Alexa, let there be light
When we moved into this 1970s home a couple of months ago, the bedrooms and offices didn’t have any fans, just lights.
The air was stagnant which made working from home in the peak of summer very uncomfortable. The
fan in the living room was wobbly, noisy and had a mind of its own. So, after we settled in,
installing fans was our number one priority. In our old home, I bought cheap, traditional
looking fans from Home Depot when they went on sale. I was hoping for an upgrade in this house,
something more modern and better quality. I reached out to Hunter and they sent over fans
to install and review. This is not a paid video. I’m going to be completely honest
about the issues I faced installing them and their performance over the last 3 months.
We’re going to compare 2 of their most popular fans, the Aerodyne which costs $180
and the Stylus which costs $350. They both have 5 blades and are 52 inches in diameter.
These simple connect wifi ceiling fans can be controlled with the Hunter app,
Alexa, homekit and Google home. Their SureSpeed fan blades have an
innovative aerodynamic design that pushes air more effectively than standard flat blades. The
optimized motor in these 2 fans leads to 33% more airflow velocity with less energy use.
Everything in the Aerodyne box was neatly packaged and easily recognizable.
Before beginning any work, I turned off the correct breaker and tested all the wires. After
taking down the light fixture in my office, I realized that the old 3.5” electrical box
was not going to work with my new fan. I had to run to home depot to buy a 4” diameter box.
Make sure it is fan rated. Do not buy an ordinary electrical box that says “not fan rated”.
Back home, I cut the drywall with a jab saw, screwed the new electrical box into
a joist and made sure it was secure. I passed the hot, neutral and grounding
wires through the side and screwed in the ceiling bracket to the box.
I removed the 2” downrod and installed the 3” downrod instead
so the fan wouldn’t sit so close to the ceiling. I tightened the set screw with pliers.
After hanging the motor on the ceiling bracket,
I cut the wires to the right length and stripped the insulation off the end.
I connected the two black wires, the two white ones and the three grounding wires. Then,
I installed the canopy over the ceiling bracket. Here’s where things got frustrating. I wasn’t
able to install the blades because at least 6 of the screw sleeves were too small.
I had to buy this $30 screw tap set off Amazon to increase the diameter of the sleeves.
This was time consuming, but it fortunately fixed the problem. I was finally able to
install all 5 fan blades. The last steps involved assembling the light kit,
screwing in the 2 LED light bulbs provided in the box and installing the glass cover.
3 months on, this $180 Aerodyne in my office works really well. It wobbled a bit in the beginning,
like most fans do, so I used the balancing kit provided in the box which fixed the problem. I
really like the sleek, modern design too. But the quality control issues are concerning. I installed
2 Aerodyne fans and I had to use this Screw tap set both times because the screw sleeves were too
tight. The remote also broke. While the Stylus fan remote uses AA batteries, this one uses a
coin cell battery that popped off. The fan doesn’t have any manual overrides, so Hunter sent me this
universal remote kit to fix the issue. I think I’m just going to try to solder this back on.
Next up, the Stylus fan. The housing is larger and bulkier and the fan blades have
an interlocking design. I turned off the breaker and took down the old, noisy fan
in my living room. The installation steps for this fan are very similar to the first one.
Since the electrical box was the right size, I was able to secure the ceiling bracket to it.
I removed the 2” downrod and installed a 12” downrod since
the ceiling in my living room is at around 9’ I cut the wires to the right length and stripped
the insulation covering on the ends. After hanging the motor on the ceiling
bracket, I cut the wires to the right length and stripped the insulation off the end.
I connected the two black wires, the two white ones and the three grounding wires. Then,
I installed the canopy over the ceiling bracket. The interlocking blade design was better than the
first fan. I didn’t have any issues with undersized screw sleeves.
I installed the light kit, the 2 LED light bulbs provided in the box and the glass cover.
3 months on, they’re quiet, functional and look great, but I expected a lot more for the price.
I don’t see a big difference in quality compared to the cheaper Aerodyne fans. They make loud,
annoying popping noises when changing speeds and also randomly in the middle of the night which
wakes us up. I think the interlocking blades shift, so the designers might want to include
a rubber gasket in between for future designs. The light cover is also not secured in place
with screws, so it sometimes rattles. Controlling the fans with our phones is
pretty nice. When the remote control broke, I was able to control the speed
of the fan and the light with the Hunter app. I wasn’t able to add the fans through the app.
Instead I went to settings, wifi, selected the fan and
scanned the QR code at the back of the remote. I selected the room, renamed the fan and light.
This added it to both my home and the Hunter app. I can control the speed of the fan and brightness
of the light with the app. I was also able to add the Hunter fan skill to my Alexa app.
Head to our Carr Builds YouTube channel to watch a messy and fun vlog
installing one of these Hunter fans. We faced a lot of unforeseen issues installing that fan
which may answer some of your questions.
Overall, the fans work well and they look great. They helped reduce the high carbon dioxide levels
in my rooms because they move a large volume of air. Of course, having return air vents and a good
HVAC system is more important, but with an older home like this one, fans help with air movement.
These Hunter fans can be installed fairly easily by one person if you have the right tools. I wish
they had some sort of manual override in case the app fails or the remote breaks. I also hope they
address their quality control issues. I’ll post some Instagram reels on balancing these fans,
color temperature of your light bulbs and changing the fan direction. I’ll provide a link
in the description to the fans. Leave me a comment if you have any questions about them.
Don’t forget to hit the like button and subscribe to my channel. Thanks for watching. See ya.