It's that time of year when cooler weather prompts you to open your windows, power down the air conditioner and rely a little more heavily on your ceiling fan to save energy and money.
This September 18 is the second annual National Ceiling Fan Day (NCFD). To encourage consumers to celebrate the date, more than 20 ceiling fan manufacturers, the American Lighting Association (ALA) and leading energy-conservation groups are inviting everyone to join the fight to reduce energy use by turning off their central cooling systems and, instead, stay cool with ceiling, floor, desk and wall fans to save trillions of kilowatt hours of energy consumption.
As an added incentive to take part in the energy-saving endeavor, many fan retailers are offering discounts to consumers in conjunction with NCFD. To locate a list of local ALA-member companies, go to www.AmericanLightingAssoc.com.
Consider this: According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), ceiling fans use far less electricity than air conditioners. In fact, many ceiling fans consume as few as 15 watts of electricity, while some AC systems can gorge on upwards of 5,000 watts when used for the same amount of time.
While saving energy might motivate you to power off the AC, putting more money back in your pocket isn't bad either. Operating a fan can cost as little as $1 per month, compared to approximately $100 per month (or more) to run an AC unit in a typical home. That translates to quite a cost savings. To maximize how much you can save, use an Energy Star-certified fan. Ceiling fans that have earned the Energy Star label are 60 percent more efficient than conventional fans.
Started by fan manufacturer Fanimation, NCFD is supported by the ALA and its many ALA-manufacturing members, including Casablanca/Hunter Fan Company, Craftmade, Emerson Ceiling Fans, Feiss-Monte Carlo, Kichler, Matthews Fan Company, Minka-Aire; Progress Lighting, Quorum International, Regency Ceiling Fans, Savoy House, Sea Gull Lighting, The Modern Fan Co., Vaxcel International, and Westinghouse Lighting, as well as The Home Depot and Lowe's Companies, Inc.
In addition, many of the nation's leaders in energy conservation and efficiency are also on board. Those supporters include the EPA's Energy Star Program, Alliance to Save Energy, Affordable Comfort, Inc., and Environmental and Energy Study Institute.
The mission of NCFD is to bring national attention to escalating energy costs and consumption. The day is devoted to saving energy and raising awareness about how ceiling fans can fit into an overall energy and cost-savings plan. Put plainly: if every American would participate in NCFD by turning off their AC and using fans to cool down on September 18, the U.S. will save enough energy to power the entire city of New York for months.
For more information about how to save energy with ceiling fans and for a list of ALA-member fan retailers and manufacturers, go to www.AmericanLightingAssoc.com.
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