One particular type of ceiling fan that's becoming increasingly popular in recent years, is the heated ceiling fan. It's basically a ceiling mounted hung fan containing an integrated a heating element that can be turned on and off to direct warm air downward in a room.
So why a fan like this when you already have a central heating system in your home? There are in fact several answers to this question and the first one has to do with high ceilings. You see warm air tends to gravitate upwards in a room.
An antique Style Bladeless Brass Heated Ceiling Fan
A fan like this will function to push heated air back down to where it's needed, thus lessening the amount of energy that's need to heat the entire area of a home or business. Bear in mind that down near the floor a home may be cold, while air up against the ceiling it will be warm.
This type of fan is also an excellent option for people who live in two story homes. Once again the issue of warm air migrating to the highest spot comes into play. What is needed is a system to heat air and send it downward before it has a chance to migrate up the stairwell.
Also quite often a homes central air conditioning thermostat will be located on a wall in the bottom section of a two story home. This in turn can result in inaccurate readings and a system that is working overtime, using up valuable energy to heat a home.
Heated ceiling fans that actually use no more energy that an average hand held hair dryer, are also an excellent choice for localized air conditioning. You see a ducted system heats an entire home, no matter if all the rooms are being used or not.
The initial cost of this new type of fan is just a little more than a standard hung fan. They also install just the same as any other fan. No special accessories required. Do bear in mind though that they are a specialty item so most stores will tend to carry a limited selection.