Ceiling Fans Review

After years of living with various types of ceiling fans (12'x12' rooms), these are the ones we wish to avoid --

Ceiling fans with Dome Light

Translucent dome light shade blocks off the glare but that means lighting is not sufficient bright.


Ceiling fans with Individual Light Bulbs

The light bulbs need constant replacing as compared to bulbs which are fixed onto walls or ceilings.

Every brand of ceiling fans or light bulbs that we change to promises that theirs won't see incidence of constantly fused or blown bulbs.  But with each change, out of four bulbs that are fixed to the base of the ceiling fan, only one or two would finally remain.  And the remaining ones eventually blew up faster than those fixed onto concrete surfaces.  We read that the bulbs fixed onto ceiling fans sees constant vibration as the blades move, thereby shortening their life span.  In fact, Philips refused to replace our light bulb despite their one-year warranty, because it was fixed onto a ceiling fan and not on solid surface.


Ceiling fans with any sort of light attachment

Finally got tired of the 3-switch options: On once for light; click twice for fan; click thrice for light and fan.

Just want to go back to the simple life when one flip of the switch puts the light on, while another dedicated switch deals a one-time activation of the fan.


Other aspects

We tend to think that more blades is better.  But we are beginning to realize that five blades do seem to add clutter to the already small space.  We also do not seem to use the topmost speed so we should do fine with lesser blades.

Research indicates that three or four blades may be the optimum number of blades for best air moving performance.  Five blades may be less efficient due to the higher aerodynamic drag on the motor.  Coincidence or not, our five-bladed fans see more breakdown than our friends' three-bladed fans.  More blades to clean as well. 

For a 12"x12" room, Reka offered us a 56-inch ceiling fan when their 42-inch stock ran out. They didn't charge extra.  However, it was a mistake to accept the free upsizing. The rooms looks overwhelmed. The noise level appears "upsized" as well.  Its only saving grace are the acrylic blades, which maintains well and has good blade pitch that moves the air well.


The above reviews are based on the following brands: Mountain Air | Reka | Crestar. 

An electrician friend recommends that we go for the made-in-Japan KDK brand in our next replacement.