
How Much Electricity Does a Fan Use? Understanding Your Power Consumption
24th September 2024 | Written By: Rika Ash | Read Time: 3min | Last Updated: 24th September 2024
Fans are a popular solution for cooling and air circulation, but they can add to your energy costs. Knowing how much electricity a fan uses is crucial for managing energy efficiency and reducing bills. This blog explores key factors affecting fan energy consumption and provides tips to help you optimize usage and save money.
Factors affecting a fan’s electricity consumption
The electricity consumption of a fan depends on numerous factors as follows:
- Type of fan: Different fans, such as ceiling fans, pedestal fans, table fans, wall fans, exhaust fans, and axial fans, have varying power ratings and electricity consumption.
- Ceiling Fans: The most common type in households, ceiling fans use around 75 watts, depending on factors like size, speed, and motor efficiency. For more information on their energy efficiency, check out our blog: Understanding Ceiling Fan Power Consumption.
- Pedestal Fans: Portable and ideal for small spaces, pedestal fans typically consume 30 to 60 watts.
- Table Fans: These smaller fans also use 30 to 60 watts, making them energy-efficient and perfect for personal use in bedrooms or offices.
- Exhaust and Axial Fans: Commonly used in kitchens and bathrooms for ventilation, these fans consume 20 to 50 watts and, while not used continuously, still add to your overall electricity usage.
- Size of the fan: The size of the fan significantly impacts its electricity consumption. Larger fans need more power to move their blades and circulate air. This is due to the fact that bigger blades require more energy to operate, and a more powerful motor is necessary to drive those blades effectively.
- Speed of the fan: The speed setting you choose also affects power consumption. Higher speeds typically result in greater electricity usage.
- Motor Efficiency: Modern fans with energy-efficient motors, such as Brushless DC motors (BLDC), consume less electricity than older or less efficient fans. BLDC fans can be 40% to 60% more energy efficient than their conventional counterparts. The electrical consumption of a BLDC fan can range from 30W to 40W.
How can you reduce your fan power consumption
Although fans are generally energy-efficient, there are several ways to minimize their power consumption further:
- Choose energy-efficient fans: Look for fans with high-efficiency motors, such as BLDC fans, which can significantly reduce power consumption. In addition to ceiling fans, there are various pedestal, table, exhaust, and axial fans available in the market that operate efficiently while using less power.
- Use lower speed settings: Fans consume more power when operating at higher speeds, so running your fan at medium or low speed can significantly reduce electricity usage.
- Turn off when not in use: Make it a habit of turning off fans when no one is in the room. This will reduce electricity consumption and help save money.
- Regular maintenance: Maintain your fan in good condition by regularly cleaning the blades and ensuring the motor runs smoothly. Dirty or faulty fans may consume more power due to reduced efficiency.
Understanding fan electricity usage helps you manage energy consumption. Although fans are more efficient than air conditioners, their long-term use can still affect your bills. Choosing energy-efficient models, running them at optimal speeds, and turning them off when not in use can significantly lower power consumption and reduce costs.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) :
Q1. How much electricity does a ceiling fan use in 24 hours ?
A typical ceiling fan consumes between 15 and 90 watts per hour, depending on its speed and size. To calculate how much electricity it uses in 24 hours, multiply the fan’s wattage by 24 to get the total energy consumption in watt-hours. Then, divide by 1,000 to convert it to kilowatt-hours (kWh).
Q2. How much unit of electricity consumed by fan per day?
The amount of electricity consumed by a fan per day depends on its power rating (in watts) and the duration of usage. For instance, if a typical ceiling fan has a power rating of 70 watts and runs for 10 hours, it would consume 0.7 kWh (units) of electricity per day (70 watts x 10 hours = 700 watt-hours or 0.7 kWh).