Review on Transitional Indoor/Outdoor Smart DC Ceiling Fan - Vernal Collection, 60-Inch, Woodgrain, LED, WiFi-enabled, 5-Blade by Mae Howard

This is a very stylish ceiling fan that comes with clear installation instructions. However, the installation itself was not without difficulties. There are a lot of cables to connect, but all the cables are color coded so all I had to do was match the colors. This part was easy. The biggest challenge was getting the fan controller, wifi receiver and all those cables into the suspension and control box. There is barely enough space to fit everything (see first 2 photos). If the manufacturer had made the dome a little bigger, things would have been a lot easier. I also had trouble installing the lighting kit. The light is powered by a cable from the fan controller. The wires are connected by a fairly large connector. The wire and connector should fit into the small cavity on the bracket mounting plate (see 3rd photo; arrows point to cavity and connector). Again, there isn't much space. After much frustration I managed to mount everything but could not get the ideal position of the case in relation to the ceiling (see last photo). In operation, this fan is quite well balanced. When working in "summer" mode, there is practically no vibration even at high speeds. In "Winter" mode, I noticed slight fluctuations in the top two speeds. Fan noise is comparable to my other ceiling fans. This fan has 6 speeds. At setting #1, it's generally silent. The noise starts at level 2 and gets louder as the speed increases. The fan is a little slow to respond to the included remote control and sometimes feels a little weird when starting up. After pressing a button on the remote control, it can take up to 7 seconds for the fan to start spinning (usually a bit faster). Sometimes the motor would oscillate back and forth for a second or two before spinning in the desired direction. In addition, the fan always rotates slightly in the opposite direction when starting. For example, when a fan is rotated counterclockwise, it always starts by rotating about 2 to 3 degrees clockwise and then counterclockwise. I called the manufacturer about this behavior. The rep I spoke to says everything is fine. To me, these are all minor annoyances I can live with. Side light is adjustable. At full power I estimate the brightness to be about the same as a 100w incandescent bulb. This fan can be controlled via Wi-Fi with built-in "BOND HOME" technology. The manual that came with my fan is missing the entire Smart Control section. However, an updated manual that includes the missing section can be downloaded from the manufacturer's website (www.hubbell.com); Just search for the model number of the fan. Setting up BOND is easy. Basically, you download the BOND HOME app on your phone, launch the app and create an account on BOND, then follow the app's instructions. Once configured, fans and lights can be controlled using the BOND app on your phone (Internet access required). This fan is also said to work with Alexa and Google Home. I don't use Alexa, so I can't comment on that. However, I tested the functionality with Google Home; everything worked as expected. Setup instructions for BOND HOME and Google Home are pretty clearly outlined in the downloaded manual. For Home Assistant users (note: Home Assistant is an open-source home automation platform popular with many home improvement enthusiasts and DIYers), there is a BOND integration that works well. My ceiling fan was automatically recognized by HA. I used HA entity maps to control the fan and side lights. Currently the fan entity map only shows 3 speeds. I'm still trying to figure out how to display 6. The light can be dimmed when controlled with a light object card. Overall, I really like this fan. It's a little pricey at $596, but it doesn't come out of the box when compared to other smart ceiling fans with similar capabilities. One of the deciding factors is whether you are willing to pay a small premium for the aesthetics. As I said, this fan is stylish and looks very nice.