diff --git a/drivers/hwmon/pwm-fan.c b/drivers/hwmon/pwm-fan.c
index 57928d270015..6e4516c2ab89 100644
--- a/drivers/hwmon/pwm-fan.c
+++ b/drivers/hwmon/pwm-fan.c
@@ -507,6 +507,14 @@ static int pwm_fan_probe(struct platform_device *pdev)
 
 	pwm_init_state(ctx->pwm, &ctx->pwm_state);
 
+	/*
+	 * PWM fans are controlled solely by the duty cycle of the PWM signal,
+	 * they do not care about the exact timing. Thus set usage_power to true
+	 * to allow less flexible hardware to work as a PWM source for fan
+	 * control.
+	 */
+	ctx->pwm_state.usage_power = true;
+
 	/*
 	 * set_pwm assumes that MAX_PWM * (period - 1) fits into an unsigned
 	 * long. Check this here to prevent the fan running at a too low