The debate over ceiling fans continues to spin around many a design circle. While some claim that ceiling fans downplay room aesthetics, champions of such fans highlight their practicality. In this article, we'll dissect the love-hate relationship between designers and why some dislike having ceiling fans in their design. 

Table 1: Ceiling Fans – Pros and Cons

Efficient Air Circulation

One of ceiling fans’ major selling points is their ability to efficiently circulate air in a room. They create a cool breeze during hotter months and help distribute warm air evenly during colder periods, a feature that stands resilient against changing seasons. The condition for this to do well is understanding the science behind ceiling fans. If you want your ceiling fan to effectively reach the corners of your room, it is not just about the width of your fan fixture and the blades. The height of your top clearance or downrod affects the capability to reach further, as the more clearance you have, the more air the blades can pick up and push down into your room.

Fan Mounting Options (Image Source: Luxe Decor)

Constant Wind Coverage

Ceiling fans provide consistent wind coverage, easing the strain on HVAC systems. By utilizing ceiling fans, homeowners can lower energy consumption - a critical benefit considering the ongoing environmental concerns.

“It Interferes with my Ceiling Design”.

Aesthetically, ceiling fans might not match a room’s overall design and could obstruct interesting ceiling features. They’re often viewed as practical but not aesthetically pleasing – a large reason many designers aren't fans of the fan. Some older designs have 5 blades and are long which makes it look like someone added “propellers” into a space and converted it into a helicopter.

“It is Harder to Maintain/Clean”

With a floor standing fan, all you need to do is open the cage and take out the blades to hose it down. A stark disadvantage of ceiling fans, from a designer's perspective, is their difficulty to clean. Unlike light fixtures or compact standing fans, ceiling fans require more effort to maintain due to their height and size. A ladder is most definitely needed and in certain cases, where the bedframe is built in and immovable, there is an issue in placing the ladder to gain access to the ceiling fan. 

“Strobe Light Issues”

Ceiling fans situated beneath a light source are liable to produce a strobe light effect. This can create an uncomfortable lighting situation that interrupts the tranquillity of a space. The designer will have to skirt around the ceiling fan to avoid casting a beam of light into fan’s blade. In certain situations, this is unavoidable especially if the room is small and no matter how you shift the lights, there is no way you can avoid this.

“Strobing” effect of ceiling fan on lights (Image taken from: Em Reno Blog )

The best way to deal with strobe lighting issues (which is a pet peeve amongst designers) is to use a layered lighting approach and not depend on the light mounted on the ceiling for total illumination. By layering, you can use cove lights integrated into the carpentry, standing lamps and table lamps. The sum of lighting illuminating the space becomes spread out and this helps to avoid strobe lighting issue.

Is there a solution?

So, do designers unequivocally hate ceiling fans? Not necessarily. Like any component in design, ceiling fans have their appropriate settings. However, they require a careful balance of their pros and cons to avoid sabotaging overall design cohesiveness and functionality. Perhaps it's less about animosity and more about awareness of when and where to use them to their best advantage. 

Posted on 23rd November 2023

Written by Astley Ng – the designerd

SIXIDES Editorial Team