Fans

 

Usually, around this time of the year, the subject of fans comes up between me and my wife.  Fans are of significant importance, it may surprise you, when you live in a two story home with air conditioning (AC) .  It was a surprise to me, when we bought our two story home (both our earlier one and also our current one).  

In a one story home, if you have air conditioning, the air conditioning rather easily tends to distribute quite evenly.  But, in a two story home, even in ones that have had a lot of adjustment to regulate air flow in different zones..... the second floor is ALWAYS going to be more warm than the first floor.   This is especially true in a climate like ours that is also very, very humid.  

So, compromise has to occur..... either you run the ac to be comfortable in the first floor and a bit warmer in the second floor......or you OVER-RUN the AC to make the upstairs comfortable, the first floor can be OVERLY cold.  And, of course this would also be OVERLY costly as well.  

So, my wife and I sometimes are not "on the same page" about how to set the AC.  As you may correctly surmise from the above, I lean towards the "just run the AC enough to keep the first floor pleasant" grouping....whereas my wife tends towards feeling it is " H O T " all the time upstairs.  

So, in our compromise, we have fans to help in circulation of air in our house.  We have used them for decades.  BUT.... there has been an incongruency about FANS as well.  I am "somewhat" (according to my wife, "quite") noise sensitive.  In the above images, the middle fan is akin to what we have had several of in our house over the decades (the simple box fan).  

To my manner of thinking, that type represented the "typical" fan.  For comparison purposes, look at the old General Electric fan from the 1950 and 1960s (bottom image).  I have the fan that is just like this..... still running beautifully in my garage.... it was "the fan" I grew up with in my parent's home.  Note the similarities to the middle image (other than the modern variant (middle image) is cheaper, very plastic focused).  

So...... at night when we go to bed.....I WANT to turn the "noisy as hell" box fan (middle image) off, because the whirring of the motor and blades.....is (to me at least) very loud.  My WIFE wants the fan to be set to the very highest (and MOST noisy) setting because she feels " H O T ".  For many, many years, this was a routine debate...... what to do with the fan at night?!?!?   Our usual compromise is to have the fan on, but at its lowest (LESS noisy) setting.   The fan is still noisy to me and my wife still reports feeling rather " H O T " but it has been the pattern.  

Until a couple of weeks ago, we never thought there would be a better solution to this conundrum.  Until we thought of the cock-eyed looking fan pictured above (top image).  We of course, had both seen these style of fans around places the last several years, but initially they seemed awfully damn goofy, and rather "too trendy" for words.   It seemed the only folks who had them were "high-falutin" types who were trying to show off their status.... because these things come with a whole helluva lot of bells and whistles...... remote controls, ability to be ran by an app on a gizmo phone, more temperature settings than I have digits, and timers, and settings to "mimic" nature even.   It seemed pretty silly to me.    I was of the opinion...... "What the hell would that fan really do of value, that the good, old "box" fan wouldn't?!?"  

Well....

In looking at one in a big-box store the other day, I started fiddling with it, just to put it through its motions.  And, I was AWFULLY DAMN SURPRISED..... that the fan, even at its very highest setting..... was as quiet as a church mouse!!!!!!!   And, it blew a very substantial amount of air.... much more so than I ever anticipated!!!!!!!

We NOW have one in our bedroom.  The big-box store did not have access to the same fan in a different color variant that would better suit our bedroom..... so we ordered a second fan (white) from Amazon.  When it arrives, the one we bought at the big-box store will find its permanent home in our Family Room (where my wife and I have had similar "discussions" as we had about the bedroom, above.

I admit it.... I was wrong about the "crazy" upright tube, gizmo fans. 

I have to dash off to class now.  I had hoped to also write about a beautiful pipe dream I had.  Maybe I will get to write about that tomorrow.  It was both absolutely transfixing and beautiful.... but also melancholia inducing.  

PipeTobacco