Ceiling fan size advice needed

16 years ago

I've been trying to find a "perfect" ceiling fan for our small bedroom for awhile now. The fan that's up now was up when we bought the house - it's an old ugly yellowed white and bright shiny brass 52" Hunter that has a horrible faint high pitched whine from the motor (I'm guessing fan motors don't like to be coated in nicotine like the entire rest of the house was, grr).

I've narrowed it down to a Minka Aire Supra in brushed steel.

HOWEVER, I have been going back and forth over if I should get the 44" one or the 52" one.

Our bedroom is small (about 11x11, 8ft ceilings), so the guidelines say that the 44" one would work. However, I'm now torn between the 44 and the 52 because the 52" one we have now doesn't look freakishly large (but I'm decorating challenged, to say the least) and the 52" one uses less watts on high than the 44" one even though the cfm of the 52" is about 300 more. The 52" is also cheaper than the 44".

However, I'm pretty sure that either fan would move more air than what's up there now and I don't want to be blown away by it.

Does anyone have any advice? I'm getting to the point that I believe I'm way over-thinking this so any hand-holding would be greatly appreciated!

Here is a link that might be useful: Minka Aire Supra

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Comments (5)

natal
16 years ago
For your room size 52" would be overkill. Either the 44" or something even smaller would probably be better.
Happyladi
16 years ago
My kids bedrooms are about 11 by 12 feet and they both have 52 inch fans. They look and work just fine.
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User
16 years ago
Ditto in our kids bedrooms in our last home. I/they wouldn't have wanted any smaller, but that size is not necessary according to e-how, linked below. Though I think the reasoning behind choosing a size is to make sure you have one big enough, therefore having a larger one couldn't hurt. Well unless you had a very small room and the blade hit the walls. LOL ;^)

Here is a link that might be useful: How to determind the size of a ceiling fan.
amysrq
16 years ago
I used 42s in all of my rooms in the last house and in this one. Rooms were large and small. We never felt the need to use anything higher than the lowest speed as a rule. I just want fans to disappear....
dilettante_gw
16 years ago
If you already have a 52" and it doesn't seem too large for the room, I would definitely go with the larger fan, especially if you live in where summers are hot. The 52" (according to the Minka site) moves about 400 cubic feet more per minute than the 44" at its highest speed, yet costs slightly less to operate. If the 52" is also less expensive to purchase, it seems like a no-brainer. I wouldn't worry about it moving too much air -- you can always run it at a lower setting.

I agree with justgotabme that the room size guidelines are intended to make sure that you have a fan large enough to be effective, rather than to be aesthetically pleasing. Obviously, a very large fan, especially one that hangs low, could overwhelm a small room, but there's a lot more leeway than the sellers represent. Sellers like to make decisions as clearcut as possible so buyers don't get hung up on making a decision and end up not buying anything.

P.S. I read somewhere that 52" is the most popular fan size by far.