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E. Kansas | I frequently visit an individual at a nursing home. Their room has a ceiling fan with attached lights. The lights are turned on/off with a typical wall switch by the door. There is also a separate wall switch nearby to turn the fan on and off. On the ceiling fan cover there is a switch to change rotation direction, a pull chain switch to select the various fan speeds, and a pull chain switch that switches the lights on and off, all of which are typically seen on many ceiling fans.
The wall switch for the fan looks like a typical wall switch, with "on" and "off" stamped on the plastic toggle handle. However, it requires deliberate effort to put it into either the on or off positions. There is a slight capture or catch of the switch when it is right at the on or off position. The switch otherwise has free travel between either end with no spring force to drive/snap it in either direction. When the switch is between the on and off positions, the fan speed is much slower than the selected speed and the fan motor is then making a loud hum. When the switch is in the on position, the fan spins faster and the motor noise is nearly undetectable, as you would expect for normal operation. Many of the help operate it just like a typical wall switch when turning it off, so the switch then often ends up staying between on and off positions, with the fan turning slowly and the motor humming.
What kind of switch is this that takes special effort to put into either the on or off position? It seems like it's dropping voltage to the fan motor when the switch is between on and off, or at least that is my guess why the motor makes such a loud hum at that time and the fan turns so slowly. In my experience with simple electric motors, this is not an approved or a safe operating mode.
If the wall switch is indeed a special type, why is it the correct type of switch to use for the fan on/off control? I don't see why any approved fan/switch set up like this would make the fan spin so slow, the motor to hum so loudly and have a switch that won't snap between on and off.
No other wall switches in the room have the kind of action the fan control switch does. They all snap easily between the on or off positions. Why should the fan wall switch be different?
Any explanation is appreciated. Thanks in advance. | |
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Questions about Ceiling Fan and Wall Switch
