Ceiling fans are a wonderful way to save energy and keep warm or cool air circulating year round. When installing two or more ceiling fans in a large room, consider wiring them to turn on and off in unison.

Outdoor Ceiling Fans for Screened-In Porch
For many years we had enjoyed our 16 feet x 20 feet screened-in porch that was situated directly adjacent to our 40-year old rambler. It was a comfortable place to sit and enjoy the outside without having to be plagued by the insects. We had even installed a pair of white outdoor ceiling fans by Hunter to assist to keep the air moving on the particularly warm, humid, stagnant summer days that Washington DC is famous for.

Our old screened-in porch had a flat ceiling consisting of bead-board. It was lower than 8 feet. We chose two Hunter fans that could be mounted close to the ceiling to ensure that we and our guests would not get maimed by the spinning blades. These fans also had two lights mounted on them and could be dimmed with remote controls.

Indoor Ceiling Fans for a Family Room
When we decided to renovate our home and turn the screened-in porch into a much larger (16 feet x 30) feet enclosed family room/dining room combination, we decided that numerous windows with screens and fans would also need to be included.

To ensure that we didn’t need to worry about this and to give the family room a large, open feel we decided to build the room with a cathedral ceiling. While two fans were sufficient for the screened-in porch, the larger family room really needed three. But which fans?

We knew that we needed to suspend the fans low enough to clear the slanted cathedral ceiling – by 18 – 24 inches to allow for sufficient airflow regardless whether the fans were pushing air up or down. We also know that they had to be very quiet. We would be reading and eating and having in conversations and listening to music in the room and the last thing we needed where mechanical whirring sounds.

Given that the fans would be mounted close to 14 feet off the floor, the installation had to be solid and the reliability of the fans absolute – the last thing we wanted was to have to climb up a very tall ladder and do maintenance or have to install a replacement.

We searched the catalogs and asked about the various sizes of fans for a 16 feet x 30 feet room. Many stores told us that we only needed two fans and that 48 inches fans were fine. Others suggested three 52 inch fans.

We asked question and read ceiling fan literature. Most importantly we stood back and watched and listened as we turned each potential fan purchase on and off, changed speeds, changed direction, and tried out hardest to do it harm. While none of the fans we checked out actually suffered damage during our tests, we settled on a 52- inch fan Hunter Douglas fan. These were white, were reversible for winter and summer use and the 24 inch extension arms also matched the fan color.

Controlling the Ceiling Fans
After deciding on the fans, the next thing we needed to decide was how the fans would be controlled.

There are three banks of switches to control the recessed and spot lighting in our family room. Before we could determine how many fan controls we needed, we asked ourselves this question.

“Under what situation would we turn on only one or two of the fans and not the other(s)?”

The answer (although certainly not environmentally friendly) was simply that we could not think of one. We looked around for the solution and found a nice rotary switch that would handle all three fans and allow for low, medium, and high settings. We wired it all up and then came the moment of truth.

We turned the switch to the high position and the fans started to turn – all in unison. It was somehow a very calming feeling. Faster and faster they turned and the comfort level of the room immediately started to improve. We backed the speed off to medium and the fans smoothly took up their new assigned pace. One more click to the low setting and the air barely moved. It was a very calming experience.

As we sit here now with the fans quietly spinning overhead we realize how much we would have missed them if we had simply enclosed the porch and relied on central air conditioning. Sometimes the old ways are the best ways.