Ceiling Fans For Low Ceilings

The height of the average ceiling in Australian homes has been declining over the past 50 years.  The majority of homes built prior to WW2 enjoyed 3.0m+ high ceilings.  Lower ceilings, particularly minimum height ceilings of 2.4m, require ceiling fans with features to minimise their actual and perceived encroachment into a room.

Features of good ceiling fans for low ceilings

The following features are beneficial in ceiling fans to be mounted onto low ceilings:

Low mounted blades:  By mounting the blades at the bottom of the body of the ceiling fan the bulk of the fan is effectively raised out of your headspace.

Fewer narrower blades:  The larger the blade surface area of a ceiling fan the greater the impression of a lowered false ceiling; fewer and narrower blades reduces this effect.  Note that this does not reduce the efficiency of air movement.  Remember modern wind turbines have three very narrow blades and they are designed to both maximise electricity production and minimise noise.

Small body:  A compact ceiling fan body or motor housing minimises visual bulk added by the ceiling fan to the headspace of the room.

Curved bottom housing:  Sharp edges catch your eye, so it is good for the bottom edge of the ceiling fan to be curved rather than square.

Wooden blades:  Sadly it does occasionally happen that hands and arms are struck by the blades of rotating ceiling fans.  To minimise the risk of injury it is best that:

  1. The blades and rotating components of the fan be light to minimise the energy of a strike (minimal angular momentum); and
  2. The leading edge of the blades is not too thin to spread out the zone of impact.

Engineered wooden blades and some plastic blades are generally better on both of these features than metal blades.

Lighting considerations for ceiling fans for low ceilings

Adding a light to a ceiling fan hung from a low ceiling can be difficult.  Halogen light sources are compact which minimises the additional depth of the fixture plus they generate the best quality of light.  However they are not energy efficient and many building codes are limiting their use.  Compact Fluorescent Lamps (CFLs) are energy efficient but tend to be bulky, adding to the size of the fixture.  LEDs don’t like being mounted on a heat generating electric motor and are expensive.  A more detailed commentary on ceiling fan lighting can be found in what makes a great ceiling fan.

So what is the solution?  There is no easy answer to this right now.  The industry is hoping LED technology will in time solve this problem, but for the time being it is matter of balancing the tradeoffs between the visual and lighting quality of halogen versus the energy efficiency of CFL.

Spinifex ceiling fan models for low ceilings

Spinifex recommends our Altus ceiling fan and our Ball ceiling fan for low ceilings.

The Altus ceiling fan is arguably the best fan available in Australia for low ceilings.  It has three relatively narrow blades mounted at the bottom of the fan body, a small rotor constructed from light weight cast aluminium to minimise angular momentum, light weight wooden blades, and the bottom of the fan has an organic curved shape that doesn’t catch the eye.

The Ball ceiling fan’s low ceiling appeal comes from is very compact body, measuring just 205mm across.  It also comes standard with a short 75mm down rod to simplify installation onto low ceilings, resulting in a total drop of the fan of 280mm.  When mounted on its short down rod the blades of the Ball are 180mm down from the ceiling further reducing the false ceiling effect.  Normally these mid mounted blades wouldn’t be ideal for a low ceiling application, however this is overcome by the very compact and round shape of the fan’s body.

The Ball ceiling fan’s optional light also only adds 20mm to the total depth of the fan, making it a great solution when a ceiling fan with light is needed.  Plus the Ball’s light diffuser has almost no hotspots (variation of light and dark) and is constructed from high quality two layer acid etched glass, the same construction as used in high end lighting fixtures.

Hugger fans

Sometimes people ask us about hugger ceiling fans for low ceilings.  A hugger fans does not have a down rod, instead the body of the fan attaches directly to the ceiling.  The aim is to remove the small down rod for aesthetic reasons.  To date they have not been widely adopted in Australia because they do not improve the functionality of the fan nor its visual impact.  At this stage Spinifex does not stock the hugger versions of our Altus and Velo models.

A final note on colour

Neutral finishes like white are often used for low ceiling applications because they help the fan blend into the ceiling making it a subtler architectural feature.

For more information refer to:

Image of ball and altus ceiling fans for low ceilings