I cant get past the moronic name.
This company will be out of business soon change the name. it isnt funny moronic names do not sell a great idea.

i personally think this is a great name. very descriptive, has a side of humor. And from what i understand they are the best of the breed.

My dad is a green architect and just finishing building a passive-house, and would have used these fans if the smallest diameter was less than 8ft

Nice post Lloyd! One thing to remember, while the name is a little *you fill in the blank*, there's precedent for it: best damn coffee, better than sex cake, etc. The name IS descriptive--the fans are really big. Plus, the name is about exposure and making sure people easily remember the product when they need a big fan.

I like the product. I've been in places that don't have them and felt the difference by having one. It's a quality fan.

The name is fun, catching and descriptive. Anyone who takes "offense" is being a total prude. Not to mention that there is nothing wrong with either bums or donkeys. :D

LA: I am not a prude.

If you're offended by the name why not use the company's earlier name; HVLS (High Volume/Low Speed) Fan Company.

While the original name is certainly less offensive to some, it's very likely to be consideraly less memorable to most.

From their website

"We entered the world in 1999 as the HVLS (High Volume/Low Speed) Fan Company, a nod to our technology. And, with each fan sold, we noticed people looking skyward in disbelief and uttering, “That sure is a big ass fan.” It didn't take us long to embrace the quirky name and become the Big Ass Fans® Company."

LA: I was writing an update to the post as your comment came in and quote the same passage.

Imagine that thing whirling off onto a crowd. Can you say Blade 4?

Why don't they make a smaller one for home use?

And who the heck is Melissa, and what is her phone number?

If it breaks can you fix it with a BFH?

I know of a few architects and builders that have spec'ed these fans, and they love the name. I've yet to come across anyone that's really offended. Their booth at the trade shows is one of the most popular, and I like their little foam donkeys (definitely not eco, but who's that pretentious?). The name does its job, and the fans are great products.

Offensive? Wow, someone needs to relax. I mean seriously relax. Like take some Zanex or something. You are really out there if you take issue with the name such that you have to put your thoughts in print. For real, you better talk to a professional as you may find life unbearable with the amount or truly profane things that go on all around you, every day.

Fan is awesome, name is kitchy.

I've seen these fans in ikea self-service warehouses!

My local 24 hour fitness gym has one of these right smack in the middle of the building. The sucker sure is sizeable. The company's name is quite fitting.

My previous employer had a half-dozen Big Ass fans in their warehouse- they're amazing. I think they had the largest size, something like 24 feet diameter. The blades moved slow enough that you could watch them spin, but the wind they generated was enough to fly a big kite in (they wouldn't let me).

Infinitely cheaper than trying to air-condition the big tin box that was their warehouse, though not enough to combat the suburban Chicago heat in 95+ degree days.

Also, last I looked at their advertising material, William "The Refrigerator" Perry of '84 Bears fame was their spokesman. w00t!

maybe if Lloyd changed the minihome to the "Big Ass Minihome" he'd sell some and stop having to be all uppity and better than thou on Treehugger?

This company isn't losing sleep over their name. They've been around a while. When my Billionaire boss bought the national chain of gyms I used to work for, in his pep talk to us, he mentioned his desire to put Big Ass Fans in all locations. I don't think he made all that money backing losers...

I'm a general contractor and got a good laugh (after much confusion) at the product name while preparing a bid for a new car dealership showroom last year. I thought maybe the architect had meant to go back and spec a brand name (as it was referred to as a "12' big ass fan"), but had filled in an offhand comment in the meantime and had forgotten to change it before the bid documents went out. Luckily, I kept my mouth shut and just did a Google search. The fans get good reviews, so I've read. Unfortunately we didn't get the job, so I have no direct experience with the product.

Hey - what's with you guys? Big Ass Fans is a cool name.

It seems Americans are getting more prudish by the day - (maybe that's where the FCC gets the licence to fine media for using simple words like 'shit' or revealing any hint of breast (see my article The Breast that Changed the World http://www.dissidentvoice.org/Feb04/Burstyn0224.htm)

guess you would also not like our favourite local hot sauce 'Rings Around Uranus'.

lighten up guys. the consequences of not doing so are huge. (moral conservatism)

I saw one in a local restaurant and said to everyone I was eating with "Holy crap that's a big ass fan!" Upon further inspection we saw a label in the center with a picture of a donkey, indicating that I was absolutely correct. I love the name.

I must say, it sure does warm my heart to hear all the supporters backing our product! Viva la Fans!

And Lloyd, even though you think our name is dumb, at least you can recognize a good idea when you see one. So thanks for the exposure and linking to us. We like to reward those who spread the word about the Big Ass so if you send me your mailing address at cynthia@bigassfans.com I'll send you some great swag!

Best wishes,
Cynthia Held
Marketing Associate
Big Ass Fans

Oh, and my previous post goes for all those commenters saying nice things about us. If you send me your name and mailing address, I'll hook you up with some swag too!

Thanks!
cynthia@bigassfans.com

Hey all! I've been reading Treehugger for the past month or two now, and I absolutely love the site. It's ironic that I came across this feed, as I am yet, another employee of Big Ass Fans. It's also ironic that Cynthia posted just before me! I've got to say, everyone has their own opinion about the name of the product and we love to hear from you either way. However you look at it, our product is helping to significantly reduce the the energy consumption of buildings in the US, and recently abroad! Thirty percent of our energy and sixty percent of our electricity is consumed by commercial buildings in the US. A typical energy savings is 30% using our product. Do the math and you'll see that we're doing our part to reduce all those emissions that are so harmful to the environment.

I'm sure anyone reading this site is in tune with just how dire our situation has become. I've never been more proud to say that I work for a company that has that type of impact on the environment. In addition, despite the possibly offensive name, we really are a great company. I wish everyone had a chance to work for a company like Big Ass Fans.

Thanks to all of those who offer their support!

John Plumley
Regional Engineering Sales Manager
jplumley@bigassfans.com

I think its a great name its perfect it is a big ass fan why shouldnt it be called that from what i see this company is doing very well so shut up

I just wanted to let everyone know there is a Canadian Manufacture of large diameter fans. Envira-North Systems Ltd. manufactures the Altra Air Ceiling Fan ranging in size from 8 to 24 ft. in diameter. They are variable speed, slow turning, providing air movement in a quiet non-disruptive form. Envira-North Systems Ltd. has three different blades to chose from, depending on your specific needs.

Envira-North Systems Ltd. also sells the Hurricane Turbine, an industrial wind driven turbine ventilator. The turbine naturally exhausts hot, stale air from buildings and allows it to be replaced at low levels with fresh air at ambient temperature.

Our company is a camping and hiking retail store and website. After a ton of research we are seriously considering the Big Ass Fan for an alternative heating/cooling solution for our retail store. Due to the structural inefficiencies of our existing building and our desire to be as green ass possible (oops, did I misspell that?) we believe a HVLS fan is the only way to go.
We could put in a terribly oversized A/C system or HVLS for a fraction of the cost. Which one would you choose? Looks like BAF has made a Big Ass Fan out of me for their product.
Ron Henderson
www-sc-outfitters.com

Hmmm,

Someone on a site named "Treehugger.com" complaining about the name Biggassfan?? I would wager that "Tree Hugger" has a negative connotation with a much larger percentage of the population than "Big Ass". Pot, meet Kettle.

'Go out of business' he says. That's funny. Our company has been selling and growing near exponentially, since inception.

We have at least one worker who's father is a minister and he says, "if ass was good enough for Jesus, then it's good enough for me."

If you can't grasp that concept, we can provide our fans in No Ass versions and offer many other customized versions, as well..