Enabling Technologies
Integrating Smart Ceiling Fans and Communicating Thermostats to Provide Energy-Efficient Comfort
The Center for the Environment (CBE) at UC Berkeley led the research team to study the integration of Big Ass Fans (BAF) smart Haiku® ceiling fans with SenseME™ control and advanced thermostats through laboratory testing and demonstration pilots at affordable multifamily housing sites.
The research team successfully conducted laboratory tests, installed 99 ceiling fans and 12 thermostats in four sites in California’s Central Valley, interviewed stakeholders to develop a case study, developed an online design tool and design guide, outlined codes and standards outreach, and published several papers.
The field demonstration resulted in 39% measured compressor energy savings during the April–October cooling season compared to baseline conditions, across all sites and normalized for floor area served.
