What Size Ceiling Fan for Bedroom

Ceiling fans are a great way to save money on your electricity bill, and once you’ve installed one, you’ll probably find that you never want to go back to the pre-ceiling fan days. They’re such a simple feature that attaches to your ceiling, usually around your light fitting, that can keep you cool in the summer, but also warm in the winter just by reversing the fan direction.

All you need is an electric circuit already set where you’re wanting to install the fan, which is why it’s usually done by your light. So long as you have that then the process of installing a ceiling fan is actually pretty easy - just make sure you have a big ladder and a spotter.

But the real benefit is that you’ll see the benefits reflected in your energy bill, as you’ll have to use less air conditioning in the summer, and less heating during the winter.

However, if you’re convinced that a ceiling fan is going to be right for the key areas of your home, then the next step is to find out what size ceiling fan you actually need for each room.

Luckily, it’s pretty easy to figure out, and this helpful guide will help you figure out the size ceiling fan that you need for every room.

Different Sizes

Ceiling fans come in a variety of sizes and can be categorized in a lot of different ways. These could include style, color, lights, and mounting type. However, size is the most important and is measured by the diameter width of the fan blades.

A ceiling fan is a little tricky to measure, as they very rarely have an even number of blades, with five- and three-blade ceiling fans being the most common. This means that you can’t measure from the tip of one blade to the tip of an opposing blade, so the diameter must be worked out another way. Essentially what they do is imagine that the fan, when it’s rotating, is drawing a circle. The length from one side of the circle to its opposite side is the size of the blades.

Why Does Size Matter

It’s actually pretty important to make sure that you get the right size, as fans are designed to be able to move a certain volume of air. Getting a ceiling fan that is too small means that it won't be able to move all the air around and you’ll see less of a benefit. Even increasing the speed of the fan isn’t going to do anything to increase the volume of air it can move around.

To put some numbers to it, a 44-inch ceiling fan will be able to move about 3,6500 cubic feet of air per minute. So if you were to install this large ceiling fan in a small room, you’d have bought a fan that can move way more air than what is needed.

Not only that, but a massive fan like that would totally dominate the room. On the other hand, a small isn’t going to do enough and would therefore be a bad investment. Yes, it’s definitely important to make sure that you have the correct size ceiling fan for your room.

What Size Ceiling Fan

In order to work and be the most effective, a ceiling fan needs to be correctly sized for each area of operation. This means that you need to match the diameter of the fan blade span with the room.

To find out the correct size, here is a handy table:

Room	Room Size	Blade Size
Small office or powder room	Up to 50 square feet	Below 29 inches
Small bathroom or mudroom	50 to 75 square feet	29 to 36 inches
Medium bathroom, bedroom, home office	75 to 175 feet	42 to 48 inches
Large bathroom, large bedroom	175 to 350 square feet	52 to 56 inches
Large living room, room with high ceiling	Over 350 square feet	60 inches or more

 

Generally, a ceiling fan that is less than 29-inches is a special-purpose fan, and so are only really used in the smallest area of your home. Typically, areas like that don’t particularly need to have a fan, but if you want to install one, you’ll need to make sure you’re only using these fans in small spaces no more than 50 square feet.

There are even smaller fans that you can buy that are less than 20 inches wide that can be used equally as tiny areas, like closets, computer/media racks, or any small area that needs to stay cool.

Ceiling Fans Between 29 and 36 Inches

This fan is going to be more effective in a medium-sized bathroom, most children’s rooms, and home offices. This is a pretty good fit for the majority of spaces in regular-sized houses. They don’t take up too much room, and they are also easy to install.

Ceiling Fans Between 42 and 48 Inches

These ceiling fans are the most common because they work for spaces with a large range, from 75 to 175 square feet. This generally includes large bathrooms, bedrooms, and medium-sized living rooms or kitchens.

You’ll have the biggest range of options when it comes to style and color with this size as most ceiling fans on the market come within this size range.

Ceiling Fans Between 52 and 56 Inches

A large ceiling fan will suit the largest areas of your house and still be able to move the air around effectively. However, because these fans are so large and heavy, you will need to pay close attention to the strength of the fan mount within the ceiling. It might be that you need to open up the ceiling in order to create additional support for a fan of this size.

Ceiling Fans Over 60 Inches

These super-sized ceiling fans will rarely be found in residential areas, and are far more common in spaces like studios, small gyms, or auditoriums. Anywhere that’s over 350 square feet that still needs a ceiling fan is going to have to look at making sure that they are able to safely mount the fan on the ceiling.

Bottom Line

There are many different kinds of ceiling fans, you will definitely be able to find one that suits the color and style of the rest of your house, however the only thing that you really need to make sure that you keep in mind is the size. If you want the best benefits then you need to make sure that the ceiling fan is the correct size for that room.