All Types Of Ceiling Fans Explained

Keeping your home cool and comfortable throughout the year is a necessity in Australia and understanding the different types of ceiling fans is important in ensuring you choose the right fan for your lifestyle. Ceiling fans are a practical addition to every home, but they can also add a level of sophistication to each room with the right design. There is a wide variety of ceiling fans, each with its own purpose and benefits, making it easy to find the perfect ceiling fan to suit your needs.

Ceiling fans are one of the most important elements to consider when planning the interior décor in your home. With the right ceiling fan, you can make an impressive design statement while also creating a cool and comfortable environment within your home.

It’s important to consider the size of your room when choosing a ceiling fan, as a fan that is too large will make a small room feel even smaller, while a small fan in a large room won’t circulate the air properly. Standard ceiling fan sizes are between 122cm and 132cm in diameter and are suitable for most standard size rooms.

If you have low ceilings in your home, you'll need low profile fans that will work in your space. These ceiling fans sit flush against the ceiling with some only dropping 19.5cm from the ceiling. This helps your room looks less cluttered and more open while also making it safe for everyone in your home.

Ceiling fans for low ceilings are available in a range of styles, giving you plenty of options to choose from to ensure you find the perfect fit for your home. You won’t have to sacrifice on form or function when it comes to low-profile ceiling fans as they are just as stylish as they are practical.

DC or direct current fans are the most energy-efficient ceiling fans available today. Their secret lies in their motor which enables them to deliver a superior airflow while consuming very little energy which in turn reduces your electricity bill. In fact, DC fans costs just 1 cent an hour to run.* As the motor is compact and light, DC fans feature slim designs that blend better into your interiors. They also operate silently making them perfect for quiet areas of your home like the bedroom.  

DC fans give you plenty of flexibility with speed options, allowing you to choose from a gentle breeze to a super high airflow. DC ceiling fans can also be controlled using a remote, making it easy to adjust the speed, turn on the integrated light or activate the reverse mode without even having to get up from the couch.

Ceiling fans come in a range of sizes, colours, shapes, materials and designs, giving you plenty of options to choose from. Four blade ceiling fans are the most common ceiling fans available, making them a popular choice in most homes.

When selecting a ceiling fan with three, four, or five blades it’s important to consider the space available in your home and how energy efficient you would like your cooling system to be. The more blades the fans have, the more energy they consume.

The number of blades on a ceiling fan is more of a design choice and has little impact on the airflow of the fan. It’s important to keep in mind though that ceiling fans with more blades are known to be quieter than those with fewer blades. While a three blade ceiling fan requires less energy to run, a four blade ceiling fan creates less noise. Five blade ceiling fans are less common and usually have a larger motor to rotate the blades, meaning that they have a higher energy consumption than three blade ceiling fans and four blade ceiling fans.

Besides this, there are no major differences, and it all comes down to personal taste, so choose a fan based on what suits your interior style and what works best with the space you have available.

If you’re unsure whether to install an ambient light fixture or a ceiling fan over a central area of your home, you can now have both. With our range of ceiling fans that feature integrated lights, you can create a comfortable ambience throughout your home with both cool breezes and ample illumination.

Increase your styling options with fans that feature wooden blades, brushed chrome, and oil-rubbed bronze finishes, or choose black fans to add contrast and drama to your home. Ceiling fans with integrated lights provide you with the flexibility to style your space any way that you like.

Take your styling to a new level with revolutionary fans from our Fanaway range that transform into stylish pendants at a flick of a switch. These fans are an Australian innovation and exclusive to Beacon Lighting. All Fanaway fans work on the same innovative principle: switched off, the traditionally intrusive fan blades automatically retract and conceal, visually transforming the unit into a stylish pendant. When turned on, the blades unfold to circulate air within a room.

Retractable blade ceiling fans also collect less dust and have easy-to-clean blades, making them simple to look after and maintain. Explore our range designed to suit every style of interior, from traditional to contemporary, industrial to Art Deco and Scandinavian to Hamptons-inspired.

Ceiling fans are a great addition to your outdoor space if you enjoy dining and entertaining guests outside. With outdoor ceiling fans you can create a stylish statement piece that not only keeps you cool on warmer days but also keeps pesky bugs away.

If you want extra illumination for entertaining guests at night, ceiling fans with lights are also a great option. When selecting outdoor ceiling fans check the location ratings and the blade material to make sure it will be suitable for the climate that you live in. Most outdoor ceiling fans have ABS plastic or marine grade stainless steel blades, making them suitable for outdoor use.

AC or alternating current ceiling fans are a popular choice as they have been around for a while and are budget-friendly. AC ceiling fans are very easy to maintain and can be used with either a wall control or remote, giving you the convenience you need to easily manage the temperature of your home.

With more affordable start-up costs, AC types of ceiling fans are a great choice if you’re looking for an energy-efficient and cost-effective option that will work in any room of your home. Just like DC fans, AC fans also come with summer and winter modes and the direction of the blades can be changed via the switch on the fan or via the remote.

With almost 80% of Australians living by the coast, it’s important to choose ceiling fans that can withstand the salty air and humidity. At Beacon, we have ceiling fans specifically made for these conditions. They feature ABS plastic or marine grade stainless steel blades which are resistant to corrosion and more durable.

In coastal locations it’s also important to choose ceiling fans with a high velocity airflow to keep your indoor and outdoor spaces cool and well-ventilated throughout the warmer weather. Coastal ceiling fans come in both AC and DC options.

During winter it might not seem practical to use fans anymore, but with the reverse mode function you can warm up your rooms much more efficiently. In reverse mode, the blades change direction to spin clockwise in winter pushing the warm air gathered near the ceiling downwards. When run in conjunction with heating, this helps to warm up the room faster. This means you can set your heater to a lower temperature and save energy and up to 10% on heating costs. You can easily switch between summer and winter modes by simply flicking a switch on the fan itself or by using the fan remote.

Shopping for ceiling fans can be tough when there are so many options to choose from, so if you’re feeling overwhelmed you can head to your local Beacon Lighting store where one of our fan specialists will help you make the right choice. If you already know what you want for your home, it’s easy to find exactly what you’re looking for by shopping online. And don’t forget, we also offer fixed price fan installations with a licensed electrician.