Sycamore Ceiling Fan: Works Smarter, Not Harder
by Collin Dunn, Corvallis, OR, USA on 06.18.07
Biomimicry gets a lot of play here at TreeHugger, and for good reason: it's a jungle out there, and we as humans can learn a lot from the smart, efficient way things are designed for survival and procreation. Combine the efficiency of biomimicry with an energy-saving appliance, like a ceiling fan (one of TreeHugger's 25 Ways to Save the Planet), and a groundbreaking product design may not be far behind. Modeled on the wing-like shape of a seed pod from a Sycamore tree, the Sycamore Ceiling Fan could be such a design. Their innovative, airfoil-like blade design allows them to create the same airflow as a conventional flat-winged fan, but at much lower speeds; this results in lower energy consumption, less noise, and great modern looks to boot. Designed to spin at 70-130 revolutions per minute (rpm), the blade can nearly cut in half the normal operating speed of a conventional ceiling fan, which rotates around 140-200 times per minute -- yep, twice as efficient, and all with just a single blade instead of three, four or five. TreeHuggers in Australia can pick one up at Beacon Lighting. Learn more about this innovative, smart design here and hit the jump for more pics. Imagine how cool this would be (yup, pun intended) with a solar-powered air-conditioner...::Sycamore Ceiling Fan via ::Future House Now
The Sycamore's airfoil-like design (left) vs. a more conventional, flat design (at right)
Installed in a ceiling
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The Sycamore fan is available in the US now - through Dan's Fan City (www.dansfancity.com).
On a technical note, I realize we haven't updated our web site - the fan speeds are now 80rpm / 120 rpm / 160 rpm, but power consumption at high speed is only 35 W, so the efficiency is still getting on for double that of conventional flat bladed fans.
In the US we call them maple ceiling fans.
Most flat-blade fans are reversible: is this blade as effective in both directions, or is it uni-directional?
Michael - I called a Dan's Fan City location and the employee seemed unaware of the product. He even suggested some energy efficient fans are a bad solution because they don't move enough air. I’ll concede that he might have a point there but I’d need more evidence. I certainly don't mean to disparage the guy or store, since it seems like a new product and he very generous offered to do some more research and call me back. Can you post more information about cubic feet of air moved with the fan and appropriate room sizing recommendations?
This is a new product for Dan's Fan City - they are just receiving their first shipment, so I guess that the people in the stores may not know about it yet.
On the efficiency issue, some fans have low power consumption because they don't move much air. The test is the air movement per watt of power, and whether the airflow is enough to give you a cooling sensation. At high speed, the Sycamore fan moves about 4000 CFM at an efficiency of 110CFM per watt (that's from our internal testing, not an official figure).The other factor here is air speed. We believe that the combination of air speed and CFM make the Sycamore as effective as standard flat bladed fans in cooling, but using less energy.
Probably the best way to test our claim is to stand underneath one - and see how cool you feel! (Once they are in store, of course).
WOW it can use in air plane?
I can has ceiling fan?
THIS DESIGN WAS USED IN THE EARLY DAYS OF AVIATION.THE DESIGN IS MORE EFFICIENT THAN A 2 BLADED,OR A 3 BLADED PROP BECAUSE THEIR IS NO AIR TURBULANCE .SO THE SINGLE BLADE FLOWS THROUGH THE AIR WITH MORE EFFICIENCY.IT JUST LOOKED SO STRANG THAT THE PUBLIC NEVER CAUGHT ON.
The staff at Sycamore in Australia say that the Uno fan from Dan's Fan City is their fan even though Dan's has given it the name the Uno.
On the reversing, Sycamore says the first batch of fans that Dan's has do not reverse, but the next batch will have a reverse on it.
The Uno at Dan's Fan City is in a Satin Steel finish. It does circulate a lot of air. They are in their stores now and they can be demonstrated. Perhaps the employee did not recognise the fan under the name Sycamore since at Dan's it is called the Uno. I beleive the Sycamore is a white finish.
Interesting fan concept. I can see how it would need less revolutions to produce the same or more airflow, but doesn't that increase the drag coefficient as well which would make the fan use more energy per revolution?
I've heard that the Monte Carlo line of ceiling fans have a new high-efficiency fan coming out this month which apparently operates on high speed mode at 23Watts - 11watts lower than the Uno. Waiting for a local distributor to get one in to test it out.
I notice there are no Canadian distributors for the Sycamore fan. Any reason? Does it meet CSA standards?