FAQ About Ceiling Fans

Should I Look for High CFM Rating or Higher Wind Speed?

In general, the higher the CFM (cubic feet per minute) of airflow a fan will move the more air you will feel being distributed throughout the space. However, fans cool by wind chill effect, and the higher the wind speed from the fan the more wind chill you will get. It's like standing outside on a hot day and the wind blows, the harder the wind blows the better you will feel. However, with a fan, keep in mind if the wind blows hard in one area, but your fan isn't large enough to get the air to where you are, then higher wind speed does nothing for you.

Our suggestion is to get the largest fan possible for indoor use, that will still look good in the room, with the highest CFM rating possible. Since most indoor fans are used to supplement air conditioning systems, moving more overall CFM of airflow volume is best for indoor living spaces.

Outdoor areas can be different. For a large outdoor living space, if you can use a fan such as our 82" Liberator at 15,754 CFM and 4.05 MPH wind speed then you're all set, because you get the best of both worlds with that fan. However, if you compare it to a similarly sized ceiling fan, the Minka Aire 84" Xtreme at 11,157 CFM and 2.75 MPH wind speed, you may be better off with two 52" fans with less CFM, but higher wind speeds.

Wind speed is a tricky thing to calculate, and the manufacture's don't list it. If you have any concerns, give one of our sales reps a call and they can calculate this for. Although what may feel like a lot of airflow to one person, may not to another. Therefore, it is all relevant to the user and we can make no guarantees on how much cooler a particular fan may make you feel. That said, we will always do our best to steer you in the right direction.

 

What Is the Quietest Ceiling Fan?

If you're wanting a fan that makes no motor noise, then any fan with a DC motor is going to be the best. DC motors operate completely different than traditional AC ceiling fan motors, with no brushes and none of the 60 cycle electrical hum, ever.

Wind noise on high speed will be present from any fan that blows a lot of airflow. However, more blades help reduce this, and remember that you can always slow the fan down to eliminate high volume wind noise, and it's always better to get more airflow than needed than not enough. Therefore slowing a very powerful fan down to reduce the sound of the breeze will be the best option, verses getting one that doesn't move enough air to keep your space cool. Besides, with the high powered fans it is rare that anyone will ever use the highest speed settings anyways.

 

What Is the Best Name Brand of Ceiling Fans?

We have people ask this question quite a bit. It is a really hard one to answer with 100% accuracy, because there are many good makers of fans, but they all have their more high-end models, and most have their more affordable builder options designed to help a builder put in a name brand for less money. So the better question may be asked, "What is the best fan?"

The offer the top 8 brands in the industry for overall initial quality and performance. Therefore, you can be assured any brand you purchase from us will be of great quality. Just be sure the look at the performance numbers shown on each fan's webpage, as well as the price point. For example, you cannot look at a Minka Aire ceiling fan for $129.95 and expect it to be built and perform like a Minka Aire fan for $599.95. The same goes for all of the brands we sell.

In a nutshell, the higher price fan you can afford, the higher quality that fan is going to be. Sometimes not much difference in build quality will be found in a $150 price difference between a $450 fan and a $600 ceiling fan, yet typically the $600 fan will have better airflow numbers. However, there will be a whole world of difference in quality in that same $150 price difference if comparing a $100 ceiling fan to a $250 fan.

If we had had to tell you which brand we carry is the best overall when comparing all of their models combined, if that answer was only based on the airflow numbers it would be TroposAir. If it were only based the quality of overall build of the fans it would be Modern Forms, but only because Modern Forms is the only brand that does not offer "builder's grade ceiling fans" for spec homes. All of their models are high-end, with each and every one designed to be inside or outdoor in wet locations, plus every one has a DC motor and integrate straight out of the box with smart phones, tablets, and things like Amazon Alexa.

As for finding the right fan for you, on our website, simply find a style you like, and if it has a good CFM rating we know you'll be satisfied with your decision.