Is there a way to keep a ceiling fan from turning when it's off?

I got new lights in the living room and they are bright . And where I sit, one light is behind the fan blades. This gives me a headache when the fan is turning.

If I want the fan going, I’m fine with turning the light off. But the fan moves when the AC is on, and I want to know if there’s some way to keep that from happening without hurting the fan motor

Backing up a step you can stop the fan from turning by two approaches: make it stiffer to turn when not turned on. Or by reducing the airflow from the AC blowing on it.

Anything that involved interfering with the easy-turning blades would need to be installed when the fan’s not in use and removed before turning the fan on. Which sounds like a mistake-prone PITA to me.

I’d bet you’d have more success adjusting whichever register is blowing a draft at the fan. Or adding an air deflector to it. Such as Register air deflector - Google Search

In the name of science. I have some 1/2" square X 1/4" neodymium magnets. 4 stacked on the bottom of the housing and 4 on the top of one fan blade. I have a 12" fan on high pointing at it and it doesn’t turn. But if turn on the power… Voilà.

I could imagine your magnets slightly increasing power consumption, wear, and noise of the fan. But probably not enough to remotely matter. Good thinking.

If you’re going for maximum efficiency: Add a coil on the bottom of the housing that generates power when the magnets on the fan pass and a coil on one fan blade that generates power when the magnets on the housing pass. Now we’re getting into slip rings and balancing issues. Probably not worth it.

Could you unscrew/remove the offending bulb?

if your fan has lights hanging underneath it you can take a wire coat hanger and unwind it so it straight with a hook end. use that to hook to snag one of the blades and bend as needed to catch a light. When you get it the way you want then cover the hanger with duct tape so it doesn’t scratch anything.

If you don’t have lights underneath then put a large eyehook in the ceiling and do the same thing with the coat hanger. You want something that drops down between the blades. You would need to find a stud in the ceiling to tap into.It needs to be large enough that you can snag it with a coat hanger with 1 end bent into a loop.

If you’re going that route this would be easier.

Defection, coat hanger or beer can.
Your choice.
:smiling_face:

LED fixture, and other than this I love it. Also, one of the reasons I replaced it was because it’s a vaulted ceiling so not easy to get to.

I will look into this

I may need a diagram for this

The bane of my existence is drafty HVAC vents. I totally hate the sensation of cold air blowing on me. Deflectors to try to aim the flow where I’m not are a necessity wherever I live.

Being true to your name, I see!

@dougrb I would need at least a twelve pack for that!

I’d try a lower-brightness/wattage bulb in the socket that bothers you, or readjusting its beam if it’s possible to do that. We put a new LED fixture in the area that connects our living room and front hallway and with the bulbs I selected, you could have performed surgery in there. New bulbs fixed that right up.

It is a vaulted ceiling. Going to take a while to get up there.

Is it a recessed can light or does the light hang down.

It’s a flat led light on the angled part of a vaulted ceiling. Changes to the new lights are not going to happen

Go git yerself some Cheap Sunglasses!