# Ok to leave blower on?



## scottman1027 (Feb 12, 2008)

Hi. Just wondering if it is ok to leave the blower on my furnace on all the time to keep the air circulated better. Does it actually use more electricity if it runs all the time? What about wear and tear on the motor? I have heard arguments both ways but just wanted some opinions here. Thanks in advance!


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## travelover (Feb 12, 2008)

You might want to determine how many amps your blower uses and then figure out how much it actually costs. 

My furnace blower is 500 watts, so it costs about 5 cents per hour to run - a little over a buck a day. I think as long as it is lubed it will run almost forever.


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## kok328 (Feb 12, 2008)

Yes, it will undisputedly use more electricity running all the time versus just when it's called for.
Yes, it will undisputedly have more wear and tear running all the time versus just when it's called for.


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## scottman1027 (Feb 12, 2008)

kok328 said:


> Yes, it will undisputedly use more electricity running all the time versus just when it's called for.
> Yes, it will undisputedly have more wear and tear running all the time versus just when it's called for.



Thanks for the response.

I had heard arguments both ways. Some saying that it actually takes more electricity to start the motor than it does to leave it run. To me it makes sense that if something is running it is using energy.

One of my problems is that some rooms stay warmer than other rooms. Like the kids rooms at night with the doors shut will get colder than the rest of the house. But if I leave the blower on the rooms stay much more comfortable.

Another problem is with my whole house humidifier. If I leave the blower on auto, the humidifier only comes on when the furnace comes on. I dont think it ever has time to get any humidity in the house. We have a couple of those digital hygrometers and they never read more than 30% or so . If I run the blower all the time I can get close to 40%. That is why I was asking about the energy use and the wear and tear factor.

So I guess its kind of a catch 22 huh?   Thanks again!


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## travelover (Feb 12, 2008)

scottman1027 said:


> .............. Some saying that it actually takes more electricity to start the motor than it does to leave it run. To me it makes sense that if something is running it is using energy...............



The motor does draw up to 5 times as much electricity for a few seconds to start, but that is small in the big picture. You could selectively run it nonstop like overnight with the manual / auto switch on the thermostat.


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## scottman1027 (Feb 12, 2008)

Yeah I guess I will just pay a little extra to be comfortable. After all its only money right?  

Thanks again for all the comments and advise!


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## phreaq (Feb 13, 2008)

In my previous house I left my blower on ALL the time, for the sole purpose of moving the air around. The house was in a subdivision and as such, opening the windows did not move the air around too much.

My Hydro Company has an appliance calculator with a list of the common appliances. It has 2 options for the Furnace Fan Motor; intermittent operation and continuous

For the intermittent operation, the default settings are 5 cents/kWh, Power used 0.4 kW, 10 hrs a day for 30 days, which works out to $12.56 a month.

For continuous operation, the only real change is 24 hours a day, for a monthly total of $30.15.

The difference is $17.59/month, or $211.08 a year.

these are obviously averages (well, the 10 hrs per day is for sure), but it does add up, not too mention the lower life expectancy of running a motor all the time.

so it truly is, just money


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## phreaq (Feb 13, 2008)

oh, I forgot to mention...

I'm not sure if your Hydro company has as many hidden costs as mine does (debt reduction??), but it may be a higher operating cost once everything else is factored in.

my delivery charge is often higher than my consumption


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## glennjanie (Feb 13, 2008)

If you don't want to leave the blower motor on a ceiling fan in a central location will keep the air mixed very well. Just run it on low speed, blowing up rather than down. TVA says it 'upsets' the normal air flow.
Glenn


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## phreaq (Feb 14, 2008)

Glenn, that's exactly what I do in my new house, great point


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