Along with asking about the wallplate/remote compatibility (no, as expected, but I've never seen it stated online) I asked if I could disable the top two speeds. No, as expected.
It does seem awfully fast, though still quiet, smooth and stable, at it's top speed. It feels FAR stronger than any fan I've experienced, yet the CFM increase over the typical 52" fan is only about 30%, not 400% like it feels, 7000 cfm vs around 5500 cfm.
Also according to Hansen, a fan with 3/8 blades like the Bel Air, and with 55 inch blades, can spin at 222 rpm according to UL safety standards. The UL standard is actually based on the speed at the tip of the blades, but Hansen's has done the calculations for you.
I couldn't believe this when I read it, but then I watched the blades spin at the lowest speed, indeed it was 25 RPM or so, and the next speed was 50 rpm or so. I was easily convinced now that each speed up was about another 25 rpm higher. Now the air really kicks up at the top speeds, but the speeds actually aren't much faster, that's just the nature of wind energy, it follows a cube law rule. The fan appears to be rotating faster than it is because of all those blades, which your mind can't really compensate for--it seems to assume two blades in a blur.
So the Bel Air is actually spinning far slower that UL guidelines. Those guidelines were intended to minimize serious injuries from ceiling fans in homes. One of the more serious kinds of injury that could
occur from a ceiling fan would be laceration, so the UL standards minimize that risk by requiring a that blades be a minimum of 1/4 inch thick, and 3/8 inch blades can spin faster because they already have less risk of laceration to begin with, and less risk of breakage (a jagged broken blade can be far more dangerous than a rounded new one). The Casablanca Bel Air is UL listed, has rounded blades and blade mounts, solid furniture grade wood blades that are less likely to fracture and become sharp (rather, if obstructed the fan would more likely just come to a quick stop, the motor isn't really THAT powerful--the energy is mostly in the rotational inertia), and spins at a lower speed than UL requires.
By the way, there are fans priced at Hansens that have higher rpm and even higher cfm. I just saw one top Emerson fan with both.
I was hit by my Hunter fan inside Lyndhurst, running at max speed, when I was on the ladder. It was a non-event, I barely felt it, except that I had to stop the fan and "repair" the blade by mashing the pressed board together. The hunter fan is a bit less powerful, and the blades weigh less, so likely being hit by the Bel Air at top speed would be more noticeable. The Hunter seems to be spinning much more slowly, and doesn't generate much wind.
I see the rpm of the Bel Air is not at all out of line with other fans. Though the less expensive La Fleur fan by Casablanca does have a slightly lower top speed of 135 rpm, which would be like speed #5 on the Bel Air, but that is noted as having output slightly below the average for full sized fans.
But at least by the specs the Hunter Stratford fan, sold for $119 at Home Depot, has an even higher speed than the Bel Air, 188 rpm, but not nearly as much cfm (5100 or so cfm, about 40% less, just a tad more than the La Fleur). Most full size fans seem to have a top speed in the 150-190 rpm range, though only the premium ones have more than 6000 ccm.
As I was doing this "survey" I noticed a Hampton Bay fan that looks pretty similar to the Casablanca La Fleur, the Hampton Bay Chateau Deville. It has slightly higher top speed and slightly higher output, but only manual reverse function. Still, it seems to have the dual ball suspension system like Casablanca fans and even more obvious.
Update: The Hunter fan inside Lyndhurst does seem to spin pretty fast actually. It could be about the same RPM as the Casablanca on speed 5, judging by eyesight. But it seems to blow little air, about like the Casablanca on speed 2 or 3. That's absolutely nothing like the Casablanca on Speed 5 or 6. To be fair, Lyndhurst inside is about 60% larger.
I couldn't believe this when I read it, but then I watched the blades spin at the lowest speed, indeed it was 25 RPM or so, and the next speed was 50 rpm or so. I was easily convinced now that each speed up was about another 25 rpm higher. Now the air really kicks up at the top speeds, but the speeds actually aren't much faster, that's just the nature of wind energy, it follows a cube law rule. The fan appears to be rotating faster than it is because of all those blades, which your mind can't really compensate for--it seems to assume two blades in a blur.
So the Bel Air is actually spinning far slower that UL guidelines. Those guidelines were intended to minimize serious injuries from ceiling fans in homes. One of the more serious kinds of injury that could
occur from a ceiling fan would be laceration, so the UL standards minimize that risk by requiring a that blades be a minimum of 1/4 inch thick, and 3/8 inch blades can spin faster because they already have less risk of laceration to begin with, and less risk of breakage (a jagged broken blade can be far more dangerous than a rounded new one). The Casablanca Bel Air is UL listed, has rounded blades and blade mounts, solid furniture grade wood blades that are less likely to fracture and become sharp (rather, if obstructed the fan would more likely just come to a quick stop, the motor isn't really THAT powerful--the energy is mostly in the rotational inertia), and spins at a lower speed than UL requires.
By the way, there are fans priced at Hansens that have higher rpm and even higher cfm. I just saw one top Emerson fan with both.
I was hit by my Hunter fan inside Lyndhurst, running at max speed, when I was on the ladder. It was a non-event, I barely felt it, except that I had to stop the fan and "repair" the blade by mashing the pressed board together. The hunter fan is a bit less powerful, and the blades weigh less, so likely being hit by the Bel Air at top speed would be more noticeable. The Hunter seems to be spinning much more slowly, and doesn't generate much wind.
I see the rpm of the Bel Air is not at all out of line with other fans. Though the less expensive La Fleur fan by Casablanca does have a slightly lower top speed of 135 rpm, which would be like speed #5 on the Bel Air, but that is noted as having output slightly below the average for full sized fans.
But at least by the specs the Hunter Stratford fan, sold for $119 at Home Depot, has an even higher speed than the Bel Air, 188 rpm, but not nearly as much cfm (5100 or so cfm, about 40% less, just a tad more than the La Fleur). Most full size fans seem to have a top speed in the 150-190 rpm range, though only the premium ones have more than 6000 ccm.
As I was doing this "survey" I noticed a Hampton Bay fan that looks pretty similar to the Casablanca La Fleur, the Hampton Bay Chateau Deville. It has slightly higher top speed and slightly higher output, but only manual reverse function. Still, it seems to have the dual ball suspension system like Casablanca fans and even more obvious.
Update: The Hunter fan inside Lyndhurst does seem to spin pretty fast actually. It could be about the same RPM as the Casablanca on speed 5, judging by eyesight. But it seems to blow little air, about like the Casablanca on speed 2 or 3. That's absolutely nothing like the Casablanca on Speed 5 or 6. To be fair, Lyndhurst inside is about 60% larger.
Good info about the difference in airflow between various fans. I'd just like to add a little info about why some fans that run at a lower RPM can move more air than fans that run at a higher RPM.
ReplyDeleteThe main difference is the size, shape and pitch of the blades...and the motor that spins them. The overall surface area, blade pitch (angle) and aerodynamic shape of the blades determines how much air a fan will move at a given RPM. When the size and pitch of the blades is increased, the amount of surface area directly exposed to the air increases, which increases the amount of torque required by the motor to reach a certain RPM.
The motor inside a ceiling fan has the most impact on the overall cost of the fan. The cost of the motor inside the average fan sold at a home center is about $10 to $15 (to the consumer) compared to the cost of the motor inside the Casablanca Bel Air, which is closer to $200. Better quality fans like the Casablanca Bel Air also require more precision components in order to operate efficiently without wobbling or making any noise.
BTW: Casablanca does not increase the RPM to the maximum allowed because they do not want to overload the motor...which makes it run hot, which in turn substantially reduces the efficiency and lifespan. They could use a larger more powerful motor, but there is no need for it since the airflow at 180 RPM is substantially higher than lesser quality fans that run at 200 RPM...as you have eluded to.
Comment by: Greg Tillotson
Webmaster and Ceiling Fan Expert for Hansen Wholesale
http://www.hansenwholesale.com