Fan Club
“A central aim of designing or retrofitting a sustainable home is to minimise heating and cooling needs. By paying attention to the building envelope and passive strategies like cross ventilation and thermal mass, dramatic reductions in energy use – and bills – are possible. But even well-designed homes often require some mechanical cooling to keep comfortable in summer. Ceiling fans are a good option as they are relatively low energy users; they can also boost the effectiveness of your heating in winter.”
Jenny contributed to this excellent article about ceiling fans which came out in the latest issue of Sanctuary Magazine. She is a huge fan of the ceiling fan and, her own home, like the vast majority of Light House projects has a ceiling fan in each living area and each bedroom.
Jenny is particularly fanatical about ceiling fans that integrate a light (LED of course); anything that reduces the number of holes in your ceiling, and therefore the potential for insulation gaps and air leaks, is good news in relation to your comfort and your energy bills.
Jenny has the basic version of the Haiku Fan (the L-series) by Big Ass fans suspended from the high raked ceilings in her two living areas and loves them (not just because of the memorable name). With a seamlessly integrated, dimmable LED light and seven fan speeds (plus cool little blue LEDs on the fan that light up as you adjust the fan speed to give you a visual representation of the setting you are on) they do a fabulous job in her home in both summer and winter. According to the CHOICE review these fans cost just $11 per year to run based on the following assumptions - “eight hours of use per day for six months of the year, used in summer to keep cool and part of winter to help move warm air down to the living area. Electricity is priced at 30 cents per kWh”.
The image below shows a ceiling fan in our Three Generation House. In summer it helps keep residents cool during heat waves, and over winter it helps distribute heat around the home.
