Once the weather begins to cool off, you might be wondering about how you’ll take full advantage of your heating and cooling. After all, HVAC expenses frequently add up to a significant portion of your monthly electric bill. To learn new ways to reduce costs, some owners look closely at their thermostat. Is there a setting they should use to improve efficiency?

The bulk of thermostats have a ‘Fan’ or ‘Fan On’ setting. But if the fan is running during a regular cycle, what will the fan setting offer for your HVAC system? This guide can help. We’ll walk through just what the fan setting is and whether you can use it to reduce costs in the summer or winter.

What Is the Fan Setting on My Thermostat?

For the bulk of thermostats, the fan setting indicates that the system’s blower fan remains on. Certain furnaces will run at a low level with this setting, but in most cases heating or cooling isn’t being produced. The ‘Auto’ setting, conversely, will start the fan during a heating or cooling cycle and switch it off once the cycle is finished.

There are advantages and disadvantages to switching on the fan setting on your thermostat, and what’s ideal {will|can|should]] depend on your distinct comfort requirements.

Advantages to utilizing the Fan/On setting:

  • You can keep the temperature in each room more balanced by permitting the fan to keep circulating air.
  • Indoor air quality should improve since continuous airflow will keep passing airborne contaminants into the air filter.
  • A smaller amount of start-stop cycles for the system’s fan helps expand its life span. As the air handler is typically a component of the furnace, this means you might prevent the need for furnace repair.

Disadvantages to utilizing the Fan/On setting:

  • A constant fan could add to your energy bills slightly.
  • Constant airflow may clog your air filter soon, increasing the frequency you should replace it.

{Choosing Between|Should My Thermostat Be on|Which Setting for My Thermostat? Fan or Auto in Summer/Winter

In the summer, warm air will sometimes stick around in unfinished spaces like the attic or an attached garage. If you leave the fan on, your HVAC system may draw this warm air into the rest of your home, pushing the HVAC system to work harder to preserve the desired temperature. In extreme heat, this can result in needing AC repair more regularly as wear and tear increases.

The opposite can happen in the winter. Cooler spaces such as a basement will hold onto cooler air, which can eventually flow into the rest of your home. Keeping the fan on will sometimes draw more cold air upward, increasing the amount of heating you need to keep warm.

If you’re still trying to figure out if you should switch to the fan/on setting, don’t forget that every home and family’s comfort needs are different. Leaving the HVAC system’s fan on could work for you if:

Someone in your household deals with allergies. Allergies and similar respiratory conditions can be tough on the family. Leaving the fan on is more likely to improve indoor air quality, helping your family breathe easier.

Your home experiences hot and cold spots. All kinds of homes wrestle with persistent hot and cold spots that quickly evolve to a temperature different from the rest of the house. The fan setting should help limit these changes by steadily refreshing each room’s airflow.