We have installed ceiling fans in 2 bedrooms and the living area. We can’t put one in our 3rd bedroom as it has a set of bunks for when the grandchildren visit and would be too dangerous. We bought the Mercator City DC model as we have standard 2.4 ceilings and that model has the shortest drop from the ceiling. They come in 2 models and ours have a built in LED light as they were replacing the ceiling light fitting. They came with a 5-speed remote. We have found that we no longer use the air conditioning (except on 2 occasions when it was around 40deg) and they are totally silent. It is so nice to have moving air when trying to sleep on those hot sticky nights. We bought the first 2 from Project Lighting but after a significant price rise did some research and found the third one online from fansonline.com.au for $100 cheaper. It was even delivered between Christmas and New Year! It was dearer than some of the other fans at $300, but we decided the extra cost was worth it for us. They were easy to install as they used the existing wiring, though we did get our builder son to help us.
Cool down your bedroom with these ceiling fans:
As some of these fans cost as much as other big household appliances (with a significant capital outlay), it would be good if Choice could give an indication of how long one could expect/would expect a ceiling fan to last. As they can be used almost nightly for months on end in come climates, one might expect some longevity otherwise they become a costly item within the household.
BTW, we have DC ceiling fans in our house,the oldest are around 40+ years old, mostly alunimium construction and still going strong (touch wood). It is also important to clean them regularly as dust accumulates on the leading edge of the fan and also on its top. In a moist/humid environment, the dust traps moisture and can lead to accelerated corrosion of metal fan blades.
Another ceiling fan review update in time for summer 2019:
Same here I cannot sleep in summer so hot. I remember when I first moved into the unit I hardly had to use the fans but in recent years I have been using them most days in summer I’m not sure if I’m hotter or weather is worse
Weather is worse, the science is clear on that.
Yes I agree with you. Climate change is here.
All of our three residences in Cairns since we were married almost 50 years ago have had ceiling fans through out.
Our first home had the fantastic old Crompton Parkinson ones which were slow moving and super silent, in stark contrast to the DEMC fans being installed then that sounded like a helicopter minus the airflow.
When we had our second residence built, the Crompton Parkinson fans were no longer available but a Crompton company in India was producing a good substitute, which we used.
Our current residence had fans installed throughout when we bought it, most of which we have had replaced.
Most of the year, we have the fans operating in the day time areas, and the one in our bedroom of a night.
When we have travelled, we were disappointed that hotels, motels, and private residences South of Townsville, and certainly Mackay, rarely had ceiling fans.
The fans are economical to buy, install, and operate, so we found it incredible that accomadation providers fail to provide them.
We have a covered deck and need to install a new fan. Our last one was stainless steel but has rusted. What brands do would you recommend?
Hi @unicorn7, welcome to the community.
Have you looked at the Choice reviews, member content?
It’s interesting that you say your SS fan is rusting.
What brand and model might elicit some additional suggestions. Are you somewhere with salt air or high humidity?
Brisbane, it’s a typhoon I think. It is 15 years old. Just after another one that is reliable really.
Hunter still make the Typhoon, now a Mach3 version with 316 Marine Grade SS blades or a cheaper version with bushed crome or painted alloy.
Note it appears it’s only the blades that are SS. Fifteen years outdoors with high humidity and early morning condensation to contend with seems a good outcome. An assumption here is the non stainless hub and motor cover are the items that have rusted?
I can’t comment on how well it rated in the Choice ceiling fan test. There are number of recommended products in the Choice review of fans intended for outdoor undercover tropical use.
Reading the recent Choice recommendations for ceiling fans I was surprised at the conflicting reviews supplied by purchasers/users of these products. Could the distance the fan operates below the ceiling or whether the ceiling slopes, be factors in the fans performance? Choice don’t appear to factor that into their testing.
Welcome to the Community @Confused,
I merged your topic into the ceiling fans review topic.
It is not uncommon for consumers to sometimes have different experiences with products in their own homes as compared to results of standardised laboratory measurements and tests.
Perhaps @DenisGallagher will respond to the question.
Could be, we standardize the room and have selected the 52-inch models as the most indicative size for most rooms and industry contacts concur that this size is the most popular as far as volume sales are concerned. I hope the following image gives an idea on how we can adjust the room to suit the fan.
This design and the outer chamber means we can measure the absolute air flow without dealing with any of the air swirling that would happen in a normal enclosed room. The end result would be a pure measurement of the air movement without the room itself influencing the performance.
These images may not show the test room to be particularly attractive, but the measurement at different areas of the room, with the overall air movement averaged has been verifiable over several years. Some of the issues that customers have with noise or irritating sounds can be more problematic as these ‘clicks’ or whirring noises can be delivered at a very low dB level so while it is quiet it can still be noticeable.
Of course other issues such as breaking down after two seasons or electrical issues over time are something that CHOICE has always found a challenge (as we test for a period of time and then move on) and we are happy to hear from users for long term use feedback on tested products in any of our categories.
Regards
Denis
I have ceiling fans that make a noise im not sure if it is common in all brands tested. I can only think it is the motor. Otherwise no problem.
