One Blade, Four Blades, or Five Blades?



The Huxley by Fanimation

Are you interested in buying a ceiling fan, but don’t know how many blades is best? Lately, ceiling fans are offered with any number of blades from one to eight. Any number that is below three and above six is considered as unique and for decorative purposes only. Most fans have four or five blades; some are adjustable to take either.


It is easy to think that more blades more air, but in reality this is not true. If a fan has more blades, its motor will have a greater load and its speed will be lower. On the other hand, a fan with fewer blades will produce more air since the load is less on the motor. That’s the reason most commercial fans have three blades and a high speed motor, to provide the greatest amount of airflow proficiently.

But if you are concerned is noise, you should consider a ceiling fan with a greater number of blades, so it would operate at a slow speed and won’t be any noise compared to a three blade fan. So, the greater number of blades and the slower the speed, the less noisy a fan will be. This is the reason why residential fans (especially smaller models that operate at higher speeds overall) offer as many as six blades. Usually the extra noise of a four blade fan versus a five blade fan is not evident, but it can rely on the fan size and the motor speed.

So…after understanding the importance of the number of blades and its purpose, do you know which ceiling fan do you need for your next project?