For example, I have a stand fan in my bedroom and I wanna be able to turn it on and off via a switch on my side table (it doesn’t come with a remote, unfortunately). The fan will be set on a specific fan speed and I’ll just have to turn it on or off. Are there gonna be any bad effects to the fan with this setup?
Also, can this be applicable to other small appliances like TVs?
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for fans specifically, it does matter. at least it can.
fans use a very simple electric motor that’s not great at starting itself. the reason your fan starts at high is so that, when you first turn it on, it has as much power as it can get to push itself from a standstill. once it’s moving, it actually gets better at pushing itself.
so if you put it on a switch and power it on from a low setting, it may not have enough power to start moving. and that’s *really* bad. it’s still using power, but instead of converting that power into motion, it’s converting it into heat. likely leading to damage or even a fire.
your standing fan may even warn you against putting it on a switch for this very reason. they’re sometimes on a tag around the wire, or printed into the body of the fan near the controls or somewhere inconspicuous like the bottom of the base.
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