look of a room.
Modern ceiling fan designs don’t need large numbers of blades to reduce noise anymore (the motor does that). So the number of blades you get is largely based on a matter of taste. If you’re looking for a minimalist or modern style, you might go with two or three plates. If you want to go more traditional, four to five blades is the way to go. Furthermore, If you’re looking for something a little different, get more blades than that. It’s ultimately up to you to find several blades that fit your style.
Deciding On Accessories
Accessories are one of the best things about owning a ceiling fan. Ceiling fans don’t have to be relegated to merely being cooling/heating appliances. You can accessorize them with plenty of different kinds of lights, cool and rustic light fixtures, or even smart features. Smart features like dimmable lighting, Auto on/off, and remote control through an app are all features that you can find in today’s ceiling fans. Pairing the right accessories with the right fan is also a matter of personal preference. But you have plenty of options available, with new technology improving all the time.
Wiring The Ceiling Fan
After purchasing a ceiling fan, you need to install it. You can hire somebody to do this for you, but it’s easy enough to do it yourself. There are many guides available online that teach you how to wire a ceiling fan. It comes down to understanding which wires go where, what they do, and how they would fit in your electrical box. You’ll need to pay attention to the different wire colors and find a guide for the type of ceiling fan you have. If it has a pull chain or switches. It’ll need to be wired differently than one that doesn’t have those features.
Although wiring a ceiling fan is something that anyone can do, never attempt to do it yourself if you don’t understand how to wire it properly. It’s always best to hire a professional in those cases. Whatever you do, you’ll need to get your fan installed, so what are your options and make the decision that fits best for you.