Do Ceiling Fans With More Blades Move More Air?
More is better… right? Right? In a lot of cases that is right. When it comes to fan blades, its really the design of the blade profile that determines the effectiveness. If a fan as three ineffective blades or one hundred ineffective blades, it doesn’t really matter. The fan is still ineffective. The quantity of the blades is still somewhat irrelevant.
A well-designed airfoil (or fan blade) can move a significant amount of air at a high speed when deployed correctly. Angle of attack, width/height of airfoil and shape of blade are the three primary components of a well-designed fan blade. However, even the best designed fan blades have limitations. Using not enough fan blades will leave gaps in your circulation and cause a ‘gusting’ effect inside the space. While using too many fan blades will disrupt the air at the trailing edge of the first fan blade that in turn causes vibration in the following fan blades.
"When it comes to fan blades, its really the design of the blade profile that determines the effectiveness. "
Remember, it is important to recognize that how much air a fan can move (volume), but more importantly how fast the fan can move the air (velocity). It is velocity that directly relates to the cooling capability of the fan. It’s also velocity that determines the area of coverage a ceiling fan has.