Melbourne's weather, and where a fan fits in
Extreme days are more common
Melbourne's hottest day on record was 46.4 °C on 7 February 2009, and occasional days of extreme heat have become more frequent since 2005.
Heatwaves strain the grid
In the 2009 heatwave Melbourne had three days in a row over 43 °C, and more than 500,000 residents lost power on the evening of 30 January. A fan won't run in a blackout either, but on a scorching evening it draws far less from the network than air conditioning.
Mostly dry heat
Average summer dewpoints in Melbourne range from 9.5 to 11.7 °C, so the heat is generally dry. Moving air across your skin is at its most useful when the air isn't muggy.
Winters on electric heating
Powercor says winter demand is rising as households switch to electric heating, and since 1 January 2024 new homes that need a planning permit can only connect to all-electric networks. A fan on its winter setting moves warm air off the ceiling and back to where you're sitting.
What's above your ceiling decides the job
Single-storey homes with an open roof space are the easy case. The electrician can get above the ceiling, fix the fan to a joist or a purpose-made brace, and run a new cable if there's no light point to use.
Older Melbourne homes, from inner-city terraces to Camberwell and Caulfield's Edwardians and bungalows, sometimes need extra timber between the joists before a fan goes up. On the ground floor of a two-storey home, or in an apartment with a concrete slab overhead, there may be no easy route for cable, so swapping an existing light point is usually the practical choice.
Expect the electrician to want to see the ceiling, or at least clear photos of it and the roof space, before quoting.
Fans in Melbourne rentals
A fan normally runs off a lighting circuit, and in a Victorian rental every lighting circuit has needed a safety switch since 29 March 2023. If the board is too old to take one, that comes first.
If you rent, get the rental provider's written agreement before anyone fits a fan. It's a fixed electrical fitting, so the work needs a Registered Electrical Contractor and a Certificate of Electrical Safety.
Fan wobbling badly or smelling hot? Switch it off at the wall
Keep everyone out from under it until an electrician has checked the mounting and the wiring. If there's smoke or sparking you can't stop, turn off the main switch if you can reach it safely, and call 000.
Questions to ask the installer
- Can you get into the roof space above this room, or do we need another way in?
- Will the ceiling need a brace, and is that in the quote?
- Can the fan and its light be switched separately?
- Does the controller suit this fan, including a reverse setting for winter?
- Is the lighting circuit on a safety switch, and will I get a Certificate of Electrical Safety?
If it were our bedroom
We'd put fans in the bedrooms first, because Melbourne's worst nights come before the cool change, and a fan you can sleep under beats an air conditioner you don't want to run all night. Pick fans with a reverse setting so they're useful in winter too. If two or three rooms are getting fans, have them all fitted in one visit, with each fan switched separately from its light.
Want a specialist to sort it?
Tell us the job and your postcode. We match the licence-checked local electrician who does this kind of work, and they call you. No ring-around, and your number goes to them alone.