Residential Ceiling fans VS HVLS fans

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The High-Volume Low-Speed fans are giant ceiling fans that distribute a large amount of air at low rotational speed and their size is at least 7 feet (2.1 m) or greater.

The Residential Ceiling fans or we can call them Wall mounted fans or Conventional Ceiling Fans are the small ceiling fans that move at high velocity and create small turbulent air streams.

Here is the difference between Residential Ceiling fans and HVLS fans and why the HVLS fans are the best fit for ventilating a large area rather than residential fans.

Size:

The residential ceiling fans are generally 3 to 4 ft in diameter. These fans are generally used in small spaces like rooms around 150 sq. feet or so. We usually see these fans in houses. These fans are easy to hook to the ceiling with little help. While the HVLS fans are large fans spanning 7 ft to 24 ft in diameter. These fans are suitable for workshop or building that is bigger than 2500 Sq. Ft and the roof height more than 18ft. These fans are way larger than other ceiling fans and cover a wide area. They need special joints and support as they are heavy and big.

Area:

One residential ceiling fan can cover about 150 sq feet area. In order to cover a large area of 15000 sq. feet, 100 such ceiling fans would be required. An HVLS fan can cover 15000 sq feet of area. These fans are large in size hence they can cover a large area.

Power Consumption:

The residential fans consume 2.5 watts/sq feet area. In order to cover a large area, many residential fans would be needed to install and thus high power consumption. One HVLS fan is enough for 15000 Sq. feet of area. This fan consumes 0.1 watts per Sq. feet area. The fan moves at the speed of 50 rounds per minute (rpm). The fan moves at a slow and consistent speed and consumes less power. This fan reduces the power consumption by 30% to 70%. HVLS Fans reduce energy consumption to a significant level.

Airflow:

The residential fans rotate at high speed but move Low volume of air in the room. On the other hand, the HVLS fan rotates at a low speed and moves a high volume of air surrounding the room. Residential Fans move air rapidly in the downward motion and create a wind-chill effect thus room feels cooler than before. The HVLS fans fan distributes and increases the airflow in the room constantly and thus human body feels 4 to 5 degrees less temperature due to the wind chill effect.

Feel:

The residential fans move at high speed and it flows air at low volume moreover it makes noise while functioning. It doesn’t give a natural feeling of airflow to the occupants and it is somewhat disturbing due to the noise it makes. The HVLS fans move at low speed and flow the high volume of air surrounding the room and it makes very little noise. The occupants would feel like a natural cool breeze is flowing around the room.

Comfort level:

The Residential fan makes so much noise while functioning and it does not cause breeze like airflow. The air volume is low in this kind of fan. A person gets irritated after a certain time remaining under the residential fan. The HVLS fan moves slowly and silently and creates a cool breeze flowing around the room. A person can stay for a longer period and comfortably work as the HVLS fan does not disturb by making noise and keep the area cool.

Noise:

The residential ceiling fans make immense noise while functioning. This can be disturbing to the occupants. The HVLS fans operate quietly making very little noise. Even though these fans are large in size, they do not make much noise.

Capital Cost:

The capital cost on a residential fan is very low as compared to an HVLS Fan. However, one residential fan is not enough to cool the large area. The HVLS fans are more appropriate for the large premises. The Capital cost of an HVLS fan is high but it runs for the long term so you can consider it as an investment rather than an expense. You can save the expenses of 10 to 12 residential ceiling fans by installing just one HVLS fan.