Brighten Up and Warm Up: 9 Ways of Using Lights and Fans to Create Warmth in your Home

There are many ways you can use lights and fans to create warmth in your home. As the temperature drops, we often reach for the switch to turn the heat up. But, before you dial up the heat, consider other ways you might be able to create warmth in your home with tools you may already have: lights and ceiling fans. While they might not replace your home’s heating systems entirely, strategically using lights and fans to create warmth will have your home feeling cosier and even help you conserve energy.

Let’s explore how using lights and fans to create warmth will make your home feel cosier and more inviting this season.

The Unexpected Warmth of Light

While primarily designed for illumination, lighting can also be used to create a “feeling “ of warmth. This feeling of warmth is about making us feel warmer, even if the temperature of the room hasn’t changed. Much like when it’s cold, you can feel even colder looking at someone who isn’t dressed for the cold!  By adopting a few of these simple tips with your lighting you can easily create spaces that “feel” warmer.

• Layer your lighting to create a space that feels multi dimensional and more inviting.  Lamps are the perfect way to add layers of light.
• Use accent lighting to focus light on a small area, or a corner, or a piece of artwork or furniture.  This will create pockets of light that give a sense of the space being warm and cosy.  Lamps, such as floor lamps or table lamps, up/down lights, picture lights and spotlights are great forms of accent lighting.
• Switch out your globes.  Globes emit their own colour temperature.  This measure of temperature is known as kelvin, and is a measure of the warmth of the white light emitted.  Low kelvin emits a “warm white”, while higher kelvin ranges emit a “cool white”.  To create a sense of warmth and cosiness, select warmer white colour temperatures for your globes.  Better still, switch out your old globes for tri-colour globes that allow you to select the colour temperature between warm white, cool white and daylight, at the flick of a switch on your globe!

• Use a dimmer to lower the lighting levels in your spaces.
• Add some wall sconces that produce a soft, intimate glow radiating from behind the fixture.  Wall sconces also give a nod back to the candle recesses housed on walls, adding to that sense of warmth and nostalgia.
• Use strip lighting to create a subtle light that is out of direct sight.

• Use light fittings with shades or diffusers that help diffuse the light and create the effect of emitting a warm glow.  Even fittings with diffusers that create shadows will have the immediate impact of helping a space feel cosier.
• Add a sense of yesteryear to your lighting scheme.  This might be as simple as adding a lighting style, such as a lantern style lamp; or even simpler, adding an LED filament globe to an existing fitting, adding a touch of old world charm.

The Winter Secret of Your Ceiling Fan

You probably associate ceiling fans with cooling you down in the summer. But did you know most have a secret weapon for winter warmth? It’s all about the direction of the blades.

• Reverse the Spin for Warmth: Look for a small switch on the motor housing of your ceiling fan, or in later models, on the remote. This switch allows you to change the direction of the blade rotation. In the winter, you want your fan to rotate clockwise when viewed from below.
  When the blades rotate clockwise, they gently push the warm air that naturally rises to the ceiling back down into the living space. Warm air is lighter than cold air, so it accumulates near the ceiling, often leaving the lower parts of the room feeling cooler.

• Low Speed is Key: For winter use, keep your ceiling fan on a low speed. You don’t want a strong draft; the goal is to gently circulate the trapped warm air.
• Complementary Action: Use your ceiling fan in conjunction with your heating system. By distributing the warm air more evenly, your heating systems might not have to work as hard to reach your desired temperature, potentially saving you energy.
• Preventing Hot and Cold Spots: By circulating the air, your ceiling fan helps to eliminate temperature imbalances within a room, making it feel consistently warmer.

The Power of Synergy: Using Lights and Fans to Create Warmth

Don’t underestimate the power of using lights and fans to create warmth a more comfortable home. By understanding how the right lighting can create a feeling of warmth, and how ceiling fans help to circulate warmth, you can strategically consider using lights and fans to create warmth and to complement your heating system, potentially save energy, and enjoy a cosier living space. So, flip that fan switch, strategically place those lamps, and brighten up your way to a warmer home!

Speak to one of the lighting and ceiling fan experts at Rovert Lighting & Electrical about making some simple steps toward effectively using lights and fans to create warmth and cosy spaces in your home this season.