Haiku L Series: A Big Ass Fan for small-ass money
When I moved to my new home in South Florida (which will be four years ago as of June) I wanted a showpiece lamp and ceiling fan for my living room.
When I saw what Big Ass Fans was doing with their Haiku SenseMe fan about two years ago, I knew I had to have one.
As such, it requires professional installation and comes with a premium price -- a fully loaded unit with LED lighting dome and Wi-Fi/SenseMe package costs over $1000.
If you're going to have a showpiece fan for your living room or other large space then $1000 is not difficult to justify if you consider all the costs that go into home furnishings, especially a large living room.
The original Haiku H Series, which is offered in 52", 60" and 84" models is an aesthetically pleasing design as much as it is functional and an impressive air mover. The connectivity and sensor features are also second to none.
With the optional SenseMe package, you can control air movement and light dimming with either a smartphone application or a remote. The fan can also be programmed to work in tandem with a NEST thermostat, and has timed schedules in addition to being able to respond to movement in close proximity to the sensor.
The company also plans to update the firmware later on this month which will allow integration with Amazon's Alexa service built into their Echo smart home devices.
It's a great fan. And I'd love to be able to put one in each of my bedrooms. But that's an expensive proposition at around $1000 plus professional installation costs.
So Big Ass Fans looked at the design of the Haiku H and investigated ways they could lower its costs. In January of this year, they came out with the Haiku L Series, which goes for about $450.
The Haiku L Series, pictured above in my master bedroom, has many of the same design elements as the original Haiku ceiling fan in my living room, but with notable changes. While the "ailerons" are of the same shape as the more expensive model, they are made out of plastic instead of wood. It is also only offered in a 52" model in white or in black.
Additionally, many of the other parts of the fan are also made out of plastic, and because the materials are considerably lighter, the motor itself is much smaller than the more expensive model, but is able to move the blades rapidly resulting in highly efficient air movement and also extremely quiet operation. The fan also exceeds Energy Star requirements by over 450 percent.
I was able to install the L Series with a friend on a Sunday afternoon in about an hour, simply by removing the existing Hunter fan that was originally installed in the ceiling on the existing mount and re-using the existing electrical setup.
Like the more expensive model it also incorporates a very bright but dimmable LED dome light. At the highest setting it may actually be too bright for smaller bedrooms.
For $450 you can get the L Series with dome light and remote control. If you want the additional SenseMe features which includes Wi-Fi capability on the fan, you'll want to order the Haiku Wall Control, which costs an additional $125.00.
The wall control, pictured above right, augments the physical remote that the fan comes with by providing the ability to adjust fan speed and light dimming with a Wi-Fi connection using the control or the Haiku Home smartphone app. It also has LED indicators which display the intensity of fan movement and brightness of the dome.
The wall control also incorporates a sensor which is able to detect movement in the room and will activate the fan if the sensor mode is enabled, and turn it off when your presence is no longer detected.
In addition to its compatibility with the Haiku L, it also works with the original Haiku H and Haiku I if they have the SenseMe option installed.
Interestingly because the Wall Control is connected to the fan via your Wi-Fi network, it doesn't have to be on the same electrical circuit as the fan -- it can be installed anywhere in your home.
While the Haiku fans are definitely IoT devices, as they update their firmware over the internet via your smartphone, they are not cloud-service dependent. That means that they'll still work fine if Big Ass Fans' Haiku cloud service goes down.
However, if you have multiple smartphones or tablets you want to use to control the fans in your home, you will still need to log into cloud service at least once to avoid going through the setup process on each handset.
I think the Haiku L Series is a great fan and also an excellent choice for home owners looking to put in a stylish, energy-efficient air mover in their bedrooms without spending a ton of money, but who also want IoT integration as well.
Are you looking to install a Haiku smart fan in your home anytime soon? Talk Back and Let Me Know.