Big Ass Fans Haiku Generation 4: IoT’s a Breeze

In 2013, shortly after shifting to South Florida, we determined to outfit our front room with a showpiece ceiling fan, a first-generation Massive Ass Followers Haiku H sequence with SenseMe, a WiFi-controlled machine that built-in with good thermostats such because the Nest and had onboard movement sensors and clever scheduling.

It served us effectively for about ten years, and we preferred it sufficient that we put in a Haiku L sequence in our bed room. 

We had a technical situation with our unique Haiku H just a few months in the past (it might need been associated to a lightning storm, we’re undecided why it failed) and contacted assist. The decision was that Massive Ass Followers would exchange it (without spending a dime) with a brand new Technology 4 Haiku machine, a testomony to the corporate’s superior guarantee and assist providers; in case you’re questioning why it’s best to spend upwards of $1600 on considered one of these items.

However as I needed to get an electrician in to re-install it, I additionally took the chance to exchange my previous (dumb) Hunter fan in my kitchen/bar space with a Technology 4 and to exchange the older (and finicky) WiFi wall management switches with the newer Bluetooth Low Vitality-based ones. Along with the dome lighting on the unique fan, we additionally purchased the brand new chromatic uplight kits for each new followers to offer temper lighting.

New tech, new app

The Technology 4 expertise is now deployed throughout Massive Ass Fan’s total residential and shopper product line, together with their i6 and ES6 (six-blade) and their entry-level Haiku L units. This permits the whole lot to be managed by the corporate’s newest smartphone app, together with their business/industrial units. 

This new app for iOS and Android launched with Technology 3 replaces the earlier “Haiku Followers” app, however in case you have Technology 1 and Technology 2 units in your community, they’re caught on that older app. Sure Gen 1 and Gen 2 followers can get new most important logic boards to maneuver them over (a process I tried on our first 10-year-old fan to attempt to repair it when it grew to become unresponsive). Nonetheless, it is not a straightforward process for the reason that total housing of the unit must be disassembled to place it in. Except you’re tremendous helpful with disassembling electronics, I would suggest getting an electrician to alter these.

Upon getting the followers put in, getting them linked to the app is simple. Every fan broadcasts a WiFi sign, so that you merely be a part of that community with the cellular machine and add it to the app with a easy wizard. The brand new Gen4 tech absolutely helps trendy WiFi 2.4Ghz 802.11n networks. It’s rather more dependable than the older Technology 1/Technology 2 tech, which used a much less highly effective 2.4ghz 802.11g transceiver and would usually disconnect until you remoted it to a legacy WiFi community. This situation, we felt, was the Achilles heel in an in any other case glorious product.

The brand new wall controller, which installs in a typical gentle swap receptacle flush mounted, can also be modernized utilizing contact controls for fan velocity and light-weight dimming and robotically pairs with a fan utilizing Bluetooth Low Vitality, a major enchancment over the two.4ghz WiFi wall controllers, which additionally had periodic connectivity points with trendy entry factors.  

Along with scheduling utilizing the app and movement sensing to set off fan operation and lighting, the followers may be built-in with Alexa and Google Assistant, permitting for voice management for use for setting fan velocity and in addition dome gentle brightness (however not heat/shade, which is toggled manually between tender white and vibrant white). 

You probably have an Ecobee thermostat, it’s also possible to combine with it to optimize HVAC and fan effectivity. The platform was additionally as soon as built-in with Nest, however sadly, Google discontinued its Works with Nest program in 2019.

You probably have a couple of Massive Ass Fan product put in in your house, it’s also possible to mix them into management teams – that is useful if they’re positioned close to one another, and also you wish to synchronize fan speeds and lighting ranges. It additionally simplifies wall management setup by having a couple of fan and light-weight operated by a single wall management.

Chromatic lighting might be higher

The chromatic uplighting improve ($400), additionally obtainable for the ES6, is an adjunct possibility that, in concept, could be a fantastic addition to the product if it was extra software-configurable. Along with a vibrant white uplight for ceiling illumination, it additionally implements a multi-color temper evening gentle with seven completely different shade combos: pink, orange, yellow, inexperienced, blue, purple, and vibrant purple. On the ES6, the chromatic gentle may combine UV-C, for room sterilization.

Nevertheless, all of those evening gentle colours should be manually chosen within the app – you possibly can’t management them with Alexa or Google like you possibly can the dome gentle; they merely activate when the primary dome lights are turned off and are set to one of many seven colours, there is no “celebration mode” or gradual shade transition move obtainable. The setting to alter the colour can also be buried three ranges down within the app UX, which is inconvenient.

As they’re hardcoded, pairing them with Hue and different producer lights in an Alexa routine is inconceivable if you wish to color-coordinate them. Hopefully, a few of these points may be addressed in a software program replace sooner or later.

The Haiku Fan, perfected finally?

I have been utilizing these followers for ten years, and whereas they have been nice air movers and look incredible, the reliability of the WiFi connectivity on the Technology 1 Haiku with SenseMe left so much to be desired. The connectivity now works flawlessly with the up to date communications stack and Bluetooth wall controllers.

However is it value it? That is actually a magnificence within the eye of the beholder situation. In order for you primary IoT ceiling fan integration, you are able to do this for lots much less cash utilizing Lutron’s Wi-fi Caseta Fan Controller, and a Lutron Caseta Starter Equipment mixed with any 3-speed or 4-speed “dumb” ceiling fan just like the Hunter I had put in beforehand. 

That stated, the fan intelligence with its onboard sensors distinguishes the Haiku and the ES6 from different merchandise in the marketplace, significantly the scheduling, movement sensing, room temperature optimization, and the “whoosh” mode that simulates a pure breeze. And the truth that the corporate is prepared to face behind its merchandise, even exchange them after ten years of service, implies that the funding is sound.