Install destratification fans

We weren’t sure whether to include this card or not. In theory, if you have high ceilings and the air is a lot warmer at ceiling level than where people are, destratification fans are useful for pushing the warm air down. They work well in places like warehouses or spaces where people are active. They are much less popular in spaces where people are sedentary, because even a relatively warm draught will make people feel colder, especially on the head, the warmest part of the body. They can also be noisy. However, in spaces that take a long time to warm up for relatively brief events, like church services, they could be used just during the pre-heat period and turned off when people come in.

Technical Note

If you’re considering this action, you definitely want someone to check how warm the air at ceiling level is first and use that to assess whether the fans will pay back. The temperature difference is often smaller than people think and that in itself will rule fans out. For lower ceilings we’ve heard of people checking it using normal thermometers on a long pole. We’ve sometimes done this in churches using miniature monitors mounted on helium balloon clusters or by dangling commercial thermal monitors through light fittings or vents from above. If you do this you’ll need the space at a steady temperature and to leave the monitor in the different locations long enough to adjust to each. Ideally, you’d use multiple monitors as the heating profile will change as the space warms. Whatever you do, be very careful - even a small object can do a lot of damage to people or flooring if dropped from height.