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The warm months are close and soon you will begin using your ceiling paddle fan to help cool your house. A ceiling fan properly located could save you up to 15% on your energy bill. In the heat of the summer ceiling fans can increase the comfort level of your home, as the fan blades rotate they circulate the air causing a slight breeze thereby making the room feel cooler, this allows you to set your thermostat higher, saving money on air conditioning bills. These fans do not need a lot of maintenance, but there are a few things that you should do to it. Most important, set the direction the ceiling fan to counterclockwise, it should rotate so that the air blows downward in the summer months.  Next, wash off any dust layer on top of the blades to increase the air flow rate. Then tighten the screws that hold each blade to the brackets. These will slowly loose and can cause an annoying clicking noise and sometimes a vibration and wobble.

Energy Saving Tip: Run ceiling fans counterclockwise on medium to high speeds during hot weather only when the room is occupied.

The cooling effect created by the paddle fan doesn’t change the temperature of the air, it only makes you feel cooler. So turn the fan off when the room is empty. Otherwise, heat from the motor will actually increase the temperature in the room.

The modern marvel of lighting in your home is controlled by switches. They turn the lights on and off with ease with a flip of a switch. But with most switches, that's exactly all they do, just turn the lights on full brightness or off completely. But, you can purchase a switch that adjusts the level of lighting on a given light or set of lights. This switching device is called a dimmer switch. It allows the user to turn the lights on from a very dim setting all the way to full brightness. This switch is a variable resistor of sorts that uses up power and dispates it through the switch's aluminum face plate as heat. The result is less power to the light bulb and thus less brightness.

Dimmer switches come in four different designs. Altough you may be aware of toggle, rotary, and slide-action dimmer switches, automatic dimmers may be a surprise to you. They are quite a unique switch, automatically adjusting the lighting level to maintain the level you set. This is especially usefull in rooms with skylights on days where the clouds roll in and out of the area. During the sunny part of the day, the lighting isn't needed, so the switch will dim or shut off the lights. When the clouds return and the room darkens, the switch detects this change and turns the lights on to a level that brightens the room. No more getting out of your chair to turn the switch on and off. How would you like to own a dimmer switch?