Much of the modern home is already smart-enabled, from heating to lighting, and with many gadgets in each room. Yet the humble ceiling fan doesn’t seem to have had much of look in. Perhaps because most models have a speed control at the wall or via a remote, and what else is there to do?
Haiku don’t think that’s quite enough, and it has a range of fans that can be located indoors and out, in varying sizes and styles. The L Series is available in black, caramel, white or a mix of the colors.
As a premium priced product, the makers claim that are factory-balanced and sound tested to ensure quiet, wobble-free performance. The L series offers cooking for fifteen-square feet of space and is an Energy Star rated product.
In this Haiku L Series fan review, I’ll evaluate the key specs to see if it’s worth the price.
Key Features of the Haiku L Series Fan
The smartness comes into play with a built-in LED light with variable brightness, plus smartphone control or voice commands via Alexa.
The app works on iOS or Android devices, and is pretty simple with fan speed and brightness sliders, plus sleep mode or automated fan settings for when you want the fan to kick in. A smart mode will also see the fan run intelligently to keep the room at a desired temperature and humidity.
There’s also a remote control for when your phone is out of reach.
The fan itself is very cool, modern and stylish looking, especially in black. Molded from they are 52-inches in diameter, the composite finish will look amazing in any modern home. A universal mount means it can be located on a flat or sloped ceiling.
The fan weighs about five kilos, with a near 12-inch drop from the ceiling, if you’re planning to install it yourself.
An official Haiku Wall Controller is the part that adds WiFi control, so is a requirement if you want to run it via Alexa or your smartphone.
It also adds a SenseMe feature that will know if you’re in the room and kick in the fan to bring the temperature to your desired level.
Earlier larger models have higher prices For the latest prices and discounts, check here), so the L series helps bring to the technology into range of more buyers. Even with the controller, a new Haiku is still a lot less, sacrificing the wood of the original design for plastics in these models.
That does make it lighter, so a smaller motor is required, which is an additional benefit, and the whole thing can now be self installed, whereas the originals recommended professional installation due to their weight.
How to Set Up the Haiku Fan
Here’s a visual feed of the Haiku fan setup and installation process:
This should help give you a better sense for how it works.
Pros of the Haiku
Installation is heavy work, but simple enough with the fan blades color coded to their mounts. All the fixtures and fittings for safe installation and operation are supplied, although if you feel a bit nervous, then getting an expert to do it is no bad thing.
In operation the Haiku is whisper silent, with only the sound of the air moving around. Move it up to woosh mode and there’s a lot more air moving around but no racket from the fan.
The LED doesn’t look too dissimilar to the core in Iron Man’s suit, and puts out plenty of light for a typical room. It can be dimmed down with the remote or app to suit any mood in the home.
The light weight and energy efficient motor, the company claims it beats the Energy Star standard by around four times, means it won’t add much to your electricity bill. It will certainly be more efficient if you are replacing an older non-smart model.
Those with Alexa installed through one of Amazon’s Echo products can control the fan with voice control, which is a neat Alexa skill. Once installed the unit should require little or no maintenance for decades thanks to the long life LEDs and the well designed fan motor.
There’s a lifetime warranty on the motor and five years on the controller and the light unit should there be an issue.
Should there be a firmware update, not that we can imagine it needs that many, they are delivered via the app and your phone. That means there is no reliance on the cloud, and the fan will work regardless of whether your Internet is up or down.
Also, should the company or its servers ever fail, it will carry on regardless.
Cons of the Haiku
Aside from the smart features listed, there’s no sign of Haiku adding any other type of smart home compatibility. Moderns have got it running with Samsung’s SmartThings and we’re sure it can be coerced to work plenty of other hubs.
As with many other smart home products reliant on WiFi, some users do seem to have problems with connectivity, and maintaining that connection once the unit is running.
The company’s customer support seems helpful but either their app or WiFi receiver needs an upgrade to make it more compatible and reliable.
Haiku Fan Frequently Asked Questions
The following are some of the top questions we receive about this fan:
Question: What’s needed to get the Haiku working with Amazon Alexa devices?
Answer: No separate equipment is required. All you need is a stable WiFi connection to pair the device via the Haiku Home app on your smartphone and Alexa devices. For Apple Users / For Android Users. When you pair the Haiku app you can easily adjust fan and light settings.
Question: Is the Haiku remote IR or RF based?
Answer: The remote device communicates just via IR.
Question: How bright is the light on the Haiku fan?
Answer: It’s rated as 988 lumens. For comparison, that’s about a 70 watt traditional bulb.
Question: Can you dim the light?
Answer: Yes, the fixture feature has a dimmable switch to raise / lower as needed, much like a standard wall dimmer.
Overall Take on the Haiku Smart Fan
The Haiku range comes from a company called Big Ass fans, and it makes as much of a statement in any room as their moniker.
They look impressive, produce great cooling results and have all the smart technology most of us need to impress visitors or remain comfortable in summer. The controllable lighting is a bonus and the this is infinitely preferable to having those cheap fans on stalks littered around a room.
If the plastic look isn’t quite your style, then the earlier models are still available with wood and gold effects to suit more traditional decor. Sure, they have a higher price tag, but are very much in keeping with older homes.
Where to Buy: You can pick up the Haiku fan and any accessories that you might need at this Amazon listing OR via their official store here
Further read:
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