Quesion about Fans

[BeerMoney]

Why do fans usally have speed dials that go:

Off - High - Med - Low?

[yukoncpa]

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Why do fans usally have speed dials that go:

Off - High - Med - Low?


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I've often wondered the same thing. Off - low -Med - High would make more sense. I'm often doing a quick dial to get to the low.

[Copernicus]

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Why do fans usally have speed dials that go:

Off - High - Med - Low?

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Im not sure they usually do. I have seen them in both orders and also where the switch can be turned in either direction to go immediately to high or low.

The models that will only go to high first are a PITA when they blow all the papers off your desk!

Besides, if god meant you to have a fan he wouldnt have allowed the invention of central air.

[bunny]

I have heard it is a throwback to old technology. It used to be that the slowest speed on a fan's motor would sometimes fail to overcome the initial friction required to get started and that it was possible the motor would either get damaged or just not achieve anything, struggling like mad but failing to get the fan moving. It takes less energy to keep it turning than it does to get it started so they were designed to "start" on high speed to give it that kick to get going, then you could scale it right back to a minimal "just keep air moving" kind of level.

I believe this is redundant now and that modern fans dont need this - the fact it still appears in some designs is an anachronism.

[Johnny Drama]

my dryer has both a "regular" and "medium" setting of heat. apparently, "regular" is hotter than "medium".

[purnell]

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Why do fans usally have speed dials that go:

Off - High - Med - Low?

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I think it's just simpler to make it that way. If it's an analog control switch, the "high" setting will include one [or no] resistor in the circuit, "medium" includes that one and one more, etc. It probably reduces the cost of manufacturing the switch by a few cents.