Finding the right ceiling fan for your space can be challenging, especially figuring out precisely what size you need or how many blades your fan should have to create enough airflow within your space. The good news is you don’t need to be an expert to make the right choice. Because we are and we’re here to help.
First, you need to find the correct size or square footage of your chosen space before you can find the right size for your ceiling fan.
You’ll have to get a tape measure, pen, and paper and then measure the room’s width and length. When you have the sizings, multiply the numbers together, giving you the overall square footage; you’ll need to save this for later on.
An important question to ask when attaching spinning blades to the ceiling is- how low can you go? Most ceiling fans come with a down rod attachment that allows you to customise the length of the fan.
As a starting point, make sure you have at least 7 feet between the floor and the ceiling; otherwise, your ceiling fan will be too low and will start to protrude into headspace.
You can determine this by putting your measuring tape in the centre of the ceiling and letting it drop, checking that you have 7+ feet of hanging space for your ceiling fan.
It’s just as important to make sure your measurements are right when considering blade span. Blade lengths can range from 600mm (24 inches) to 1400mm (56 inches). So, when measuring blade length, some standard rules are:
Depending on the size and shape of the space, you may want to choose two or more smaller ceiling fans rather than one large ceiling fan, as this will create a better air circulation radius.
If you’re still a little unsure or all the numbers flying around are feeling a little confusing, just take a look at this table:
|
Suggested Fan |
Suggested |
Room |
Product |
|
76 cm or less (30 inch) |
less than 10m (32 sq. ft.) |
Hallway, Utility Room, Garage, Small Kitchen |
Spitfire |
|
91 cm (36 inch) |
up to 12m (39 sq. ft.) |
Breakfast Bar, Large Bathroom |
|
|
106 cm (42 inch) |
up to 15m (49 sq. ft.) |
Bedroom, Office, Kitchen |
Magnum |
|
122 cm (48 inch) |
up to 23m (75 sq. ft) |
Master Bedroom, Dining Room, Patio, Orangery |
|
|
142 cm (56 inch) |
Over 23m (75 sq. ft) |
Large Room, Hall |
More than 1 fan recommended |
Plastic blades – have become increasingly common. They are long-lasting, easy to clean, and can be moulded into distinctive and unique styles.
Wood blades – Wooden ceiling fan blades are lightweight and quiet, which is perfect for quiet spaces that you need to relax or focus in. A great choice if you have other wooden accents in the room that you want to tie to.
Depending on the kind of wood the fan blades are made of, they might not be able to hack life outdoors; for example, a laminated plywood blade could peel if left in an overly humid climate.
Metal blades – A popular choice for the robust qualities of metals like aluminium and stainless steel that give ceiling fans the resilience to cool you down outdoors or in. Sounds great, doesn’t it?
One little thing to note about metal fan blades, despite their sturdiness, they’re not the quietest of the three options. So, if noise is a concern or you’re looking to get the airflow flowing around a quiet area – avoid the ‘swish’. Wood or plastic might be the front runners for indoors.
It’s not always as easy as 1, 2, 3 blades marks 1, 2, 3 for power.
The number of blades simply isn’t always a show of how powerful the fan is going to be. Some high flow, top quality fans will have three blades, others might only have two and some might have five.
Efficiency is key, don’t skimp on research. Have a thorough look at all the specifications and weigh up the pros and cons. Before you make your choice, there might be more things to consider than you thought at first, but that’s what we’re here for.
Here’s what you need to consider when buying a ceiling fan:
If it ends up coming down to how many blades the fan has, if that’s the only decision left to make, well, then it’s really a question of what you want to see in the centre of the room.
What would a fan be without its motor? A light fixture, essentially.
The motor is super important when considering how efficient your fan is going to be. It’s responsible for the whole ‘fanning’ bit.
Every motor will have a direct or alternating current. The two motor types convert electrical energy into mechanical energy in different ways.
AC motors are powered by immediately connecting to a power source. In comparison, DC motors are supplied through battery or converter power. The motors’ speeds are, however, controlled independently.
Generally speaking, DC motors are more efficient and tend to be quieter.
Both save energy in their own way by continuously moving air around your house and are necessary for creating warm or cool airflow.
Blade pitch just describes the angle at which the blade is mounted, which impacts how the blades will rotate and disperse air.
12 to 14 degrees is pitch perfect for blades to get the air moving substantially around the room.
If the blade angle is set too low, then the blades will cut through the air too easily and the air won’t be disturbed enough to send that cool breeze your way. Whereas blades set at a higher angle will have the opposite issue and the resistance from the air might cause the motor to burn out.
There are four main size categories for ceiling fans; small, medium, large and absolutely massive. We’ve put together an easily digestible chart to help you work out how big is too big. So, armed with the measurements for your room you should be able to work out what size fan makes the most sense for you.
Remember to consider the layout and the purpose of the room and whether it would benefit from a single, larger or a couple of smaller fans.
We know there’s a lot to consider when bringing a ceiling fan into your home, so we hope that this guide has helped make that search easier and helped you find the perfect propelling piece for your space.
Once you've got yourself all set up with your fan, make sure you're keeping it spinning for aslong as possible and yep, that means keeping it clean!
We've done the hard bit of finding out what the best ways to clean and maintain a fan are and, ofcourse, we've laid it all about for your easy following - so check out our how to clean a ceiling fan blog!
Just remember – Make sure you take the dimensions of your space and pay close attention to the measurements of the fan. Otherwise, you might not get the airflow you’re looking for.
Now that you know what to look for it’s time to show off all that shiny new fan knowledge whilst picking yours out!
