A ceiling fan is a simple electrical device that circulates air in a room and “cools” you at a low cost (both in terms of product cost as well as operating cost). Selecting a correct size ceiling fan and placing it in an optimum position will keep you comfortable in summer as well as winter. In this guide, let us focus on the size aspect of a ceiling fan and see a ceiling fan size chart. With the help of this ceiling fan size guide, you can make a proper decision for your next ceiling fan purchase that fits your room perfectly.
An Introduction to Ceiling Fan
If you are familiar with ceiling fans, then you probably know that it is essentially a simple AC Motor in a housing with wings or blades on it. When you provide power to the motor of the ceiling fan, it starts rotating, as does the blades attached to it. As a result, it starts circulating air and gives you a “cooling” effect.
The electrical components of a ceiling fan consist of a stator, a rotor and a capacitor (all these are part of the motor) and a regulator. Although traditionally, the ceiling fan motor is a single-phase AC Motor (a capacitor start motor), now-a-days, we are seeing BLDC Motors more commonly.
The construction and implementation of a single-phase AC Motor in a ceiling fan is very simple. We already the importance of capacitor in a ceiling fan in an earlier guide. But when it comes to BLDC Motor ceiling fans, it consists of a lot of electronics to drive the motor.
As we control the BLDC Motor using electronic regulation/commutation, we can easily add additional features such as a remote control, forward and reverse rotation and smart assistant integration.
Does Ceiling Fan Cools Air?
A long-standing question about ceiling fans is: does it cool the air? Technically speaking, a ceiling fan doesn’t really cool the air. It just circulates the air. We can dive a little bit more into this topic.
As ceiling fan rotates, it increases the air speed in the area. The result of this increased acceleration of air is convection and evaporation. In convection, the amount of heat transferred from our body to the surrounding air depends on the air speed.
With the help of ceiling fan, we can easily achieve this high air speed. As a result, the amount of heat released from our body due to forced convection is also high. Thus, we can achieve thermal comfort.
Apart from convection, ceiling fan also accelerates the process of evaporation. We know that our body releases heat in the form of sweat. The high ai speed from the ceiling fan causes “wind chill”, an effect which speeds up the evaporation process and thus making our body feel cooler.
How to Choose a Ceiling Fan?
Ceiling Fans come in a variety of shapes, sizes, material, blade counts etc. Choosing a right ceiling fan will not only provide you with efficient cooling but also saves a lot of energy in the longer run.
Even though this article is specifically intended for ceiling fan size guide, we feel that doing some research on the best ceiling fan that suits your need is also very important.
So, here is a small guide on how to choose the right ceiling fan.
Location of Ceiling Fan
An important question before buying a ceiling fan is where do you use it? Is the ceiling fan for home use or office/industry use? Residential ceiling fans are very simple devices with decent air flow and reasonably low cost. But commercial ceiling fans are slightly more expensive but at the same time provide you with high air flow with very good energy efficiency.
Coming back to residential fans, again you can divide them into indoor and outdoor fans. Indoor Ceiling Fans will keep your room feel cooler during summers and during winters, they help in distributing the heat.
But outdoor ceiling fans are built differently as there is a high chance that they might be exposed to high temperatures, rain or humidity. Hence, outdoor ceiling fans have to undergo additional testing and ratings, which makes them slightly more costly.
You can use outdoor fans for indoor use but not the other way around.
Ceiling Fan Style
You have beautiful furniture and artwork in your living room and the ceiling fan should complement the existing setup. Hence, the design and style of a ceiling fan is also equally important.
Most ceiling fan manufacturers offer several design options to choose from such as a traditional fan with simple design elements to bring warmth to the space or a modern styling with slim design and contemporary colors.
Blades of a ceiling fan also come in different shapes, styling and colors. Some have a matte finish while others come with brushed nickel style.
Size of Ceiling Fan
Here is the topic of this discussion: the size of ceiling fan. We will see more about this in the next ceiling fan size guide section. But for the time being, the diameter of the fan determines the amount of air it can circulate with respect to its rotational speed.
A larger diameter fan can circulate large amounts of air at relative low RPM (ceiling fan’s rotational speed) when we compare it to a smaller diameter fan. Apart from the air flow, the size of the room is also an important factor in selecting the correct ceiling fan size.
With or Without Lights
Some ceiling fans come with lights attached to the stator part. You can use these lights as the main room lights or in case you need additional lighting than the regular room lights can provide.
Lights in ceiling fans may also have a dimmer option so that you set the brightness as per the mood/requirement. If you want ceiling fan with lights, then we suggest you to opt for LED lighting as they are very efficient, last longer and also you can get different color temperatures.
Controls
Pull chain controls are still popular in ceiling fans. If you have a relatively low ceiling, then you can opt for this type of control. Apart from pull chains, you also get wall mounted switches, a remote control or smart assistant control.
Type of Mount
Basically, you have three mounting options: Standard Mount with a regular downrod, flush mount with small or no downrod and a slope ceiling mount. Depending on your room size and ceiling structure, you have to choose an appropriate mounting option.
CFM
We measure the air flow of a ceiling fan in cubic feet per minute or CFM. You should choose a fan that has high CFM rating at low power consumption. The design of the blades and the overall aerodynamics will also determine the silent operation of the fan with effective cooling.
Cost
The last and one of the important factors you should consider when buying a ceiling fan is its price. A regular ceiling with simple construction, three blades and without any additional features such as lights or remote control will be the most affordable option.
With added features, the price also bumps up. The fit and finish of the fan also determines the price as a bronze finish ceiling fan will be slightly cheaper than a modern brass finish model.
Ceiling Fan Size Guide
Now that we have seen a basic ceiling fan buying guide, we can proceed with the ceiling fan size guide. The following is a simple ceiling fan size chart with respect to different room sizes.
| Room Size | Type of Room | Ceiling Fan Size |
| Up to 50 sq. ft. | Laundry, Closet | 29” or less |
| 50 to 75 sq. ft. | Large bathroom | 36” (900mm) |
| 75 to 100 sq. ft. | Home Office, Kitchen, Small Bedroom | 42” (1067mm) |
| 100 to 180 sq. ft. | Living Room | 48” (1200mm) |
| 180 to 225 sq. ft. | Large Bedroom, Living Room, Patio, Dining | 52” (1300mm) |
| 224 to 400 sq. ft. | Large Living Room | 56” (1400mm) |
In the following table, we will see the ceiling fan size guide with respect to the air delivery requirements in CFM.
| CFM | Ceiling Fan Size |
| 3,000 – 4,500 | 24” to 36” |
| 4,000 – 5,500 | 36” to 48” |
| 6,200 – 7,500 | 48” to 56” |
| 7,000 – 9,000 | 56” to 72” |
| 9,000 – 11,500 | Greater than 72” |
Conclusion
A ceiling fan is an essential electrical appliance that offers “cooling” effect at relatively low price. They are available in different sizes, shapes, motor options and come with a variety of controls. Choosing the best ceiling fan that suits your need and fits your budget is very important. In this article, we saw the ceiling fan size guide that helps you in selecting the correct ceiling fan size for the specific room or CFM ratings.
