Speaking to a licensed electrician at Fantastic Services, David Miloshev, he says, "To prevent electric fires and dust circulation, it'd be safest to turn it off before you go to sleep. Also, I'd highly recommend checking and making sure your smoke alarm systems are in working order."
Avoid leaving your fan running overnight or while you are out of the house. Ensure you have working smoke alarms on every floor of your home. Once you've had your electric fan for a few years, think about replacing it as older motors can overheat.
Sleeping with a fan on is fairly harmless for most people, but some may find it uncomfortable. This is especially true for people with sensitive airways. View Source and those who prefer a totally quiet sleep environment.
"Most electrical fans are designed to be able to run continuously for several hours at a time, for example overnight or during the day, but you'll also need to keep in mind doing that continuously for long periods can cause wear and tear on the motor and other components, shortening its lifespan," continues David.
Whole house fans are meant to run with a few windows open in the early morning, late evening and overnight, when the air outside is cooler than the air inside. The outside air is pulled through the open window, through your home and ventilated through a short, wide airduct out of the attic.
Although electric fans are designed to run for long hours, leaving it on for extended periods can cause overheating. If you need to sleep with a fan on, consider a fan with a timer.
No, fans do not consume a lot of electricity when you run them all night. If you run a standard ceiling fan for 7 hours at night, it will use 0.35-0.52kWh of energy, which will cost you around $0.056-$0.084 per night. This cost is much less than the cost of running an air conditioner for just an hour.
Yup perfectly acceptable to run your fan 24/7. Only downside is it costs you a bit more on your electrical bill.
Turning the fan on before you go to bed can spread dust, dust mites, pollen, and other allergens in the room. When you inhale these swirling particles, it may trigger or worsen your allergies or asthma. And you could also wake up with itchy eyes, a runny nose, and a cough or sneeze.
Poorly made fans could likely have faults resulting in excessive heat and may even cause a fire. In certain cases, fans can cause house fires, but this is very rare. These kind of incidents are usually caused by old or worn out fans.
Homemade Misting Fan
Put an ice-filled bowl in front of the fan to help circulate the cool air throughout the house and keep the room cooler. In addition to keeping the room cool, doing so also helps save money on electricity.
A standard ceiling fan tends to last up to 10 years, but this will all depend on the quality of it and how you look after it. Factors will include how often you use it and how often you don't use it.
Fires are one of the biggest risks associated with leaving electric heaters on all night. If an electric heater has frayed wiring or malfunctions, then there is a high chance of it igniting. Electric heaters also make the air in the room really dry by conducting a lot of heat.
Keeping your fan spinning counterclockwise year-round in high-ceiling rooms ensures better air circulation, helping you stay comfortable and save on cooling costs in summer.
Conclusion. You can safely run an electric fan all night, but it's not recommended while you're gone for long periods. Fans are generally very reliable, but it's safe to turn off electrical appliances while they're unattended for long periods.
Running the Fan Continuously vs.
Anything that runs 24/7 will deteriorate faster than something that has rest periods. Even the ongoing stops and starts when you set the fan to auto are less damaging than what happens with months or years of constant use.
Ceiling fans, tower fans, and box fans typically range from 40 to 100 watts of power when operating at full speed. This amount of electricity is not very much, especially compared to the other appliances and electronics in your home. At its lowest setting, a fan may only use about 10 to 30 watts.
Cons of Keeping Your Fan On
A running fan uses lots of electricity to cycle. Plus, you'll decrease your AC's efficiency during the hot summer months. Your vents could blow hot air into your home, increasing your unit's regulation cycling. This will also greatly increase your energy bill during hot or cold seasons.
It is also estimated that about 4,500 (23 percent) of these fires were associated with portable electric fans. These portable fans-related incidents resulted in about 270 civilian injuries, more than 20 deaths, and about $55 million property loss in the United States during this nine year period (Table 1).
In general, running your fan costs very little, especially in comparison to air conditioners which tend to be the most expensive-to-run appliance in the average US household. In other words, using a fan is a great way to lower the cost of your electricity bill.
Does leaving plugs in use electricity? Everything that is connected to power will use some energy. Because it's so often connected with equipment in standby or inactive mode, standby electricity loss is also known as phantom or idle electricity.
The primary benefit of running your HVAC fan consistently: Air circulation improvements. Running the fan more often means air in your home circulates faster, leading to everything from more even temperature distribution to faster heating or cooling.