Low Ceiling Solutions - Part 2...the Ceiling Fan, It's Pro's and Con's

In the following missive, you will hear from me, Michelle the Designer, and my husband Brian, the Engineer...and our same side of the coin / different take on lack of natural light situations and the air flow.

Now, I do not want to be redundant...but if you don't read the previous post, you won't know 'exactly' what all the commotion is about! ;) Please, please, please read it before responding! :) Thank you! Here is the link: http://www.hometalk.com/diy/living-room/low-ceiling-solutions-the-bonus-room-turns-into-the-upper-deck-3945145

Mirrors help A LOT to add light and 'breathing' room!

Again, please join this discussion and read the previous post so that this shorthand version of the pics and conversation don't leave you scratching your head...you'll be glad you did!

What the husband said:

Hello all, I am the infamous husband who is the engineer. I am the function to Michelle's form. I felt compelled to respond on the subject of ceiling fans. Prior to my meeting Michelle I embraced the ceiling fan as a fact of life -- it was man code to have one. After Michelle's influence began to rub off of me with the aesthetics of things and in all honesty I do believe most ceiling fans are not very pleasant to the eye and being taller (6'-2") somewhat dangerous.

I heard comments that we must not care about energy usage, well in response to that we do. Having worked as an engineer and a project manager for the largest Building Efficiency/Automation company in the world (Johnson Controls) for several years I learned a few things that are not intuitive. Firstly, the house that you are seeing was/is an Energy Star rated home, though our thermostat never fell below 65 degree and never went above 74 degrees (F) we never had an electric bill above $235 for the two years that we did live there. We had approximately 3,150 sq. ft. of conditioned space (actually 3,143 sq. ft.). and we had a 3.5 ton unit (heat pump with electric heat strips for emergency heat) on the main floor and a 2 ton unit (heat pump with electric heat strips for emergency heat) on the second floor...

Continued...from the man...

In response to our Texas girl who thinks we can't afford windows and believes it is vital to have ceiling fans in the South I merely say -- Wrong.

What many people do not understand with ceiling fans is that they only move air, they do not cool. The cooling effect that people get from fans is called evaporative cooling. It is the moisture (sweat) on your body evaporating. If you do a good job of maintaining the humidity in your house, the effects of ceiling fans would be minimal if non-existent.

The optimum humidity in a home is around 35 to 40%, any lower and skin becomes dry and it becomes uncomfortable in cold weather. Higher humidities (above 55%) create mold and are uncomfortable in warm temperatures. Our old home utilized built-in dehumidifiers and humidifiers to control the humidity within those ranges, making our home feel very comfortable without excessive air movement.

Our house also had HVAC supplies and returns in every room not the typical one or two throughout the house. This allowed for proper air flow via the air handler unit not requiring ceiling fans. Just my honest opinion that our North Carolina home did quite well without ceiling fans.

Back to me - Michelle; So what is your take? If you do not have direct access to windows, what would you have done? :)

Thank you all so much for commenting on the previous post, you've gotten my husband 'in on the act' and it's so fun! Thank you for all the wonderful compliments and kind words.

I have a LOT of gals asking about those sassy mirrors and wanting to know where I found 'em! Here you go! http://www.grandinroad.com/beveled-glass-mirrors/153887

I hope this helps! Happy Saturday! :) Michelle, One Coast Design

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P.S. I'd love for you to please sign up for my upcoming Ezine at: http://onecoastdesign.us6.list-manage.com/subscribe?u=d4b6d5877f35afce8eb14f9e2&id=7c958664f2