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Best Smart Ceiling Fans

Derek Hales

Written By: Derek Hales

Updated on:

Smart fans have come a long way in recent years. Which is the best smart fan for your home?

Continue below as we discuss the newest and best fans.

BEST SMART CEILING FAN?

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Haiku Home L Series 52″

The Haiku Home L series is a 52″ smart fan available in 5 different colors. It connects to wifi, which allows for control via smartphone or voice control (also includes remote control). It’s expensive, but makes up for it with Energy Star certification and ultra long-life integrated LED light.Check Price

If the Haiku Home smart fan is a bit more than you want to spend there are definitely other options.

Below we’ve listed what we think are the 5 best smart home fans.

PRODUCT DETAILS

BEST OVERALL

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Haiku Home L Series 52″
  • Control: Alexa, App, & Remote
  • Size: 52″
  • Location: Indoor
Check Price
moderncastle-table-__imageHunter Symphony (59222)
  • Control: Alexa & App
  • Size: 54″
  • Location: Indoor
Check Price

BEST ENERGY SAVER

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Modern Forms Axis 52″
  • Control: Alexa, Google, App, & Wall Control
  • Size: 52″
  • Location: Indoor or Outdoor
Check Price

BEST BUDGET

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BOND Smart Fan Controller
  • Control: Alexa, Google, & App
  • Size: 3.8×3.8×1.1″
  • Location: NA
Check Price
moderncastle-table-__imageGE Z-Wave Fan Controller
  • Control: Alexa & App (Hub required)
  • Size: 4.2×2.2×2.2″
  • Location: NA
Check Price

Still not sure which is the best ceiling fan for you? No problem!

Below we’re going to discuss each of these smart ceiling fans more in-depth.

How to Pick the Best Smart Ceiling Fan?

With smart home accessories becoming more advanced and compatible than ever before, it’s not too surprising that it’s branching out into the ceiling fan market.

Smart ceiling fans offer a few distinct advantages over traditional ceilings fans.

  1. Voice control: Smart ceiling fans can be controlled with your voice when paired with an AI device like Amazon Alexa or Google Assistant. “Turn the fan on” or “dim the bedroom light”. It’s as easy as a simple request.
  2. Smartphone control: You can also control a smart fan with your smartphone. Some smart fans will require a standalone app to control, but most will allow you to sync with Alexa, Google, or various smart home hubs (see our SmartThings vs. Winks hub comparisions).

How to install a new smart fan

There’s a couple different ways:

  1. Install a brand new smart ceiling fan that has built in smart home compatibility and features
  2. Convert an exisiting non-smart ceiling fan into a smart fan with an adapter or controller

We’re going to talk through both options below.

#1. Haiku Home

The Haiku Home ceiling fan takes a modern approach to the smart ceiling fan design. Unlike traditional fans which have 4 or 5 blades, the Haiku only has 3 and the aesthetic mimics the looks of an aviation propeller.

Haiku Home smart ceiling fan

This fan has a 52” diameter and comes in 5 different colors:

  • All black
  • All white
  • Caramel blades with black center
  • Caramel blades with white center
  • Cocoa blades with black center

The Haiku smart fan uses an integrated LED module which is more energy efficient than a traditional 40-watt incandescent bulb. In addition, it offers 16 different brightness settings for a wide range of light output.

Haiki smart fan in a room

How does it work?

The Haiku smart ceiling fan works by wirelessly connecting to smart devices around your home.

Haiku home smartphone app

There are many ways to control this fan, including:

  1. Control with your voice: Use Amazon Alexa to turn the fan on or off or to support dimming control.
  2. Control with your smartphone: Pair the Haiku fan with an app on your smartphone. The Haiku Home app or the Amazon Alexa app are two of the most popular.
  3. Control with remote: The Haiku fan also comes with physical remote control that you can use to control the fan, light, speed, dimming, and more.
Haiku Home smart ceiling fan - remote control
Haiku Home smart ceiling fan – remote control

#2. Hunter Symphony (59222)

The Hunter Symphony ceiling fan mimics the 3-blade modern aesthetic approach of the Haiku Home fan, but at a much lower price point.

Hunter Symphony smart ceiling fan

While some third-party reviews complain about spotty wifi connection to this fan, for the lower price, it may be an option to consider for you.

This fan has a 54” diameter and comes in three different colors:

  • Black
  • Satin Nickel
  • White

Like the Haiku, the Hunter Symphony smart fan also uses an integrated LED and is dimmable.

Hunter Symphony smart ceiling fan

How does it work?

The Hunter Symphony fan works in similar ways to the Haiku Home fan. While there is no included remote control, there are still two ways to control the fan:

  1. Control with your voice: You can use an Alexa device (like the Echo Dot) Apple’s Siri technology to control the fan directly with your voice.
  2. Control with your smartphone: There is also a smartphone app for the Hunter fan that allows you to control the fan directly from your phone (as long as the phone and fan are on the same wifi network). Other 3rd party reviews do mention problems with pairing and staying connected with using this route.

Want to see more Hunter fans?

Check out the following additional options for more Hunter smart ceiling fans:

#3. Modern Forms

The Modern Forms smart ceiling fan is a nice balance between the high-end Haiku and the economical Hunter fan.

Modern Forms has a couple different fan options on the market, but the one we’re going to be looking at today is the Wynd five-blade indoor/outdoor fan.

Modern Forms Wynd smart fan

This fan has a 52” diameter and comes in four different colors:

  • Bronze
  • Graphite / Weathered Gray
  • Matte White
  • Stainless Steel

The Modern Forms fans have an integrated LED light with an option of dimmable light output down to 1%.

Modern Forms smart ceiling fan

How does it work?

Similar to the fans listed above, the Modern Forms fan syncs to your home wifi network and enables you to control it remotely. It can even pair up with a smart home thermostat to help reduce energy costs.

When the thermostat senses that a fan could be used instead of additional energy, it’ll notify the fan and it’ll start running instead of kicking the AC on.

Modern Forms smart phone app

The Modern Forms smart fan is compatible with many different smart home technologies including:

  • Smart home thermostats (like Nest or Ecobee)
  • Amazon Alexa devices
  • Google Assistant devices

If you don’t use any of the devices above, you can also control this fan by simply pairing it with your smartphone. The Modern Forms fan does not include a physical remote control.

How do you convert an existing fan to be a smart fan?

There are a couple devices out there that can be used to turn your traditional fan into a smart fan. Some of these technologies involve rewiring the switch, while other techniques are completely wireless, like the BOND Smart Home Automation System.

#4. BOND Smart Fan Adapter

The Bond smart ceiling fan adapter is a small black adapter, about the size of a hockey puck, that turns any old fan with a remote control into a smart fan.

Bond smart fan automation system

It can control up to six ceiling fans from one location, by giving each fan a unique name.

How does it work?

BOND smart fan controller
Connect all of your fans to your single BOND smart fan controller

The Bond smart ceiling fan adapter works by following the short steps listed below:

  1. Plug in the adapter to a central location in relation to your fan or fans.
  2. Download the Bond app to your smartphone or tablet.
  3. Proceed on the app to the “Command Dashboard”.
  4. Using your physical fan remote, select commands and pair it up with the Bond system by following the animated prompts guided by the app.

That’s it.

Bond ceiling fan controller

Once the Bond is paired you won’t need the original remote anymore and you can control the fan using one of two methods:

  1. Control with your voice: When paired with an Amazon Alexa or Google Assistant device, you can control the fan just using your voice.
  2. Control with your smartphone: You can also control the Bond device with your smartphone using an app developed by the manufacturer.

#5. GE Z-Wave Smart Fan Controller

The GE Z-Wave Plus is an in-wall adapter that allows you to control your fan’s speed in-wall, via app, or voice controlled. This strategy does involve a little more setup as you have to rewire your existing fan switch.

GE Z-Wave smart fan control

But once installed, your traditional fan can now be controlled wirelessly.

How does it work?

The Z-Wave in-wall switch is the only in-wall option included in this guide.

By being directly wired to the fan itself, this switch can accurately control the speed of any traditional fan.

Setting up z-wave controlled smart fan

Integrated into the design of this switch is the compatibility to work with Amazon Alexa, Samsung SmartThingsWink, or other smart home technologies.

There is a bit of fine print though…

Unlike the options listed above, the GE Z-Wave will require a few additional items.

Here’s what you’ll need to get the Z-Wave up and running:

  1. Requires a Z-Wave certified gateway (like a Z-Wave smart hub)
  2. In-wall installation with hard-wired connections
  3. A neutral wire in your wiring box
Z-wave smart ceiling fan controllers

Also, there is no one switch that can control the speed and dimmable light.

To control the light and fan speed of a single fan, you’ll need to purchase the:

  1. Paddle Fan Control
  2. Paddle Dimmer

Although it has a bit more of a wired setup, once it’s set, it’s  easy to use.

The Z-Wave smart fan adapter can work with just one unit or be used to control an entire home. You can program schedules, or simply turn the fan on or off from anywhere in the world with a network connection.

So what is the best smart ceiling fan?

As you can see, there’s many different options when you’re looking for the right smart ceiling fan. Whether you’re looking for a simple wireless upgrade or looking to upgrade the entire fixture (or many), smart ceiling fans are available and there’s a wide range od options out there.

To help you decide which smart ceiling fan is best for you, we’ve made the following recommendations below:

If you’re looking for a high-end, modern smart fan:

I would recommend the Haiku Home fan. Not only does this fan have a sleek modern look, but it is also extremely reliable and made from a reputable company. You just can’t go wrong with this designer-grade smart fan.

If you’re looking for something to help with energy-efficiency:

If energy cost savings is your main aim, I would recommend the Modern Forms smart fan. This fan has a modern look, like the Haiku, but without as high of a price tag.

For energy savings, it can even sync up to smart home thermostats, like Nest or Ecobee. When combined with a smart thermostat, the fan can work in tandem with your HVAC system and save energy as opportunities arise.

If you’re looking for a 5-minute setup:

For something quick and easy, it’s hard to beat the install of the Bond smart fan automation system. This system pairs wirelessly with any ceiling fan that has a remote control.

Once wirelessly connected, you can control the fan with your smartphone (via app) or using voice control (when paired with a system like Amazon Alexa or Google Assistant).

If you’re looking for a whole-home system:

While the Bond system can support multiple fans, if you’re serious about updating all the fans (or lights) in your home, I would recommend the GE Z-Wave system.

While this system does have the added expense of needing to purchase a Z-Wave Gateway, for a whole conversion the expense of the hub is balanced out the value added across all the fans that it controls.

About Derek Hales

Derek HalesDerek Hales is the Founder and Editor-in-Chief of ModernCastle.com. He has been featured in Fast Company, Reader's Digest, Business Insider, Realtor.com, She Knows, and other major publications. Derek has a Bachelor's Degree in Business Administration from Kansas State University. Hales has been testing and reviewing products for the home since 2014.