How High To Hang A Ceiling Fan
The Spinifex Team is regularly asked how high we recommend hanging a ceiling fan. There is no right answer to this question because every installation has its own characteristics and personal tastes vary. We do however encourage people to think about the following important factors:
Minimum height
The blades of a ceiling fan must be at least 2.1m (7ft) above the floor to comply with Australian building codes. For low ceilings if possible select ceilings fans with features to minimise their enroachment into a room. Read more on this subject in Ceiling Fans For Low Ceilings.
Circulation requirement
Air flow analysis has shown that a ceiling fan benefits from at least 30cm of space between the blades and the ceiling to work efficiently. In bedrooms where high air velocities are generally not required a smaller gap may be acceptable.
Flickering / Strobing
When the path of a ceiling fan blade moves across the path of a beam of light it can create a flickering effect like a strobe light. This distracting flickering can be avoided or minimised by mounting your ceiling lights and ceiling fans so that they don’t coincide.
Note that all lamps have a different light dispersal angle. To calculate how to space lighting and ceiling fans read Avoiding Light Flicker From Ceiling Fans.
Pendant lighting
Ceiling fans can be mounted adjacent to pendant lighting with minimal movement of the pendant when hung correctly. This is done by:
- Ensuring a sufficient gap is left between the fan blades and the pendant. A rule of thumb is to leave about 1 meter, with large light weight pendants requiring more distance and smaller heavier pendants requiring less distance.
- Mounting the ceiling fan at the same height as the pendant so it is exposed to predominately vertical rather than horizontal air movement.
Obstacles
Avoid placing a ceiling fan where it risks striking people or objects. Also ensure architectural features don’t significantly restrict the air being drawn into the fan or expelled from it.
Low ceilings: (2.4m to 2.7m)
A 0.3m (1 ft) drop from the ceiling is usually best to minimise the risk of blade strike and to limit the fan’s intrusion into your head space. For lower ceilings also consider fans designed for short drops like the Altus.
Medium height ceilings (2.7m to 4.0m)
This is a great ceiling height for ceiling fans. It leaves enough room to hang a ceiling fan on a suitably long down rod for maximum efficiently, enough depth to house a quality light if needed, and is still high enough not to intrude into your head space. Ceiling fans hung in rooms with medium height ceilings often go unnoticed when people first view the space. Generally leaving more than the minimum 30cm drop is a good idea to maintain the ceiling fan’s proportion with the height of the room. Be guided by your personal taste and what your lighting will allow. If you initially hang your fans on longer down rods you can always shorten their drop later, but lengthening them is more difficult.
High ceilings (>4.0m)
A general rule of thumb to balance the feel of a space is to hang ceiling fans about 1/3 of the distance from the ceiling to the floor. For increased cooling effect it may be necessary to lower the fans.
If you would like more information on ceiling fan placement ring or email Spinifex. The Spinifex Team have a lot of experience integrating our products into architectural spaces and are happy to share this knowledge with you.