One of the tips in the greening book talks about ceiling fans, and how they can be used to save energy in the summer and winter. I happen to have a ceiling fan in my living room. I also happen to love ceiling fans - they make me think of lazy summer days in the South. Not that I’ve ever spent lazy summer days in the South - I guess I’ve just seen them in movies. To make a long story short, if ceiling fans can help save energy, then I’m there. One thing I didn’t understand was that the direction of the fan should be reversed in the winter. I mean, which way is reverse?

Of course google always has the answer. And the answer is that clockwise is reverse for ceiling fans. So in the winter, you’re supposed to flip that little switch on the fan to go in reverse to save 10% on heating costs. My own lessons learned from flipping this switch are as follows:

1. dustbunnies rain upon you when you flip the switch
2. I have been running the ceiling fan in the wrong direction this whole summer.