Fan Industry Enters a Golden Era

As the saying goes, the Stone Age did not end because we ran out of stones; we transitioned to better solutions. The same opportunity lies before us with energy efficiency and clean energy. –  Steven Chu

Energy Efficiency simply means using less energy to perform the same task – that is, eliminating energy waste. Energy efficiency brings a variety of benefits like -lowering household costs and the whole economy, reducing demand for energy imports and reducing greenhouse gas emissions.

India’s leadership for energy efficiency has been greatly strengthened through the years. With the Prime Minister setting an aim to make India energy-efficient by 2047, various initiatives are being taken by the government to advance the regulations that reduces and transforms energy consumption.

IFMA, the Indian fan manufacturers association is also committed towards the vision of energy conservation and has whole heartedly welcomed and embraced the mandatory BEE (Bureau of Energy Efficiency) star rating program for ceiling fans from July next year.

IFMA has embarked on the same without compromising on the basic parameters like Air Delivery and other parameters which are of paramount importance to a consumer. IFMA members and other fan manufactures are confident about the success of this BEE initiative thereby ensuring that Indian consumers would be catered and served by genuine and serious manufacturers whose vision are in sync with the Global vision.

It has also been observed that over the years, the consumer purchasing behaviour has changed. They are now not just looking for basic fans but models that are aesthetically in sync with their home decor, high in performance / durability and energy efficient. Because of this behavioural change BLDC motors in Fans being energy efficient are also becoming extremely popular. Due to urbanisation and increasing ‘purchasing power’, it is estimated that the number of individual households and the number of appliances in every household will keep increasing. This phenomenon would make it imperative for all appliances especially fans to be power efficient and would be in complete ‘synergy’ with the BEE and IFMA combined initiative.

IFMA commits to be the frontrunner in embracing sustainable and energy-efficient technology and ensuring effective implementation of all Government initiatives especially the BEE Star labelling requirements.

Relying on the new age, aesthetics, and innovation & technology and now energy saving, it can be summarized and concluded that the fan industry is indeed entering in a “golden era”.

As an artist, I have always been intrigued by traditional art forms. One such thing that not just caught my eye but went on to become my passion is the traditional Indian hand fan, popularly known as ‘Pankha’.

It all started around 40 years ago when I first envisioned collecting these beautiful artefacts. And today, when I look back, I wonder what an amazing journey it has been. The journey that started with scouting for hand fans across Indian villages and towns, is now a few thousand fans old and has fans from several parts of the world.

My collection of hand fans is mnemonic of the places that I have travelled to. From rural India that has kept this rare art form alive to various international destinations that boast a strong fan culture, the collection has fans from almost every location that counts. It also consists of fans that I bought from antique dealers who sold me these fans at sky high rates, on the pretext that these rare pieces of art came from palaces and havelis.

I also collected fans when I visited different countries. Africa, Egypt and the Middle East, far eastern countries like China, Korea and Japan, South East Asia, in particular Indonesia – the entire region has a big fan culture in their everyday life as well as in their traditional dances. Fans come in different shapes and sizes, are made of varied organic materials and are used for different purposes. The collection has a variety of fans. There are antique ceiling fans from the Mughal and Colonial period that were pulled by pankhawala from outside the room and used for large congregations in temples, royal courts and aristocratic darbars and offices. There are fans called phadh, large hand fans held by an attendant for groups of affluent men and women. Then there are ceremonial fans and a large variety of personalised fans of many kinds made by women. Many of them are centuries old and are priceless antiques. The collection also grew with gifts from friends from across the globe.

My collection of hand fans is not just my passion; it’s an attempt to keep the traditional art form alive. And so, I have been participating in exhibitions and shows to draw attention to this rare and dying craft of India.

The first such exhibition where I came out with my collection of fans was the one held at the National Crafts Museum in New Delhi in May 2004. A month later the exhibition moved to the Grand Victoria Memorial in Kolkata. And it didn’t stop there. Since then my collection has been exhibited at several international exhibitions held at places like the Rietberg Museum, Zurich, National Art Gallery, Kuala Lumpur, and the National Museum, Manila, Philippines. In 2011, the collection was exhibited at the ‘Maximum India Festival’ at The John F. Kennedy Centre in Washington DC.

While these exhibitions have played a major role in promoting this rare art form, my concern is that my collection of fans, owing to its fragile nature, may not be able to survive the travel it has to take to different locations. I am, therefore, working on a separate collection of similar fans that can be set aside for traveling to exhibitions, in the future.

The JDCA established in Orissa, 1997, to house the collection of traditional and contemporary arts and antiquities, designed by the eminent architect, B V Doshi. A book on pankha, “To Stir the Still Air,” is being published.

‘Pankha’: Hand fans  www.indianhandfans.org

I have been having discussions with the apex body of Indian Fan Industries to house a PANKHA MUSEUM so that legacy of the Pankhas is kept alive. At one point in early nineties, we were quite close to collaborating with the West Bengal Government through my friend Hardeep Singh and the Fan makers Association of India but Alas. That fell apart at the last minute.

May be the Industry body now finds huge merit in this proposal.

The evolution of ceiling fans with respect to styles and designs has taken them far beyond an appliance merely meant for improving the ventilation of the living space.

The most worthwhile upgrade has perhaps been the addition of light kits to ceiling fans. Although ceiling fans with decorative lights have been around for quite some time in the West, they have gained popularity in India over the past few years, notably after LED lights entered the market.

From living rooms to dining rooms, bedrooms to lobbies, ceiling fans with lights enhance both the visual and functional value of virtually every room.

For your living space to remain fashion-forward in the years to come, read these 7 compelling reasons to use ceiling fans with lights.

Let’s begin.

Optimum Use of Space: A ceiling fan with light eliminates the need for tube lights and light fixtures on the wall. The functional LED lights of 8 to 18 watts are usually mounted on the bottom of the fan, thus leaving you with ample free space to add other striking design elements such as paintings or artifacts to the wall to enhance the overall aesthetics.

Uniform distribution of light: Ceiling fans are installed in the center of a room or a space for equal air distribution. Additionally, it is the most optimum location for dispersing light evenly throughout the room. A wall-mounted light or tube light tends to provide more light when in close proximity to the source. However, it can cast shadows or create dark areas when at a distance. The ceiling fans with lights distribute the ambient light at 360 degrees while giving the same lumens per square foot or more all around.

Facilitates energy efficiency – A ceiling fan with light is equipped with LEDs built into it. Up to 84% of your lighting bills can be lowered by replacing your incandescent bulbs or CFL lamps with LED-lit ceiling fans. The ceiling fan with lights provides an energy-saving lighting alternative while also providing optimum cooling in every corner of the room.

Provides a dramatic effect to the ambiance – Ceiling fans with lights hung on the top of dining tables make the meal look more appealing as they create no shadows from the crockery or people standing in the line of light, as opposed to wall lights. It creates a feeling of a fine dining experience in a restaurant. The dimming feature of many LED ceiling fans is also perfect for the bedroom as it produces an intimate ambiance with remote control in your hand. You can dim the lights in the living room to suit the mood.

Liberty of Choice – Ceiling fans with lights come in an array of hues. You can choose cool white light for summers or warm white light for winters. You can also adjust the intensity of the light by toggling a few buttons on the remote controller right from the comfort of your couch/bed, which further adds to its convenience.

Decorative appeal:  LED ceiling fans these days come in ethnic, contemporary, and futuristic-inspired designs. The glow created by the ceiling fans with lights gives rise to a sense of wonder as to the origin of the light. By incorporating both the essential functions (light and air) into one stylish package, ceiling fans with lights are capable of delivering a decorative touch that perfectly satisfies the functionality and aesthetics of any room. They can be used to create any mood you desire for any occasion.

Ease of Control – Remote controls have become a must-have feature for any gadget, and we rely on them increasingly. Typically, LED fans to come with remote control handsets, which is an added luxury.

Final words

The ceiling fan you choose for your luxury home, farmhouse, or commercial space will add timeless beauty wherever it is installed. Thus, the best way to accentuate the aesthetics of your architecture is to install ceiling fans that have lights incorporated in them.

 

 

With advancement in technology, Fan industry is going through a massive transformation responding to the demands of time and customers. Improving customer experience and creating a feeling of delight are of utmost importance in the priority list of all major fan brands.
The motors of all fans are designed to optimally perform on 230 volts 50Hz single phase A C supply. 50 Hz means Sinusoidal waveform of 50Hz as is received from the mains.
The issue of complaints which have nothing to do with poor quality of fans is often reported by customers who use Square Wave form inverters when the power supply is disrupted. These in expensive inverters are not meant for running appliances like Fans. Some of these deliver very high voltage- up to 350V and high frequency to the tune of 150Hz. This causes big harm to the fan.
Let’s discuss a bit about the two types of Inverters and their Pros and Cons. Square Wave Inverter vs. Sine Wave Inverter

Furthermore, there’s another type of inverter that you can take advantage of:

This one is called “Modified Sine Wave Inverter.” This type of inverter is better than the Square wave inverter and more affordable than the Sine wave inverter though it is strongly recommended that for safety of your costly appliances you should buy Sine Wave Inverters only.

So you get it that when a fan is operated on square/ near square current waveform, they draw more current and hence reduce performance life. Square wave creates jerkily revolving magnetic field, making the rotor to make jerky motion and hence noise. Unfiltered harmonics lead to vibrations in the coil leading to humming noise in fans.

We strongly recommend you to go in for the Sine wave Inverters of a good brand to get the best out of your costly appliances and safeguard them in the long term.

Among the consumer friendly electronics and appliances, the usage of remote control is increasing day by day. Typically in an urban household, minimum 5 to 7 remote handsets are found in use for different appliances. Is it making us lazy or increasing our convenience? Perhaps, parts of both are true.
So, should their use be discouraged? That’s a point of discussion for another day. Today let’s focus on the technologies largely used in this.
Most commonly used technologies are IR, which stands for “Infrared” and RF, known as “Radio frequency”, IR is a kind of light that can’t be seen with the naked eye but can be seen through a digital camera or a phone camera and RF uses radio waves.

IR REMOTE – An IR remote control (transmitter) sends out pulses of infrared light that represent specific binary codes. These binary codes correspond to commands, such as Power On/Off, Speed Up – Down, etc. The IR receiver in other device decodes the pulses of light into the binary data (ones and zeroes) that the device’s microcontroller can understand. The microcontroller then carries out the corresponding command. It’s simple for you.
It is most commonly used as it is quick and offers an ability to communicate a wide variety of commands. Its downside is that you always need line-of-sight for it to work properly and it can work for shorter distances, may be within a room.

RF REMOTE – RF remote, on the other hand, do not require line-of-sight for working and also it can work over much longer distances. RF can pass through solid walls too – as long as they’re not metal.
RF (radio frequency) technology uses radio waves to transmit the signal from Remote to devices. Standard use of RF remote is Bluetooth, ZigBee (RF4CE) and Z-Wave.

PROS & CONS

IR REMOTE
• It can be used for short distance, up to 10 meters, suitable for use inside a room only.
• It needs “Line of Sight” towards the device of better operation, so it can be used in single direction.
Chances of missing command can happen if line-of-sight is not maintained.
• IR remote do not need pairing with devices. A single remote can be used to operate many devices by maintaining proper line-of-sight and distance from device.
• There is no statutory regulation for usage of IR remote as its signal do not affects other electrical / electronic devices.
• IR remote and its control in device is relatively less costly.

RF REMOTE
• It can be used for longer distances, up to 50 meters or more.
• No Line of Sight Required. It can be used in multi direction. A device can be operated even when remote is in other direction of device.
• A single RF remote needs pairing with its devices. After pairing you can control many devices with single remote. For individual control of devices, you need to do separate pairing and remote-control set.
• There are statutory regulations for usage of RF technology. For use of RF in Indian market, we need WPC certificate from Ministry of Communication and Information technology, Delhi.
• RF remote and its control in device are costlier.

For you as a Customer, both will work for any Fan equally. It is the manufacturer who decides which marries best with their model. What we are providing you is an in-depth understanding of 2 remote control technologies.