New!- Aero Ceiling Fan from Fantasia

We are very please to announced the planned arrival of the Aero Fan in August 2016.

117131 – 56″/1440mm Aero Pearl White

The Aero marks yet another step forward in Fantasia’s desire to push Ceiling Fan technology forward. It’s our best air mover ever at a MASSIVE 8000 cu/ft per minute. If you are looking for serious ventilation then this is the ceiling fan for you.

The Aero Fan is fitted with a low energy DC motor. Using only 5w of power on low speed it is an extremely efficient way of ventilating a room.

Aero comes complete with a full remote control system to operate the 3 speeds and the light on/off.

The Light fitting on Aero is also state-of-the-art. It’s an 18w (approx 80w equivalent incandescent) warm white LED light, this can be swapped for a cover plate if the light is not required.

The full tech spec is below:

• Light: 18w LED Warm White
• Operation: Remote Control
• Net Weight: 8.5kg
• Rod Length: 6″/150cm
• Mounting: Drop Mount Only
• Airflow: 8000 cu/ft per min
• Power Consumption on High Speed: 41w

Product Code – 117131

RRP: £570 inc VAT

Available: August 2016

Thanks for reading and keep an eye on our website for more details

 

 

New Desk Fans from Fantasia

Fantasia Ceiling Fans launched a new range of desk fans a couple of years ago. They went really well and we’ve launched some new colours now. This year Pale Green is the latest and greatest finish in that range. Check it out below. It would match your Smeg fridge (they always take their colour cues from our desk fan range!)

The Fantasia Retro Fan is a great little fan that add vintage chic to any room (except the bathroom, don’t put it in the bathroom).

With a 10″/260mm adjustable head and 2 speeds, the retro fan is a useful addition to freshen up the room.

See the full range on our website

 

 

Following on from the success of the retro fan we wanted to go further and develop a larger desk fan. We are now proud to introduce the Retro Mistral Desk Fan. Available in two finishes the Retro Mistral has a larger head (12″/300mm) for bigger air movement.

A redesigned grille and larger 30w motor makes the Retro Mistral ideal for areas requiring more breeze.

Also available in Brushed Nickel the Retro Mistral is sure to become a favourite

 

www.fantasiaceilingfans.com

Not Just Brass & Rattan – Ceiling Fans for today and tomorrow

We’ve been selling ceiling fans for a long time now and at Fantasia we really enjoy looking at the new technology coming through and seeing how we can implement it in our latest ceiling fan designs.

However, whenever we talk to potential customers who are in the early stages of considering a ceiling fan they have a very different view.

They always consider the typical ceiling fan to be a rickety old thing that keeps you awake at night. Possibly something like the one below.

Old Ceiling Fan

Well we’re here to change peoples’ minds, to tell them that a Ceiling Fan doesn’t have to be Polished Brass and Rattan (although it can be if you want!), that is doesn’t have to rattle ‘n’ roll, that it shouldn’t sound like a hamster in a rusty wheel.

It’s a slow process but hopefully some of our designs will help convince people.

Take the ceiling Fan below for example. It’s a fairly basic Fantasia Ceiling Fan in terms of operation but it’s whisper quiet and powerful too. Best of all It’s Matt Black and really stealthy (made the last bit up, the stealthy bit not the Matt Black bit. It is Matt Black)

Matt Black is the new Black

Of course if you want to take it up a level then how about the Viper Plus now available in Pewter (Mirror Black). It’s fully remote controlled including remote reverse, is one of the biggest air movers we make and it looks the business. A whole world away from Polished Brass and Rattan.

Viper Plus – Don’t make it angry, you wouldn’t like it when it’s angry.

 

So hopefully this will convince any undecideds out there that Ceiling Fans can find a home in very modern houses as well as being extremely useful and efficient.

And if it hasn’t, or if you happen to like Polished Brass and Rattan, then may we present our version below:

Mayfair Polished Brass Combi

Ok, so there’s no rattan in that picture but if you flip the blades over you will find some. Promise.

Thanks for reading

Wiring in a Ceiling Fan

Ok, so this has the potential to be the most boring blog in the history of the internet so we’ll try and keep it interesting.

Firstly, the usual disclaimer. When it comes to electrics, safety is most important. There are only certain things you are allowed to do yourselves and If you are not experienced or confident with electrical work then we would recommend getting a Part P registered electrician to do it for you. All of the information offered in this blog is for information only, it should be taken only as a guide and Fantasia Dist Ltd cannot be held responsible for any loss or damage caused by using this guide. Always make sure the power is isolated at least 30 minutes before commencing any electrical work.

Now some good news!

If you are replacing a light fitting with a ceiling fan then you are able (If you want to) to do this yourself. It’s the same rule that covers replacing a 13amp plug socket. It’s fairly straightforward to replace a light fitting with a ceiling fan but we would always recommend taking a photo of the old light fitting wiring before removing the light fitting. This way you should be able to identify which wires are which.

Now, once you have taken the old light fitting down you may well be presented with something like the below. Bear in mind these are the older wiring colours. If your house was rewired after 2004 then your wires may have been changed to the harmonized version (see the picture at the end of the blog).

The Red wires are permanent live, the Black wires are neutral and the black wire with the red sleeve (left hand side) is the switched live (From the switch on the wall).  Below are the wires you can expect to see coming from a basic ceiling fan & Light.

Wires coming from the Ceiling Fan & Light

Additionally the Ceiling Fan & Light will probably have individual pull switched on them like the one in the picture below

Fantasia Mayfair 42″ SS Combi

The more basic style of ceiling fan such as the one below has two pull switches. This means that you can wire the fan to the permanent live and still have switch control.

Soooooooo…..

With all this new-found knowledge we can now wire the fan up to operate. The way we would recommend doing this is so that the ceiling fan is operational evening when the wall light switch is off (so you can use the fan at night with the light switched off at the wall). To do this you need to wire:

1. Light on Fan Live (Orange) TO Switched Live (Black with Red Sleeve or Brown with Blue Sleeve)
2. Ceiling Fan Live (Brown) TO Permanent Live (Group of Red or Group of Brown)
3. Neutral (Blue) TO Neutral (Black or Blue)
4. Earth TO Earth (Ashes to Ashes, Dust to Dust)

Ensure the Earth is connected up, this is a safety feature and safety is most important.

If you only have a Switched Live and no permanent live then the Live from the fan AND the Live from the light will both need to connect to your switched live BUT this will mean than both the fan and light will only work when the wall switch is in the ON position.

Equally, if you only have a permanent live at ceiling level then you can connect both the Live from the fan and the live from the light to the permanent live and operate both independently on the pull cords on the fan itself

Remote Controls

Some fans have a remote control handset and receiver. This actually makes things easier as the remote receiver splits the lives so you only need one live input. We would recommend using the switched live to power the remote receiver. This means that, in the unlikely event of a remote receiver failure, you can switch off power to the unit at the wall switch.

——————————————————————————————

As mentioned earlier, in 2004, and just to make your life more complicated, wiring code in the UK was ‘Harmonized’. See the illustration below. This means that all appliances that need wiring in will also have the new harmonized colour coding

We hope this helps and thanks for reading.

Other blogs on interesting ceiling fan stuff can be found below:

Fitting A Ceiling Fan in a Conservatory

Fans Wobble & They’re noisy – Untruth

Should I care about LED Lighting?

For EVEN more information take a look at our website

Fitting a Ceiling Fan in a Conservatory – Dos and Don’ts

Things to consider when fitting a ceiling fan in a conservatory

Conservatories make a great addition to many houses. It’s room that stays warm in Winter but in Summer it can get very hot. The addition of a ceiling fan can make a glass room usable all year round. However you need to make sure you follow a few guidelines to get the most appropriate ceiling fan for your conservatory.

Photo – Farrow & Ball

DO

Consider the size of ceiling fan. The heat build-up in a conservatory can be extreme so we always recommend fitting the largest ceiling fan that you can. Generally a smaller ceiling fan (36″/92cm span) is not adequate to deal with the heat in all but the smallest conservatories. At Fantasia we recommend fitting a minimum of a 42″/107cm span ceiling fan and larger if you can.

DO

Think about the length of drop rod required. In almost all cases a conservatory ceiling fan will need to be drop mount. By this we mean a ceiling fan that has a drop rod installed rather than a flush mounted fan. Generally an 18″/46cm length rod is advisable. Fantasia rods can be cut down to size if required.

DO

Think about clearances. A Ceiling Fan will only be effective if the tips of the blades are clear of any obstacle. When you a measuring for a ceiling fan you will need to add 20cm to each end of the span (and also all around the blade) to allow proper air movement. Some conservatories have structural tie bars. These and also the slope of the pitched roof need to be taken into account when allowing space for the fan blades to spin.

DON’T

Fit your fan to any old bit of decorative plastic you feel like. Yes, we have seen it done! Ceiling Fans aren’t that heavy but the guideline is that the fixing should be able to take 4 times the weight of the fan. Most ceiling fans weight less than 10kg so the fixing will need to be able to support 40kg. In most cases it is worth talking to the conservatory manufacturer or installed to decide in the best place to fit the fan. If it is a UPVC conservatory then make sure the fixing screws are long enough the penetrate the plastic and also the structural aluminium underneath. To help with fixing a ceiling fan to a conservatory ridge Fantasia produce a Big Strip Fastener. This provides extra fixing holes and can be very useful.

DON’T

Use the fixing screws that some with the ceiling fan. All Fantasia ceiling fans are supplied with wood screws to fit the fixing bracket. It is not advisable to use these to fit a conservatory ceiling fan. Use self tapping screws instead.

Obviously we would prefer you to purchase a Fantasia Ceiling Fan but actually these guidelines will apply to most ceiling fans fitted in a conservatory.

Thanks for reading and check out our other useful Blogs

5 Reasons why ceiling fans are better than AC

Why should I care about LED lighting?

What use is a ceiling fan in Winter?

Ceiling Fans wobble and they’re noisy – Untruth

www.FantasiaCeilingFans.com

‘All Ceiling Fans Wobble & They’re Noisy’ – Untruth

A lot of people have only experienced ceiling fans on holiday in Spain. Laying in your hotel bed you look up at the blades spin around but also the whole motor moves around and around. You wonder how long you’ve got left before the ceiling fan comes crashing down. You remember the fan, it looked a bit like this…

The reality is that even the wobbliest (Yes, that is a word – spellcheck said so) of ceiling fans won’t fall off the ceiling as there is a safety locking bar installed preventing such a catastrophe.However, that doesn’t stop people thinking that they’re going to end their days as a ridiculous headline in a Spanish News Paper

'Techo Wobbly vacaciones Fan ruinas desastre familia'

So, as you can imagine, the fact that most people’s first experience of a ceiling fan is the one above,makes it a little bit difficult to convince them that not all ceiling fans are created equal. However, here at Fantasia we like a challenge and we are here to enhance the reputation of the humble ceiling fan.

A few things we do at Fantasia to make sure you get a quiet ceiling fan that doesn’t wobble:

1. All motors are sounds tested individually in a special room in the factory.

2. The motor is spun at high speed to check for wobble. If they wobble they are sent further back on the production line to be fixed. If they still wobble they are sent to a green pasture to live out their days with other wobbly motors.

3. Blade carriers are weighed individually and packed together with similar weighted like-minded blade carriers.

4. Fan blades are also weight individually and packed with blades that weigh the same.

So after all of this we end up with a ceiling fan that is quiet and doesn’t wobble. However, even with all this effort a ceiling fan that hasn’t been installed correctly still may wobble. It’s important to check the set screws at the bottom of the drop rod and also to make sure all of the screws holding the motor to blade carrier and blade carrier to blade are nice and tight.

So, hopefully we’ve convinced you that a Fantasia Ceiling Fan shouldn’t wobble and should also be very quiet during operation.

If you have any questions the give us a call on 01959 564440 or have a look at our website

Thanks for reading.

Avoid getting covered in dust – Clean your ceiling Fan!

Was it Gordon Brown that said ‘the best time to fix the roof is when the sun is shining’? No, probably not but I’m sure he would agree that if you want to avoid a build up of dust on your ceiling fan then you should clean it.

It’s a common problem. Some people don’t use the reverse function on their ceiling fan so it stays still for a lot of the darker, colder months. Then, when Spring arrives, the ceiling fan gets switched on and showers the occupants with the dust that has been building up on the top of the blades.

We have the solution! Please meet the Fantasia Ceiling Fan Duster. The cleaning aid with the best name in the whole world. We were going to call it the ‘dustbuster’ but we’re fairly sure that would result in a call from a trademark lawyer so we’ve played it safe.

Fantasia Ceiling Fan Duster

the ceiling fan duster make short work of cleaning all parts of your ceiling fan. It has been specifically developed for ceiling fans with it’s microfibre, dust clinging attributes. It is shaped in such a way that cleaning a ceiling fan become a breeze!

There are a list of excuses for not cleaning a ceiling fan, we’ll deal with them below:

1. It’s too high up.

Our ceiling fan duster can be connected to any threaded broom handle to gain height.

2. I can’t get into the nooks and crannys.

The ceiling fan duster has been specifically designed for both nooks and crannys (The research dept dealt with the nooks very quickly,the crannys took a bit longer but we got there in the end). See below for a picture of a ceiling fan duster reaching the places other dusters can’t reach

3. I really can’t be bothered

Get someone else to do it for you.

So, there you are, the top 3 reasons for not cleaning a ceiling fan dealt with in one fell swoop (Yes, ‘fell’ swoop, those of you that say ‘foul’ swoop are saying wrong). Here’s some more pictures for you

You can find more details on the wonderful new Fantasia Ceiling Fan Duster here

Thanks for reading, we sure do appreciate it!

Should I care about LED lighting?

 

 

 

 

 

Lighting, not dull

It’s an interesting question isn’t it? Lighting is such a huge part of our lives that we don’t really notice. This maybe because nothing much has changed in the 213 years since the first incandescent light bulb was made, nothing much until the last 20 years.

There are now a choice of light bulbs to consider Standard Incandescent, Halogen, CFL & LED.

They say that necessity is the mother of invention and this may explain why the the stages between standard incandescent and LED have been so disappointing. The standard incandescent light but has been doing a perfectly good job for years so why change it? The basic reason is energy prices. They keep going up and people are less and less able to afford them. So we have a need for a more energy efficient light bulb and finally we have a contender.

I could have been a contender…

The interim period between Standard Incandescent and LED has been filled by two relatively poor forms of technology.

Firstly the CFL. Compact-Fluorescent tubes have been used in school halls and dental surgeries for years very effectively. They should have stayed there. Lighting manufacturers decided that the technology would go nicely in people’s houses and so started to develop domestic bulbs. The curly-wurly lamp hanging out of your Nan’s light fitting is a CFL. At one stage the government were giving them away free of charge. Remember how when digital cameras first appeared they were complete rubbish in terms of the results they produced compared to traditional methods? Well hello CFL! Cold light, migraine-inducing flicker, taking forever to warm up and actually produce any light. Sound familiar? you’ve been CFL’d

 

Secondly the Halogen light arrived. What a nasty piece of kit. Sure, the light output is great, a nice warm colour and very bright but at what price? Well don’t dare to install a new Halogen bulb with your bare hands of the oils in your fingers may react with the surface of the glass and cause the bulb to blow upon switch-on. Also, the heat output is immense. At one stage Halogen GU-10 bulbs were sold with heat hoods to try and limit the possibility them burning your house down. Touch a halogen bulb within 5 minutes of turning it off and you’re likely to loose several layers of skin. You get the picture

Genesis

LED lighting feels like what lighting should always have been. Low energy with good light output and low heat output. Yes, at the the moment LED bulbs cost more that a standard bulb but prices are coming down and quality is going up. Longevity is also positive with some manufacturers quoting up to 50,000 hours.

The table below gives an interesting comparison between lighting technologies:

Source – https://www.smud.org/en/residential/save-energy/rebates-incentives-financing/energy-efficient-lighting/

You can now achieve the same light output from an 8w LED and you did from a 40w Incandescent bulb. You’re using a lot less power (and therefore spending less money on energy) to achieve the same result. Progress. The savings will increase as the technology improves and prices come down but it already makes sense to switch those GU10 Halogen bulbs to LED.

Should you care about LED lighting? Yes

Click here for the Fantasia Ceiling Fans range of LED options

What use is a ceiling fan in Winter?

Many people assume that a ceiling fan is only really of use for a few hot weeks in the Summer. However, almost all ceiling fans have a reverse function that makes them useful in Winter too.

Right, first the science bit.

Warm air rises.

That’s the end of the science bit.

Your central heating warming the air in your various rooms and that air wants to go to the ceiling. In a conservatory with a pitched roof this warm air movement is more pronounced than in a room with a flat ceiling.

So, we have a lot of rooms that are warmed from the top down. This is inefficient.

A ceiling fan running slowly in reverse can redistribute this warm air at ceiling level, pushing it back down the wall and towards the lower part of the room where it is much more useful to you.

Here’s a diagram

:

For more information on Fantasia Ceiling Fans why not visit our website?

www.FantasiaCeilingFans.com

5 Reasons Why Ceiling Fans Are Better Than AC

Cost of Running

Ever wondered why the owner of a rental property in Spain will charge you an extra 25 Euros a day to have the AC on? An average air-conditioning unit will consume 2000-3000 watts of electricity when in use. It’s understandable really, it takes a lot of energy to reduce that 30 degree heat down to a more comfortable 18-19 degrees. However a ceiling fan has science on its side and is a bit cleverer than throwing a load of energy at the problem.

A ceiling fan doesn’t actually cool the room down you see, it just makes the air move past your skin a bit quicker. This means that there are more air molecules moving past your skin and each one is able to take a bit of heat away. It’s a combination of conduction and convection. It’s a much less energy intensive way of staying cool and will mean than you can sleep all night without an air-conditioning unit rumbling away in the background.

So how much energy does a ceiling fan use? Anywhere from 3 to 75 watts depending on sizes and motor design.

The Healthy Option

Many AC units are 2 part units. This means that they have a fan hanging out side on the wall dragging in air. Pipes then carry this air to the other part of the unit which blows it into the room to be cooled. The outside unit can become dirty and the long pipes are difficult to clean. This means that any air coming in from the outside can easily be contaminated along the way.

Can a Ceiling Fan contaminate the air? NO

No Ugly Box

This one’s pretty straight-forward. If you have a ceiling fan then you don’t need to have an ugly box on you wall. Our ceiling fans are decorative meaning that they look nice even when turned off.

Easy Installation

A ceiling fan can be assembled and mounted within about an hour. If it’s replacing an existing light fitting and you are confident you don’t even need to pay an electrician to come an install it. Air-conditioning usually needs to be fitted and maintained by a specialist AC company.

Very Little Maintenance

As mentioned above, AC maintenance usually needs to be carried out but a specialist company and can be costly. A Fantasia ceiling fan may need the blade screws tightening up once a year but other than that they are maintenance free

A bit more science info here

Fantasia Ceiling Fan website here

Follow us on Twitter here

What it’s like to fly on the back of an Eagle here

Thanks for reading