Installing a ceiling fan

bouicca21

Cross fingers I shall shortly be moving into a new (to me) flat. The reception room faces south and has huge windows. I think it will get very hot in the summer. Having recently visited a friend in the US I am very taken with the idea of a ceiling fan.

Does anyone know how easy they are to fit (there won't be any access to the wiring from above), and whether it needs someone who can issue a safety certificate to do it? Also is the sort of unit sold by Argos likely to be ok or should I go somewhere more expensive/specialised?

*j*

No extra wiring is involved, they connect to the lighting circuit that is already there.

Fan speed and direction of rotation are controlled by pull cord switches from the fan unit.

I suspect it just counts as a change of light unit as far as the regulations are concerned, but others will know a lot more about the regs. than I do.

An Argos one should be fine.

BlondeHeadOn

We bought a bog standard one from B&Q a few years back, and was so impressed with how good it is - and how easy to install - we went back the same day and bought another one! We put the second one in the bedroom directly over our bed, and it is fantastic in the summer - even when it is really hot we stay cool at night. The other one we have in the living room, and that is brilliant too.

They don't seem to consume much electricity either, another plus. Incidentally the two we bought have lights as well, so you can just replace an existing light fitting with the combined light-and-fan.

So you don't need a posh expensive one to have a good result.

Hope this helps.

Be_Happy

I've considered buying one of these to blow hot air back down from our high-ceilinged living room in winter. Does anyone know if they are effective for this? Plus, how noisy are they?

bouicca21

My only experience so far is like blondeheadon's. I was in a hot muggy area of the States (and it was only spring!) but the ceiling fan above my bed made the room pleasantly cool. I was so impressed with it - and instantly thought I wanted one (or maybe two ...) in my new place.

I didn't find it noisy, but then I have no difficulty sleeping.

BlondeHeadOn

Re noise levels: The ones that we have 3 speeds, and the fastest speed is a bit noisy - by that I man a hum and a rhythmic slight swishing noise. It's not anywhere near as loud as most air-con units in offices etc.

For sleeping we usually have it on the lowest speed, which is just a lazy slight swishing noise. We very rarely need more than that for sleeping unless it is a really warm night - last summer we did put it on the medium setting a few times because it was really warm, but even that is not an unpleasant noise.

One thing I forgot to mention is that they tend to keep insects and mossies away, as an added benefit - very useful during a muggy Summer!

If you buy one from a place which has them displayed (B&Q had this when we bought ours) you may be able to ask for a demo so you can check the noise before buying.

BlondeHeadOn

Be_Happy wrote: »

I've considered buying one of these to blow hot air back down from our high-ceilinged living room in winter. Does anyone know if they are effective for this? Plus, how noisy are they?

Look for one that allows you to change the direction of the blades, ours lets us change the blades so air will be drawn down from the ceiling if we want this (we don't, we just use them for cooling but it does work having the heat-down-from-the-ceiling-setting).

Ours have two blade settings, worth checking this too when buying. Nit all of them have this option, I think.

I've found the receipt for the ones we bought and they were £39.95 - mind you this was about 10 years ago! But not an expensive or flash make.

RichardD1970

We have 2 like this but with clear blades.

One in the living room and one above our bed.

Very easy to fit, remote control for speed and light on/off and dimming function. Switch on unit for blade direction.

cyclonebri1

I really don't think that changing the direction of the blades is anything other than a sales gimmick.

In your average sized domestic room a decent sized fan will move and mix all the air in a very short time, so air direction doesn't matter.

Regarding bringing warm air down, the cooling effect may outweigh the "felt" effect.;);)

Tigsteroonie

We have a ceiling fan in the living room and another in the bedroom. Marley fitted both I find the bedroom one useful when I have a cold, the air movement seems to help me breathe through my nose rather than get bunged up!

ic

I too have ceiling fans and would recommend them for the bedroom. If you're energy concious, pay attention to the bulbs they take. One I has takes spot bulbs which were easy to get in LED, the other has an enclosed golf-ball bulb and I can't find a decent replacement for that - its also quite dim.