When a ceiling fan is operating in the cooling mode, you should be able to stand beneath it and see the fan blades moving in a counter-clockwise direction. This forces air down onto us, making the room feel cooler than the thermometer actually says it is, much like the wind chill the weather man talks about in the winter time.
To get maximum effect from a fan, it should hang as far down from the ceiling as possible so the air flow is less restricted. Fans with longer blades tend to move more air. But that “more is better” philosophy doesn’t hold up when it comes to the number of blades or their width. Six blade fans or those with large decorative blades actually move less air because there’s less space between the blades to draw air through.