Bigassfans

[mickeyd]

I have a Casablanca brand ceiling fan in the family/great room at home. I am considering replacing it with a new one that cools the air better than the current fan. I am considering this bigassfan that looks like it may do the trick.

Before I check it out further, has anyone here had this contraption installed or are familiar with it's claims of being the best for large rooms?

Big Ass Fans | Isis - Large Residential Ceiling Fan

 

[ls99]

Thought the post was about Xtra large bathing beauties.

 

[RonBoyd]

Thought the post was about Xtra large bathing beauties.

And thought it was going to be that trick question, "Do these Jeans make me..."

 

[Payin-the-Toll]

Like everybody else, I thought it was about sports fans who take up more than their fair share of those small stadium seats. Didn't click enough to see the prices, but they look like pretty neat fans and should do the trick.

 

[Nords]

I have a Casablanca brand ceiling fan in the family/great room at home. I am considering replacing it with a new one that cools the air better than the current fan. I am considering this bigassfan that looks like it may do the trick.

I think resistance to air movement is more important than how big a bite the fan takes.

We upgraded our livingroom fan from a 52" to a 60". It won't lift my ponytail off my shoulders but the cooling difference is huge despite the "only" eight-inch gain in blade length. The room (with a cathedral ceiling) already has plenty of airflow across from the windows on the first floor and at the 2nd floor/cathedral ceiling level, plus a bit of an updraft from an exhaust fan sucking on a ceiling grate at the top of the stairwell, and now the fan is able to lift a bit more air into that flow.*

I've seen a fan of at least 10-foot diameter at the Honolulu convention center in a three-story atrium. You can't tell the airflow or temperature difference when it's running but the entire atrium is enclosed and there's not already a breeze through it-- just air conditioning. Maybe it keeps the air circulating and avoids stratification into thermal layers.

If you install one of these, you might feel as if you're standing under a helicopter rotor and at risk of imminent beheading. And if you have any pot lights or spotlights or skylights up in the ceiling then you might also have lighting shadows cast by the fan's blades.

60" is also small enough for a DIY installation, and the 60" fan can be closer to an angled ceiling than the Isis.

 

[W2R]

I don't know a blessed thing about this, but my intuition (from living for years in tropical and subtropical locations) tells me a little bit.

(1) Positioning of the fans is crucial, including vertical positioning when high ceilings are involved.
(2) Nords is quite right about the marked effect of longer fan blades.
(3) Maybe I am reading through the lines but I get the impression that you have a very large room. If so you will want more than one ceiling fan in that room.

I have a conventional ceiling fan in my average sized den (see below), and it gives me all the breeze that I would ever need in that room. Even when it is very hot I never need to put it on "high". It actually *does* blow my hair around. But then, it is hung about 8' from directly overhead of my armchair, so that all comes down to positioning of the fans to begin with. That's about all I have to say, except good luck!

 

[Stevewc]

Big Ass Fan
Is this a question?
Did you know you might take some minds to the gutter?
(not mine of course)
My first thought was:
Like a government mule
I had a hill billy low life friend that used that term often.
Not that I know anything about such terrible language or thoughts.
Not sure if its just southern slang or known & understood nationwide?
Just kidding around now folks don't anybody get offended.
Steve

 

[samclem]

No experience, just free gueses:
- You'd probably need a lot of room above a fan this big if you want it to be efficient (otherwise, you'd develop a significant low-pressure zone near the hub)
- I'd guess a larger number of conventional-sized fans would do a better job of equalizing temps in a large room. The humongous fan would make a fashion statement, if that's the intent.
- I don't like ceiling fans at all (I just thought I'd throw that in there)

 

[audreyh1]

We ordered a 70" fan for our large living/dining room as the 52" fan that came with the house barely moves the air. Is 70" Big Ass enough for you?

We are also going to drop the fan 12". I have a feeling being so close to the ceiling is part of the problem. We have 10' ceilings, so we can drop and still not cause problems for DH who is very tall.

Well, OK, it's not 100", but that really would be too large for our space.

Audrey

 

[HFWR]

And if you have any pot lights...

O0

http://www.fsec.ucf.edu/en/publications/pdf/FSEC-CR-1770-98.pdf

The lab tests indicate a large potential for improvement of fan efficiency, as evidenced by the significantly improved performance achieved by FSEC’s prototype. Also, considering the significant drop in air velocities past the ends of the fan blades, larger fan blades are recommended to increase airflow coverage (especially since furniture is often located near walls away from the center of rooms). This
recommendation is supported by a previous study assessing ceiling fan impact on comfort (Rohles et. al.
1983).

 

[ERD50]

We upgraded our livingroom fan from a 52" to a 60". ... the cooling difference is huge despite the "only" eight-inch gain in blade length.

Yes, 60" is actually ~ 33% bigger than 52" in terms of area (and hence air movement, all else being equal). (60/52)^2 = 1.33.

-ERD50

 

[Coderguy]

We have these at our gym, they are awesome. It's supposed to do X more degrees of cooling with less power use. All I know is the thing moves air. It won't feel like a fan, it's more of a 'circulation' thing.

 

[vicente solano]

Count me in with those who misunderstood the meaning of the thread.
For the record: at the risk of sounding non PC, I have to say that I am not a fan of big asses, in jeans or otherwise.

 

[Koolau]

Vicente, "big" is a relative term. But I digress.

One more digression. I love the new Geico commercial where Mrs. Lincoln asks Abe if her dress makes her rear look big. Classic.

But, to the question at hand. I have no experience with the bigassfan, but a lot of experience with really cheap smaller (probably 54 inch) fans. For 30 years and in 4 different homes, we have installed lots of cheap fans to either supplement AC or live without AC. In large rooms, we have used multiple small fans for "task" cooling instead of considering something huge like the Isis. I would think a cost analysis of more small vs one large might be in order (including installation costs). Locally, the "Fan Guy" installs small fans for $99 if it's a simple job, $199 if he has to run extra electric lines. So in a room for which the Isis would have probably been about right for us, we put in 3 fans for about $700, including the fans. I like the look a lot better than what I see in the pictures for the Isis, but that's just me. I also wonder about electricity use. Our "little" fans use very little juice. Don't know the rating, but I'm guessing the Isis uses a lot more - certainly vs. one small one.

By the way, we've had excellent service from all of our cheap fans. Only had to replace one of the more than 20 we've owned over the years (one in every BR as well as up to 3 in LR)

I don't doubt the Isis would do a "better" job than one small fan, but I'm suggesting a cost/utility comparison vs our "task" fans. YMMV Good luck.

 

[wildcat]

I used to live close to their original HQ building when they were just a start-up. I didn't realize they moved into residential fans as their original focus was geared towards commercial/industrial fans.

 

[Bimmerbill]

I thought this was a thread about J-Lo's butt.

 

[mickeyd]

Thanks to all for your ideas and insights on this issue.

 

[Nords]

Thanks to all for your ideas and insights on this issue.

Into which category did you put the ponderings about human physical attributes?

 

[Htown Harry]

Cool product.

If you do get one, Mickey, be sure to get some of the conversation-starting souvenirs available from their gift shop.

 

[calmloki]

Sure sounds like NASCAR to me.

Google Image Result for http://www.thesunblog.com/sports/hairy-nascar-fan.jpg