Ceiling Fan In The Kitchen: Yay Or Nay?

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For those of us in the Northern Hemisphere, summer is ahead of us and coming with brute force. And we all know what it’s like to cook in the summer – not fun!

I just want to boil some potatoes without having to boil myself. Is that too much to ask??

Anyway, such is life, is a ceiling fan in the kitchen a good idea?

A ceiling fan in the kitchen can maintain a nice cool temperature and get rid of foul odors. It can also somewhat protect your food from flies and other bugs. However, ceiling fan lights are usually not bright enough to fill the kitchen with the required ambient light. Lastly, they are a bit outdated and might not fit well in many kitchens.

Let’s see all the pros and cons of ceiling fans in detail to help you decide whether it’s a good choice for you in the long run.

From looks and noise to energy consumption, there’s a few things you need to consider before installing a ceiling fan in the kitchen.

Let’s go through them step by step and see how ceiling fans are connected to your kitchen’s lighting scheme.

Am I seriously gonna talk about this now? Yes.

The main pro of the ceiling fan is that it creates airflow which can cool down the kitchen during these hot months by A LOT.

Sure, it’s not as cool as AC but it’s usually good enough. Plus, AC does not ventilate the room and you really need your kitchen to be ventilated!

Which brings us to the second advantage.

We’ve all been there. Sometimes the kitchen smells lovely. But sometimes…not so much.

Having a fan that you can switch on whenever you want is a surefire way to get rid of those nasty smells.

Just keep a window open and all the air in the kitchen will renew in a few seconds.

The only thing that bugs hate more than wind is my peace.

This is purely empirical but flies and all kinds of crawling critters are not too comfy under what feels to them like a tornado.

Keeping the fan on while cooking or eating might annoy them enough to leave you alone.

The energy consumption of ceiling fans is about 36 times cheaper than that of AC!

That means they won’t only save you electricity money but also they’re more eco-friendly.

Just make sure to up your thermostat or even keep the AC off when the fan is in motion, otherwise, there’s not really any gains.

It’s best to avoid using the fan near open flames. It can blow the flames and create a real fire hazard!

If you’re using a gas stove, you need to be especially careful. A potential gas leak can spread around the kitchen or even the house much faster if there’s a switched-on ceiling fan, which makes it quite dangerous.

Not to terrorize you, but just keep that in mind.

I’ve found that most ceiling fans do not give strong enough light. If you install it in the middle of your kitchen, you will definitely need more ambient light sources!

Before going forward with it, make sure you know what other light fixtures can complement your ceiling fan.

This is an important step because you definitely don’t want an underlit kitchen!

Okay, okay, that’s an exaggeration.

But seriously, the kitchen is loud enough as it is. Consider whether you are fine with the extra noise, even though there are several options out there nowadays that are as silent as the lambs.

Pro Tip: More blades = less noise

Ceiling fans are considered by some outdated.

I think what contributes to that is the seeming permanence of them.

I personally prefer using a portable fan in the kitchen while having a modern/minimal chandelier hanging from the middle of the ceiling.

But this really comes down to personal preferences and the overall kitchen aesthetics.

For example, a ceiling fan could work amazingly in a wooden-rocky beach house in the summer.

Go with your gut feeling to decide if a fan is the right choice for you style-wise.

So you’ve decided you want to install a ceiling fan in the kitchen. That’s awesome! Here’s what you need to do next:

Doing this will help you decide the size of your ceiling fan.

After calculating the square footage of your kitchen, follow this table:

For the metric system:

Okay so now you have a rough estimation of your ideal fan size. Before you go buy it, take note of this:

Pro Tip: Open your cupboards and extend all other permanent installations. Make sure nothing gets in the way of your fan’s blade!

Now what?

Choose a fan that you like and fits the overall kitchen style.

Below are some of my favorite kitchen fans that also provide enough ambient light. Choose one and move to the next step!

For this step, I would suggest you call an electrician. However, if you feel like giving it a shot yourself, you can watch the following video by The Home Depot.

And there you have it. Your ceiling fan is ready to use!

Putting a ceiling fan in the kitchen can be either the best thing you did in your kitchen since baking those delicious cookies or an annoying mistake that you simply want to undo.

There’s no definitive way of knowing if the ceiling fan is a “yay” or a “nay” but I hope these few points will help you decide for yourself.

Remember to read many reviews of the ceiling fan you plan on purchasing to see what other people say. Is it too noisy? Are the dimensions as expected? Does it create enough airflow? Was it a pain to install?

Look out for all of those things and I’m sure you’ll be extra happy with your decision!

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