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The guide on how to choose between ceiling fans and air conditioning

As the owner of a lodge or guesthouse, you’ll go to great measures to ensure that all your guests are comfortable. After all, creating a welcoming environment, with fantastic service and the opportunity for memorable experiences is the best way to ensure happy visitors and in turn, return customers. At Sky Fans, we’ve dedicated our time to honing the skill of crafting comfort and luxury for people who create inviting and opulent spaces. This is why we’ve decided to explore creating the perfect haven for guests this summer by tackling the debate of installing air conditioning versus designer ceiling fans.

For many international travellers, the warm, relatively dry South African summers are a far cry from the weather in their own countries. And while SA’s sunny disposition is part of what makes it such an appealing destination, it’s important to consider that your visitors expect cooling options in their accommodation – especially those seeking a luxury experience. While air conditioning is a popular option, and can quickly cool a space to practically sub-zero temperatures, we’ve found that ceiling fans offer an environmentally friendly alternative to keep travellers comfortable.

Ceiling Fan in a guest lodge

How much electricity does a fan use compared to air conditioning?

Opting to use ceiling fans as opposed to air conditioning, means using only a fraction of the electricity to power it. This saves guest house owners a phenomenal amount of money spent on powering their cooling but also provides a more environmentally friendly and sustainable way to keep guests comfortable. With a rise in environmental consciousness on a global scale, this can be a valuable selling point to socially conscious travellers and may even mean lower tariffs for them. If the environment is still too warm, you can use a combination of ceiling fans and air conditioning, which will still allow you to use less power and ensure that your visitors are cool and comfortable.

Ceiling fans in interior design

While the typical white air conditioning box is a norm, it’s certainly not as visually appealing as a hand-crafted colonial paddle fan, for example. If you’re looking to create a designer space that your visitors won’t forget – it pays to use a designer ceiling fan in place of, or in conjunction with, your air con for a more luxurious-looking interior.

Ceiling fan maintenance is a breeze

If you take the time to choose a high-quality ceiling fan made by experienced professionals, it will provide you with years of cooling, with little maintenance. At Sky Fans, we hand-test each ceiling fan to ensure that we’re only offering you exceptional quality, taking into account the weight of each component as well as testing the motorised equipment, to ensure a long-lasting final product.

Maintenance – With an air conditioner, you need to replace the filter every 30 days. By contrast, ceiling fans, if installed correctly, only really need to be cleaned or serviced every 4 months to a year.

Costing – Ceiling fans cost roughly R18 a month to maintain, whereas air conditioning units will cost about R1150 per month – which includes replacing air filters etc. In terms of power usage, ceiling fans cost about 0.15c an hour, while an air conditioner costs roughly R3,60 an hour.

The extra benefits of using a ceiling fan

Many guests get sinus irritation, coughs and other allergy and cold-like symptoms from air conditioning – especially if they’ve just been on a long flight. In these instances, the temperate and well-circulated air created by the ceiling fan will serve as a welcome alternative.

Relaxed women drinking he coffee

Time and cost involved in setting up a ceiling fan

From a business point of view, getting a ceiling fan may be a good investment as it is quick to install and cheap to maintain compared to the standard aircon unit. Installing a ceiling fan also does not generally require one to shape the room for the unit or cabling. For larger air conditioning installations, setup usually requires walls to be broken or support brackets to be installed, which takes time and costs money.

Conclusion

When making the choice of aircon versus ceiling fan, one needs to take their environment into account. If there is constant sweltering heat, the aircon route may be the best way to go as air conditioners provide you with fast cooling and extensive temperature control. In South Africa, one may not need such extremes and rather opt for a quiet, subtle cooling alternative, the ceiling fan.

Contact Us for more information on how to find luxurious, designer ceiling fans that are right for your guesthouse or lodge. Also, stay tuned to the blog for more helpful tips on creating beautiful, functional spaces.

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