I have been serving Big Ass Fans as our Receptionist Extraordinaire for just over 2½ years now. During that time, I’ve managed to gain somewhat of a reputation among the office, as well as from callers, as being an exceptional gatekeeper. Well, that may be putting it nicely. To quote a couple of my beloved co-workers, I may be better known as the “Salesperson’s Nightmare” or my personal favorite, “The Nazi Receptionist”. (Thanks Karen!)

I’m sure that the majority of receptionists out there can probably feel where I am coming from, especially if they consider themselves any kind of a gatekeeper at all. I was consistently surprised at the lengths that salespeople would go to in order to break through my carefully built “gate”.

Our poor, busy receptionist

One morning, a couple of years ago, I had a solicitor call me repeatedly – I’m talking like 5 times between 8:00 – 9:00 in the morning – for our Marketing Director, for the sake of the story, I will just call him MD. Knowing that MD was in a meeting, I had sent the caller to voice mail. Finally, he told me that he was with a bank and that he was calling about MD’s account, because he feared that it had been hacked into and money was being stolen from it.

Naturally, I found this a little fishy and when he told me that he didn’t have MD’s home or cell number, I saw red flags all over the call. I called MD out of his meeting and explained to him what the caller was telling me and MD agreed that it sounded weird but took the phone call.

Within just a few moments, MD called to tell me that as soon as he answered the phone, the caller started talking about Big Ass Fans advertising during the Super Bowl!

He interrupted the caller to ask what all of this hoopla with his “bank account” was about, and the caller denied ever having said anything of the sort! Naturally, MD wasn’t buying it and promptly ended the call. I hope that caller realized he didn’t just lose a potential client with that stunt, he cost his company credibility.

I wish I could say that this was the only dishonest solicitor I’ve had over these years, but unfortunately I can’t. This prompts me to ask, what crazy phone calls have ended up at your desk?

Before purchasing a product, it is always essential to remember the difference between education and experience.

“Education is when you read the fine print. Experience is what you get if you don’t.”
-Pete Seeger

Unfortunately, the fine print at the bottom of a warranty has led many a customer to gain costly experience before they learn to educate themselves on the differences between a prorated and non-prorated warranty.

Non-prorated warranties cover 100% of the cost of the covered part for a specified length of time. So, if a manufacturer offers a 10 year non-prorated warranty on parts, then if any part where to fail in less than 10 years, the manufacturer would provide a replacement part at no cost to the customer. Long term non-prorated warranties provide the best coverage for the customer and demonstrate the confidence that the manufacturer has in its products.

Powerfoil X and Element carry a non-prorated 10 year warranty.

Prorated warranties, also called service warranties, cover a portion of the cost of the covered part that decreases each year until the coverage disappears. Prorated warranties are used to help persuade a customer to buy a product but actually require the customer to carry an increasingly larger share of the warranty cost if something goes wrong.

At Big Ass Fans, the care that we take in our customer relationships, and the care that we take in manufacturing our products means that we can offer a ten year non-prorated parts warranty on all Powerfoil X™ and Element fans with no decrease in coverage in year 1 or year 10. This long term guarantee makes sure that you get to experience the increased comfort and the energy savings offered by a Big Ass Fan without having to pay for the education.

Heat circulation, heat recirculation, heat distribution, destratification…regardless of your preferred description, they all work the same way. With winter upon us, there is no reason for your Big Ass Fan to sit idle. The benefits of ceiling fans during the summer are well known and appreciated by many. Not so common, however, are the benefits of Big Ass Fans in the winter to improve comfort and reduce energy costs.

Stratified Space

Less dense than cold air, hot air will rise and remain at the ceiling, (Fig. 1), keeping your ceiling comfortable and warm. This benefits…no one, aside from a few nesting bugs. Heat recirculation is the process of mixing the air to evenly distribute heat trapped near your ceiling down to the occupants, rather than escaping through the roof for good.

Big Ass Fans® are designed to operate efficiently at low speeds, so turning the fan very slowly in the forward direction (counterclockwise) will provide enough air movement to circulate the hot air at the ceiling down to the floor without causing drafts. Regardless of the square footage or ceiling height within your space, the goal is to mix the air in the space and keep the air speed at the floor below perceptible levels, approximately 40 feet per minute or ½ mph.

Hot air emerging from your furnace is approximately 5-7% lighter than the air present in the room. As this hot air rises, it contributes to a significant temperature difference between the floor and the ceiling, further increasing the workload on your furnace, not to mention increasing your energy bill.

Destratified Space

Running your Big Ass Fan in the winter months will result in an equalized air temperature throughout (Fig. 2). Considering all the heat supplied by the furnace now reaches the occupants and the thermostat, the furnace will run less frequently with less heat escaping through the roof.

“We have been using the Big Ass Fans for heat stratification in the winter time,” said Mike Donnelly, Vice President / General Manager for Lock, Joint, Tube in Chattanooga, Tenn. “We do have equipment inside the building that generates heat but no heating register so we are able to bring that heat back down from the ceiling. It is because of the fans that I took out the heating system,” he added.

Contrary to popular belief, good looking ≠ good design. Sure, a product that is aesthetically pleasing is certainly part of good design, but more importantly, a product that receives such accolades must achieve something far more elusive. It must actually work.

Form and function have always had a symbiotic relationship. When combined, great design is born. The melding of a functional wonder with serious cool style is, sadly, a rare occurrence.

No better list of guiding principles of good design exists than those by Dieter Rams.

Smart, savvy curators of good design laugh in the face of parlor tricks and marketing swill. They demand a well-built, functional piece of art. Call us fanatical, but we think instead of cutting corners to save ourselves a few pennies on production, that all stops should be pulled out to make sure when you say “ship it,” you are getting the most advanced, longest-lasting and effective air mover money can buy. We wouldn’t have it any other way. Maybe that makes us eccentric, but it’s what we must do to make the best fans in the world.

What are some of your favorite examples of good design?

Big Ass Fans tend to be silverish in color, considering our patented airfoils are crafted with a shiny extruded aluminum. However, we feel green and gold suit us just as well. Earlier this year, work was completed on our new R&D building, receiving LEED® Gold certification from the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) upon completion. Using our fans, coupled with our commitment to sustainable practices, we have designed a modern, sophisticated facility that uses 35 percent less energy and 58 percent less water. By employing sustainable LEED practices during construction, 9 percent less construction materials were used and 51 percent less landfill waste was generated, not to mention – we’re guessing here – many millions of brain cells to design and construct. This 45,000 sq. ft. space, divided into 3 unique areas, earned 41 LEED points (a minimum of 39 are required for gold status) allowing us to optimize numerous energy saving elements contributing greatly to our ongoing conservation efforts.

Being fan experts – with brain cells left to spare – we conduct everything from fan performance testing, air velocity profiles, fatigue testing of fan assemblies and components, as well as the development of prototypes for future cutting-edge fan innovations. Heavy curtains separate the 41,000 sq. ft., 60-ft. high test facility into four quadrants or the space can simply be opened up allowing for the creation of mock-environments used to determine optimal fan sizing and placement for the most demanding applications.

Big Ass Fans new test facility is LEED Gold certified.

Between the highly reflective roof and low VOC flooring, the office and workshop areas utilize an innovative air distribution system which includes two 12-ft. Big Ass Fans, reducing the need for extensive ductwork from the HVAC unit. This allows for an increase in the thermostat setpoint resulting in a decrease in energy usage and ensures proper air distribution throughout the space.

Despite our new, colorful appearance, it’s our continued dedication to testing and research which has secured our spot as the experts in the design and application of large diameter fans.

ABOUT LEED
The LEED® Green Building Rating System™ is the national benchmark for the design, construction, and operations of high-performance green buildings. Visit the U.S. Green Building Council’s Web site at www.usgbc.org to learn more about how you can make LEED work for you.