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June 18, 2007
Fans Like Spinning Seed Pods
When I was a kid, I use to collect seed pods or as I remember them - helicopter leaves. I'd climb up a tree or my dad's van to watch them twirl gracefully down. It was especially magical if I'd managed to collect hundreds of them. That should have been a red flag to my parents right there; an 8 y.o. boy running thru a sea of twirling seeds giggling uncontrollably.
I bring up seed pods because the Sycamore ceiling fan just changed my mind about installing one. I generally detest them. I was never comfortable with the idea of spinning blades above my head but the Sycamore fan combines the science of biomimicry to create something that not only looks great, but functions better. This all goes back to the seed pod. 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.
They cost about $700 which isn't bad considering the energy savings.
via Treehugger
Posted by tranism at 3:43 PM | Permalink
Comments
This is extremely cool. I want one.
Posted by: Charlie at June 19, 2007 6:59 PM
Simply spinning at half speed doesn't mean more efficient. The actual load on the motor determines this. I'd like to see the current draw compared to a regular fan moving a sililar amount of air.
Posted by: David Harris at February 24, 2008 10:01 AM
"current draw" can deduced from its wattage...which is 35W at max rpm
Posted by: m12345y at September 17, 2008 3:31 AM