If you are looking for buying a good discount ceiling fan for your home or office, but you are overwhelmed by the innumerable options available, you are not alone. The market is full of great choices, you only need to pick up the right one. We will try to make it easy for the job of selecting your fan. Our site focuses on small ceiling fans, however you can easily use this guide for ceiling fans in general.
Identify your ceiling fan requirementsThe first question that you need to answer is about your specific need for a ceiling fan (or fans). Answer the following points and note down the points before you go further:
What kind of fan you need – A ceiling fan, floor fan, table fan etc
For which room you need the ceiling fan – living room, kitchen, kids room, bath room, office room etc. If you need the fan in a wet area like bathroom, you need to select a design suitable for that. We will come to that point a little later.
What is the size of the room? Measure the length and breath of the room and normally size is designated in terms of square feet of area. If your room has 12 ft length and 10 ft width, the area is 12×10 = 120 square feet.
How high is the ceiling? Normally the standard ceiling height is between 8-10 feet. If your room is of standard height, this is not a major consideration for ceiling fan selection. However, if the ceiling is too high, you may need to use an extended rod to fix the ceiling fan down or if the ceiling is too low, you may have to use a short fixing rod (or use a floor fan).
More or less, these are the essential questions. However there are few more additional points more from esthetic point of view.
1. Do you want ceiling fan with lights?
2. Do you want a remote control, pull chain/cord? These additional needs are good to use but add a little bit cost.
Ok, now that you have finalized your requirements, let us go through the ceiling fan parameters you need to consider in order to meet your needs.
Selecting the right Size for Ceiling FanCeiling fan size is measured by blade span (the diameter of the sweep). The sizes vary from 24 inches to 80 inches. It is natural that when your room size is small, you pick up a smaller fan and vice versa. Here is a general guideline for selecting the size:
Room Size | Suggested Fan Size
Up to 75 Sq Ft | 29 – 36 inches
76 – 144 Sq Ft | 36 – 42 inches
145 – 225 Sq Ft | 44 inches
226 – 400 Sq Ft | 50 – 54 inches
Source: American Lighting Association, 2003
Fan capacity CFM
CFM stands for Cubic Feet per Minute – this is the amount of air the fan displaces. Ceiling Fans with higher CFM circulate more air.
Fans with higher sizes have higher CFM. So CFM is not a completely independent parameter and it depends on the ceiling fan size as well.
Approx Room Size | CFM
Up to 100 Sq Ft2000 – 3000
75 – 250 Sq Ft3000 – 6000
150 – 500 Sq Ft6000 – 9000
250 – 700 Sq Ft7000 – 10000
As you can see, there is overlap in the room sizes. The general ranges are given here and you can choose what suits your situation best. For example, for a room with an infant, you may want very high CFM. Similar in a large room, instead of having one 72″ fan, you can have two 52″ ceiling fans.
When you are selecting a fan by size, more or less, you are also selecting the CFM. Don’t be overwhelmed by CFM, just select the ceiling fan size that suits your room.
Ceiling Height and the Mounting systemMeasure the ceiling height of the room. There are two considerations in this regard:
Based on the ceiling height, you can select the mounting system for the fan. The available mountings systems are as follows:
Ceiling Fan RatingSuitable Area
UL Listed for dry locationsliving room, dining room, bedrooms, hallways
UL Listed for damp locationsbathrooms, indoor pools, protected outdoor areas
UL Listed for wet locationsOutdoor areas and interior locations where there is a risk of water falling on the equipmentBasically the rating means that fans are designed to work in a damp or wet atmosphere and their electrical wiring and parts are suitably protected.
Other Requirements
Other features are relatively less complex to select. You can go ahead based on your likes and dislikes.
Identify your ceiling fan requirementsThe first question that you need to answer is about your specific need for a ceiling fan (or fans). Answer the following points and note down the points before you go further:
What kind of fan you need – A ceiling fan, floor fan, table fan etc
For which room you need the ceiling fan – living room, kitchen, kids room, bath room, office room etc. If you need the fan in a wet area like bathroom, you need to select a design suitable for that. We will come to that point a little later.
What is the size of the room? Measure the length and breath of the room and normally size is designated in terms of square feet of area. If your room has 12 ft length and 10 ft width, the area is 12×10 = 120 square feet.
How high is the ceiling? Normally the standard ceiling height is between 8-10 feet. If your room is of standard height, this is not a major consideration for ceiling fan selection. However, if the ceiling is too high, you may need to use an extended rod to fix the ceiling fan down or if the ceiling is too low, you may have to use a short fixing rod (or use a floor fan).
More or less, these are the essential questions. However there are few more additional points more from esthetic point of view.
1. Do you want ceiling fan with lights?
2. Do you want a remote control, pull chain/cord? These additional needs are good to use but add a little bit cost.
Ok, now that you have finalized your requirements, let us go through the ceiling fan parameters you need to consider in order to meet your needs.
Selecting the right Size for Ceiling FanCeiling fan size is measured by blade span (the diameter of the sweep). The sizes vary from 24 inches to 80 inches. It is natural that when your room size is small, you pick up a smaller fan and vice versa. Here is a general guideline for selecting the size:
Room Size | Suggested Fan Size
Up to 75 Sq Ft | 29 – 36 inches
76 – 144 Sq Ft | 36 – 42 inches
145 – 225 Sq Ft | 44 inches
226 – 400 Sq Ft | 50 – 54 inches
Source: American Lighting Association, 2003
Fan capacity CFM
CFM stands for Cubic Feet per Minute – this is the amount of air the fan displaces. Ceiling Fans with higher CFM circulate more air.
Fans with higher sizes have higher CFM. So CFM is not a completely independent parameter and it depends on the ceiling fan size as well.
Approx Room Size | CFM
Up to 100 Sq Ft2000 – 3000
75 – 250 Sq Ft3000 – 6000
150 – 500 Sq Ft6000 – 9000
250 – 700 Sq Ft7000 – 10000
As you can see, there is overlap in the room sizes. The general ranges are given here and you can choose what suits your situation best. For example, for a room with an infant, you may want very high CFM. Similar in a large room, instead of having one 72″ fan, you can have two 52″ ceiling fans.
When you are selecting a fan by size, more or less, you are also selecting the CFM. Don’t be overwhelmed by CFM, just select the ceiling fan size that suits your room.
Ceiling Height and the Mounting systemMeasure the ceiling height of the room. There are two considerations in this regard:
- The fan blades should have a minimum clearance of 7 feet above the floor (optimum height is 8-9 feet).
- Similarly the fan blades should have a minimum clearance of 8-10 inches from the ceiling in order to allow air flow.
- Ceiling fan should be mounted in the middle of the room/area with enough clearance from the walls.
Based on the ceiling height, you can select the mounting system for the fan. The available mountings systems are as follows:
- Standard Mounts come with 3-5 inch pole or rod. Normally this rod is 1/2″ or 3/4″ diameter pipe.
- Extended mounts come with an extension rod, the length of which you can choose depending upon the ceiling height. These are suitable for high ceilings.
- Flush mounts come with out the rod, and the fan can be directly fitted to the ceiling. This is suitable for low ceiling. However many manufacturers have specially designed fans for low ceilings called ‘Hugger’ or ‘Low Profile’ ceiling fans. These are good for rooms with low ceiling. However, these fans give less air as the cleance between the blades and ceiling is very less.
- Sloped mounts are meant for angled ceilings.
Ceiling Fan RatingSuitable Area
UL Listed for dry locationsliving room, dining room, bedrooms, hallways
UL Listed for damp locationsbathrooms, indoor pools, protected outdoor areas
UL Listed for wet locationsOutdoor areas and interior locations where there is a risk of water falling on the equipmentBasically the rating means that fans are designed to work in a damp or wet atmosphere and their electrical wiring and parts are suitably protected.
Other Requirements
Other features are relatively less complex to select. You can go ahead based on your likes and dislikes.
- Ceiling fan with lights: If you like to replace an existing light fitting in a room with a fan cum light fitting, this is most convenient. You have a choice of umber of lights in the fan, the size (width) of the light fitting and the style (modern, traditional, art deco etc) . While choosing a fan with lights, consider Energy Star rated fans to reduce consumption of energy and your bills.
- Another choice is about the way of control: Remote control, pull chain or cord and wall control.