New Ceiling Fan Beats the Heat

InstaLoc system cuts installation time to about 20 minutes
By Mike Ferrara, "The Lazy Homeowner"

(ARA) - When we make the transition from the milder spring temperatures to those lazy, hazy days of summer, staying cool becomes a priority. Whether you live in an air-conditioned environment or not, there are a number of reasons why a strategically placed ceiling fan or two in your home makes sense. However, if you have visited a home improvement center recently, you know that there are so many different makes and models that choosing one fan over another becomes a daunting task.

In a nutshell, ceiling fans consist of an electric motor and four or five blades. Ceiling fans can come with a light kit, or they can be added later. These days, ceiling fans come in every imaginable style, from antique finishes to ultra modern, and even come in the style of your favorite Formula One Racing Team. There are "hugger" fans for rooms with low ceilings, and fans that attach to the ceiling with a down rod extension that fastens to the electrical box in the ceiling. Before you get started, it's important to find out whether the junction box you intend to connect the ceiling fan to is UL approved to carry the weight of the fan. If not, you may need to install a reinforced box, sometimes called a fan brace.

It's important for the ceiling fan housing to be made of quality materials. Cheap fans have thin plating that tends to rattle and deteriorate. Better fans can be made of plated steel parts or high quality hand-painted finishes. Choosing the length of the blades depends on the size of the room, height of the ceiling, and the desired amount of air movement.

A room with less humidity and more airflow is the ultimate goal. Ceiling fans can actually pay for themselves over time because you can turn down the air conditioner by about 5 degrees and still feel as comfortable. You will also find your utility bill is lower. The same can be said during winter, where heat rises to the ceiling and is moved around the room by the fan (this time rotating in reverse), again increasing the efficiency of your home.

One major stumbling block is the dreaded installation process. Opening a box with 60 parts, including bags full of bolts and performing a high wire act near the electrical box doesn't sound too appealing. There's a new fan called "InstaLoc" by the Angelo Brothers Company, that changes all that. It has only 15 parts and comes pre-assembled in the box. All you have to do is turn off the power to where the fan is being installed, attach a special bracket to the electrical box on the ceiling, and twist on the connector.

That's right, lifting the fan to the bracket and giving it a twist is all it takes to secure the fan to the ceiling and finish the wiring. The pre-assembled blades snap in, too, and all that's left is twisting the lampshades into place. A once arduous process now takes around 20 minutes. In fact, I installed two of these InstaLoc fans in my home in the time it takes to install one of the bag-of-bolts type fans. And the InstaLoc doesn't cost any more than a standard fan: about $79 at home centers and hardware stores.