You know that, I know that, but the average Aussie consumer likely does not need to know. When an Aussie lighting and ceiling fan business mentions transformer it may be referring to one of several items we commonly know by other descriptions including an AC to low voltage DC plug pack.
It’s a technical simplification, unfortunate or otherwise the US residential lighting industry/suppliers and sellers of ceiling fans follow. Dim witted or not it’s in common usage with broad interpretation. EG US market 110VAC to 12/24V AC/DC transformer.
A link to an Aussie supplier whose illumination on the topic of fan motors offers less than a spent Bryant May.
It’s possible Universal Fans are a great supplier, offer great service and advice. Their technical explanation of the differences between AC and DC fans is obviously tailored to suit the more typical Aussie consumer.
In their words:
AC motors function by being connected directly to a power source. This power source is what creates the moment of force required to rotate the motor’s rotor. With DC fans, the direct (AC) power source, connects to a transformer which converts the power to DC. The effect is that it decreases the amount of power used by only using a direct current instead of the alternating current.
'Tis true. But it seems likely that a factory making a new-ish product is likely to use better build quality than what’s already coming off the 30-year-old production line.
I definitely would not plan to use the remote control, and would make sure that there is a hard-wired way to achieve the same functions as via the remote control. I live in the tropics, and batteries always leak into remote controls, wrecking them.
The residential designed DC fans I’m familiar with do not have that option. It would be useful. Assume there is not a large market. Some of the larger more powerful commercial products may have that option. A commercial air conditioning and ventilation supplier might be worth an inquiry?
I suspect many may come from the same production lines. Aside from the motor assembly AC and DC fans share the same components. A DC fan adds a PC Card for the motor controller and a black box for the remote receiver.
Thanks. I’m going to take some pics of the existing lights to a lighting shop and discuss the options available to increase the lumens in the room using only the existing wiring to the light fittings, I suspect that I’ll end up replacing the existing fluro light fittings with ones that can take LEDs, but will only do so if certain that this will result in a substantial increase in lumens.
The following are some photos of a fairly flat LED panel (2cm thick) that Costco sell. It produces 4200 lumen. Cost to buy $120. Perhaps an option to fit to your ceiling (not as a blade for your fan ).
Not all DC fans are quiet, and some AC fans are also low noise.
Our 5 blade 3 speed AC fans in the kitchen are next to silent. The DC multi speed 4 blade fan in the bedroom can develop a steady rumble or growl.
The Choice reviews provide close to real world noise measurements. Overall the trend is that DC fans are quieter. Part of an explanation may be that AC fans dominate the cheaper end of the market, while DC fans have been more premium and better quality.
Some thoughts:
Our observations of newer and older fans is blade type and design influence noise at speed. Ceiling fans can also exhibit annoying pulsing or rhythmic sounds. Some have been traced back to blade balance, some to ceiling/mounting resonance, others to looseness or wear in the fan bearings. Annoying humming or buzzing (AC and DC fans) may be due to looseness in retention of electrical windings, laminations or permanent magnets.
Curiosity is the Choice fan tests often return higher noise levels than those in the supplier’s data sheets. If that makes a difference. Perhaps purchases of high end (expensive fans) are more decisions of the heart than the wallet. One would want to be sure the quality matches the price.
You’re quite right about remote controls. Batteries start leaking within months in low-use devices (eg. remote controls, clocks, digital cameras) where I live in the tropics, which is why it is necessary to make sure that there are manual controls, so that the remote control can just stay in the cupboard.
Are you using alkaline batteries ? If so, have you tried using rechargeable batteries instead ? I’ve had a few remote controls ‘killed’ by alkaline batteries over the years, but I’ve never had a rechargeable battery leak. The downside is that the rechargeables need to be replaced, i.e. recharged, more frequently.
We lived in the tropics, and would agree that some types of batteries and brands were prone to leak. Similar to @ScottOKeefe suggestion we commenced transitioning to rechargeable batteries, - Sanyo eleloop or the equivalent. They don’t leak when fully discharged, and are now more readily available from more than one brand.
Thanks for the suggestion, @ScottOKeefe and @mark_m , but as it happens I used to use only NiMH rechargeable batteries for everything, but ended up phasing them out, because I didn’t use them often enough (they would be flat from self-discharge by the time I came to use them), and I also found that the nominal voltage of 1.2V would often be at the low end of a device’s usable voltage range based on the expected nominal voltage of 1.5V for an alkaline battery. I gave all my rechargeable batteries and their chargers to my brother-in-law.
An interesting topic, that is covered in further detail by,
There are low self discharge NiMH batteries which is what we choose for our remotes. 80% charge retained over 12 months. The NiMH rechargeable batteries deliver 1.2V or slightly higher up to approx 90% discharge. A typical alkaline battery voltage decreases over time from 1.5V to nominally 1.2V at 50-60% discharged. It may be that some devices prefer or work best on voltages closer to 1.5V. If so those that stop working at around 1.2V are causing one to throw away alkaline batteries that are barely half used. It’s also a big shonky for those products as the designers are well aware the discharge curves for alkaline batteries are specified down to 0.9V cut-off voltage.
product is a big issue for everything , not just fans.
When a television that was still within the manufacturer’s warranty period (and well within the ACL reasonable length of time) stopped being useable because it’s remote stopped working I was informed by multiple sources (including Choice) that the remote was not covered by the product’s warranty, neither the explicit warranty nor the ACL.
So what happened to the remote control? Dog chewed it up, or some small child stuck it in the dishwasher?
No reason a remote control would not be covered by warranty unless it was subjected to damage.
The remote control stopped working in a household consisting of one adult and no pets. The ability to turn tv on from standby mode stopped, the ability to change channels stopped, the ability to change volume stopped, etc. No visible damage in the battery compartment from say leaking batteries (and new batteries did not fix problem).
I sought advice from Choice and received advice that if the fault was with the set then ACL warranty would apply, but as the fault was with the remote the ACL warranty did not apply.
The manufacturer would have warrantied the remote control along with the TV.
Now that may have been a fairly standard one year.
The ACCC considers that a TV should last longer than one year so manufacturers should offer remedies longer than their own warranties. This time is not defined, but they use an example in the ACL industry guide for electrical and whitegoods of a TV failing after two years and it being a consumer’s right to get a remedy notwithstanding the manufacturer warranty of only one year.
A remote control, however, would not necessarily fall under the same ACL expectation as it is subjected to more wear and tear.
We have had Fanco DC fans in all our rooms for over 5 years now. They are very good at keeping us cool in summer and mixing the heat in winter, but the remote controls gobble A23 12V batteries (every 3 - 4 weeks).
We’ve a single Arlec DC Fan and the remote has the same issue. I now leave the battery out, inserting it only to adjust the speed and remove it.
It’s not a factor Choice assess with a fan review. It only requires a simple low current test set up to determine the standby battery drain. I’ve another brand of fan that has a remote which uses 2 AA batteries. They last years. Even a TV remote which is complex and heavily used in comparison will last for a year or longer with 2 AAA batteries. The remote key for the Ford uses the A23 battery and also lasts many years of daily use.
I suspect one cheap chip option for the key press decoder in the remote fan control is always active - powered, to simplify the design and reduce the product cost. The $2 saving to the manufacturer is lost by the consumer after the first flat battery.
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