Ceiling Fan powered 24/7 ?

[SKYLANE]

I bought a Kichler 2 blade fan (looks like airplane propellor blades) from Lowe's. There is no light with this unit, speed is controlled with a remote. The instructions state to wire the fan so that it is powered continuously (whether using the fan or not, remote can turn it off).

The instructions state the following:

"Warning - Connecting this fan to a light switch (on/off) has been known to cause damage to the receiver. This fan must be wired to continually receive power. Failure to do so will drastically reduce the lifespan of this fan."


If I am not using a ceiling fan, wouldn't I want to be able to take the power away from the unit when away for extended periods of time? One review said to use an on/off switch, just leave it in the "on" position all the time.

I have two Harbor Breeze fans with lights - speed & dimming operated by remote only. I use the wall light switch (on/off) to power them all the time. When turning switch on, they come on at the last speed/dimness levels where I turned them off - levels changeable by remote only. These fans have operated flawlessly for over 5 years.

What are your thoughts about a continuously powered ceiling fan? Even when it is off? My inclination is to use a switch and see how it performs... (since I bought two year plan with it).

[jdc]

Def sounds weird. We have a c fan w/lights in our great room, powered by 2 switches, one for the lights, one for the fan. Never pull the chain (no remote) Bought it 17 years ago, we turn the fan on about May, and it stays on until Octoberish, 24/7. Then off until May.

[Cary]

I would guess that the receiver is powered all the time, not the fan. I would further guess that they are worried about power cycles, which leads me to believe that the power circuit in the reciever is not designed for constant voltage surges.

The reality is that whether or not you put in a wall switch, you could still have power outages, or turn off power via the circuit breaker.

I would be concerned with a product that warns of "drastically reducing lifespan)" due to power cycling.

[Carm]

What Cary said about the warning.
We have a couple of ceiling fans from Costco we leave on 24/7. The cleaning crew turns them off to clean them.

[cbelt3]

Weird and kind of dumb. I would put a switch in the circuit. What if the remote fails ? Turn off that room in the house ? I doubt the line will have its own breaker.

[rz]

The Hampton Bay (Home Depot) fan in our bedroom runs pretty much every night from about 10p-6a, turns on/off with light switch. It's been working problem-free for over 15 years.

[RAMd®d]

I agree with cheap electronics.

The box is the only thing using any standby juice, and if wired to a wall switch, at the very least the remote either wouldn't work or more likely, wouldn't work because somebody turned the wall switch off.

This is pretty much like modern TV or consumer audio gear that are never completely powered off but go to a Standby mode when turned 'Off'.

If your not worried about the warranty and are a little circuit savvy, you could probably install a switch to bypass the rcvr and remote in the event one fails.

Or get a different fan.

[datbeme]

Not sure of the reasoning for the requirement, but Kicheler is by no means a cheap brand. I don't have any experience with their fans, but I've purchased some of their lighting fixtures before, and I'm surprised that any of their stuff would even be available at Lowes.

If not for the odd warning about longevity, I would have assumed the recommendation would be for convenience. Fans like this are often controlled by an RF remote, and if their is no power to fan's onboard receiver, you can't operate it. We have several Emerson and Minka Aire fans that work that way and came with in-wall controls that looked like this:



Note the switch at the bottom that we would hardly ever turn to the off position, but you can turn it off if you want to. Googling Kicheler fan switch shows some similar remote designs.