How to Shop for a Ceiling Fan

Between the selections at The Home Depot, Lowe’s, and specialty retailers like Hansen Wholesale and CeilingFan.com, you have literally thousands of models to choose from. And that onslaught of options comes with plenty of overwhelming questions. How many blades? How long should they be? What’s the CFM rating? Do you need a flush mount or a downrod? Is there a difference? Should you follow the Energy Star recommendations to maximize your energy efficiency? What should you expect to spend, anyway?

These technical specifications can certainly be important (and we get to them below). But in our experience—from talking with electricians, dissecting fan motors, and installing plenty of models ourselves—we’ve found that buying a ceiling fan can be a lot simpler than that. Choose something that’s well made, doesn’t cost too much, and has reliable customer support in case anything goes wrong. If you follow those basic criteria, you should get everything else you’d be looking for: silent operation, no vibration, maintenance-free durability, and the ability to revolve.

Price and brand

Avoid the cheap, budget-model fans you can find at big-box stores—especially the lowest-priced options from Hampton Bay and Harbor Breeze. In the words of the Chicago electrician who helped me install a total of six ceiling fans in two places, none of those big-box models are quite as good as a $100 Westinghouse is right out of the box. He said he was impressed with its solid-feeling motor and overall ease of assembly, as well as its hardware, which he poetically described as “not bad.” That’s a small but telling description that revealed a lot about the quality of some of the cheaper fans he’s had to work with.

This doesn’t mean that all the fans from big-box stores are bad or that all the fans from more fan-focused manufacturers are good. But you’ll at least have a better shot at success if you can go for a top seller from one of the big brands like Big Ass Fans, Fanimation, Hunter or Casablanca, Kichler, Minka-Aire, or Westinghouse, just to name a few.

Blade size

When it comes to the fan blade, just go large. A 52-inch blade diameter is a common bigger size that offers reliable control over wind speed and typically has a larger motor, which means it’s more likely to run silently and last a long time.

If you’re worried that a larger fan might look out of place, don’t be. I once installed a Westinghouse Comet 52-Inch in a child’s bedroom that was about 10 by 8 feet, which is serious overkill by conventional standards. It looked kinda big for the space if you really stopped and stared at it, but it never really caught my eye after the day I installed it, and nobody said anything when we sold the place the following year. When it comes to ceiling fan aesthetics, “not noticing it” is pretty much ideal.

Sound

When we installed smaller fans in two of the bedrooms at our old house, they had a distinct high-pitched hum at every speed. Not a ridiculous amount, but not the total silence we got from a larger fan like the Westinghouse Comet. (I might not have even noticed if the electrician hadn’t pointed it out to me after the installation, saying, “Man, you hear that fan? That noise’d drive me crazy!”) They also didn’t move as much air at lower speeds, so we had to run them faster, which produced a louder hum and probably consumed a little more electricity, too. On warm days when I turned on the smaller and larger fans in succession, I just shook my head at the little ones’ noise. Again, there are probably quite a few good fans that can operate silently at any speed, and there are even some really bad ones that can tick or click or make a wah-wah sound after some use.

Airflow

Manufacturers specify a fan’s airflow in CFM (cubic feet per minute), an objective measurement, but I’ve found subjectively that there’s something a bit nicer about the way the breeze feels coming off a wider-diameter fan on a slow speed versus a smaller fan that has to work harder and spin faster to get the same churn going in the room. The narrower fan feels more like a sharp, focused beam of air, and the bigger one feels more like a gentle waft.

Most fans should also have an option to let you reverse the direction of the fan. The general rule for using this feature is to run the fan clockwise in the winter (to pull the cool air up) and counterclockwise in the summer (to push the cool air down).

Mounting

Any decent ceiling fan (like the Westinghouse Comet) comes with multiple mounting options right in the box. Typically, you can install it flush to the ceiling or use the included downrod to extend it from a higher ceiling. If you have angled ceilings, however, you may need to purchase a separate adapter.

Customer support and company reliability

One of the things that really distinguish the more prominent manufacturers (like Westinghouse) from the big-box store brands is the ability to get actual support for your specific model. Sure, you can usually return any fan to a big-box store, so you’re not out of luck if something goes wrong right away. But it’s a little more likely that Westinghouse (or Big Ass Fans, Fanimation, Hunter, Kichler, Minka-Aire, or The Modern Fan Company) can send you a replacement part if needed, answer an unusual question if something odd is happening with your fan, or maybe even replace an older model if something goes wrong later.

There are probably 50-plus ceiling fans for sale in the US right now that would meet our objective requirements. If you find one that has stellar reviews, a reliable company behind it, and a style you like, you’ll probably be happy with it.

However, I can name one model that I keep coming back to, a ceiling fan that I’ve personally bought seven times to use in three different homes: the Westinghouse Comet 52-Inch Indoor Ceiling Fan.

The Westinghouse Comet delivers on the key features you should expect of any good fan: silent and steady operation, plenty of air movement, quality parts and hardware, and reliable customer support. Its domed light and five blades have an understated style that you probably won’t notice, and it usually costs under $150, which puts it in the affordable realm for a quality ceiling fan. I’ve installed four, and they’ve all worked perfectly; as of 2022, they have been in continuous operation for over five years.

One of the rooms we installed the Westinghouse Comet in was a giant, 20-by-16-foot master bedroom. Its square footage was on the upper limits of the 52-inch fan’s supposed capacity, but we almost never turned it past the medium speed setting, even in the dead of summer. It just moved plenty of air throughout that big room at the lower speeds. Again, Wirecutter doesn’t put much stock in CFM ratings, but if you do, the Westinghouse Comet is rated at a top speed of 4,460 cubic feet per minute with a downrod, or 3,589 cubic feet per minute without. That’s about average for a motor that pulls 63 watts of energy (though even more efficient fan models exist, too). I found this to be a perfectly comfortable power level for the 10-by-8-foot kids bedroom, as well; the lower speed in particular was even more ideal after we discovered the Lutron dimmer, which helped us dial in the speed more precisely.

(For reference, we installed all of these fans on high-ish ceilings at about 8 feet off the floor, within the 7- to 10-foot range of floor-to-blade distance that manufacturers generally recommend.)

On the matter of noise, the Westinghouse Comet is absolutely silent. It was quiet when we installed it in 2015, and it’s still quiet after all these years of use.

The Westinghouse Comet has a pretty neutral, understated look. There is no magic number of ceiling fan blades, but this one has five, which works pretty well. We’ve always used the black fan blades; the reverse side is a faux-wood laminate (the fan is also available with white blades and pewter blades, or a more expensive espresso laminate with black blades). That’s all the style we wanted: felt but not seen. As for hardware, I refer back to my electrician, who has seen a lot more of it than I have and who pronounced it “not bad.”

Like most fans, the Westinghouse Comet also has a light. It incorporates two bulbs under a single glass-dome shade, giving you a range of light levels, and it has standard screw-in sockets (candelabra size, unfortunately), but you still have plenty of room for LED bulbs, which are usually dimmable and always efficient. Yes, ceiling fan lights are notoriously harsh, and you should probably avoid being seen naked under them if at all possible. However, predictable overhead lighting is useful, particularly for drunk guests stumbling off to an unfamiliar bedroom. And people browsing through an open house when you’re trying to sell your place will find one less thing to be distracted by if there’s a light switch on the wall right where they expect it.

This is in no way saying that the Westinghouse Comet is the only decent fan; I’m sure you can find another fan you like that does all those things just as well. But it’s the only one I ever recommend, because it’s the only one I ever buy anymore, because it does everything I need it to.

Last, there’s price. A ceiling fan is one of those things that, even if I had unlimited money, I’d still want to spend as little as possible on to get something satisfying. The Westinghouse Comet usually costs around $100, which is about as low a price as I’d reasonably expect to pay, especially considering that some higher-end fans can go for $300, easy. If you like a style at that price and you can afford it, I hope it’s as satisfying as the Westinghouse Comet. I unfortunately can’t offer any comparison for you there. Maybe you should just buy three Comets instead.

To get the most out of your new ceiling fan, whether it’s a Westinghouse or another non-smart fan, you should also install a variable fan switch along with it. For that, I recommend the Lutron Maestro Fan Control and LED+ Dimmer. But be warned: Many such switches (including this one) require separate wiring for the fan and light, which may be difficult to accomplish as a retrofit, depending on your home setup.

The Lutron Maestro dimmer switch is an awesome addition to this or any fan. It gives you four speed settings and independent control of the fan and light, so you can stop using (or remove) the dangling pull chains. To me, two simple advantages this offers—the ability to dim the overhead light and have the controls reliably work from the wall switch as you enter a dark room—are already worth the cost of the upgrade. Although the Lutron Caséta Smart Fan Control also has appeal, I personally prefer this simpler setup, which spares you the extra step of using a hub. But you don’t get the ability to control the fan via an app or your voice.

Speaking of apps and voice control, Wirecutter’s smart-home team researched the full range of options, from installing smart ceiling fans to adding smart controls to existing fans. Their report, “Upgrade Your Airflow: 3 Ways to Smarten Your Ceiling Fans,” begins with a deeper look into Lutron’s switches, touches on the Bond Bridge and other popular options to connect fans into a single system, and offers plentiful details on living with a Big Ass Fans i6 at home. Another model from Big Ass Fans that gets a lot of attention is the Haiku.

Since Wirecutter first published this guide in June 2016, I’ve installed this fan and a Lutron switch in several other rooms of my house. A few things crossed my mind as I did the work, and I wanted to share them here—this advice is meant for anyone new to the process of installing a ceiling fan and more specifically for anyone installing this particular fan and switch for the first time.

The best overview of the basic terminology and other installation details is in the Westinghouse Comet installation manual (PDF). To summarize the unfamiliar terms: The electrical box in your ceiling connects to a fan mounting bracket, and the mounting bracket is what bears the weight of the fan. The canopy hides the wiring at the ceiling, and the downrod is the rod that goes from the mounting bracket to the fan motor.

Build the blades before you begin: Prep the fan blades’ mounting hardware—the metal pieces that attach the blades to the motor—before you even take the old fan down. This is a tip you can use even if you’re hiring an electrician to do the actual installation—the work takes at least a few minutes per blade, which could easily save you an hour of the electrician’s time if you’re installing multiple fans. If you’re doing it all yourself, the time to mount the blades comes at a pretty labor-intensive moment in the whole process, after the fan body is hanging from the ceiling, and the last thing you’ll want to do is get off the ladder and mess with a bunch of screws and nuts. One tip for the Westinghouse Comet in particular: The fabric washers that go between the blades’ faces and the mounting hardware are usually really tight on the screw threads, and it’s far easier to grip them along their edges loosely in a pair of long-nose pliers than to rub your thumb raw holding them with your hand. I find the fastest way to assemble the blade hardware is to sit on the floor, clamp the blade between my knees, put the hardware at eye level, and use one hand to hold the pliers on the washer and/or nut while turning the screwdriver with the other hand.

Start while you have plenty of daylight: Between the fan and switch installations, this is definitely a job to do with the breaker flipped off. If you’re new to this, it’s best to start the job while you still have at least a few hours of natural light in the room. That will give you time to go back and redo any mistakes (like forgetting to put the canopy over the downrod).

Don’t forget the canopy: This may just be a personal problem, but on more than one occasion I’ve started connecting the wires through the fan’s downrod to the wires from the ceiling without first slipping the canopy piece over the downrod. This step is clearly noted in the instructions. It is far more satisfying to simply remember to put the canopy on the first time than to disconnect and redo everything.

Do use the supplied mounting bracket: The mounting bracket, which you attach to the ceiling’s electrical box, holds the weight of the fan. If you’re replacing an existing fan, you may be tempted to just leave the old mounting bracket installed and drop this new fan’s downrod into it to save a step. That’s not a good shortcut. The Westinghouse mounting bracket has a little groove that acts as a seat for the ball-shaped end of the fan’s downrod. Your old mounting bracket probably doesn’t have this groove, and as a result the ball will wobble within the bracket.

If the fan wobbles at high speeds: Try carefully rotating the downrod until you feel it drop ever so slightly into the groove of the mounting bracket. (Don’t turn it a full revolution or more in a single direction.) Once it’s seated properly, it won’t rotate anymore, and it won’t wobble at high speeds. Fortunately, you can correct this even if you don’t notice it until after everything is wired up and complete.

Expect some physical exertion: This job requires lifting a fairly heavy fan motor up to eye level while standing on a ladder. You also need to be able to hold it in position while you align some holes and install some hardware. Just a word of caution that the combination of balance, strength, and finesse can be challenging. Having a second person helps.

If it’s not working properly, try the pull chains: Once you’ve installed the fan, replaced the wall switch, and turned the power back on, you’re ready to test it. Don’t freak out if it doesn’t seem to work; the light and fan are often set to “off” out of the box. If you install a Lutron switch, keep in mind that the switch functions properly with the fan and light both set to the highest setting.

One more troubleshooting note: If the Lutron switch is receiving power, it will light up with a dim green LED (even when the fan and light are off; when they’re on, that light becomes brighter to indicate the setting). If you see no lights on the wall switch, something is not connected. I’ve had wires connecting to the switch’s terminal screws come loose as I’ve pushed the switch back into the wall, especially on one tight box with particularly stiff wires. The fan connections are a little easier to get right, so I recommend cutting the power off and then pulling the switch back out of the wall to check the connections there before you go taking the whole fan off the ceiling.

Last thing: Electricians have very strong hands. If you are not an electrician, use long-nose pliers whenever possible to grip things securely. Pliers help hold wires firmly in place while you twist wire nuts onto them. They can also help hold wires down under the switch’s terminal screw heads while you tighten those. And they can help pull and bend stubborn, stiff wires so you can fit things into boxes more easily. This job requires only two tools (long-nose pliers and a screwdriver; see our full guides to each), but you will use both of them every step of the way. Good luck!

If you’re looking for something similar in price and style to the Westinghouse Comet, we recommend checking out any number of models from companies such as Fanimation, Hunter or Casablanca, Kichler, or Minka-Aire. Westinghouse offers a few other styles, as well.

One of the most compelling options for anyone ready for a more substantial investment is the Big Ass Fans Haiku, a smart fan that has now garnered several years’ worth of positive comments from customer reviews at several retailers and from members of our reader community. It’s available in a cocoa and black finish as well as in white; the latter is usually priced slightly lower. Other than people routinely balking at the price, we have heard nothing negative about this fan. Wirecutter’s smart-home team looked at ways to smarten a ceiling fan and tested a separate Big Ass Fans model, the i6 fan, as well as a lot of options for adding app and voice control to any basic fan. That article is well worth a read for anyone looking to go beyond the classic functionality of the Westinghouse Comet.

If you need a fan for a covered outdoor space, you can find some well-reviewed, damp-rated options such as the Home Decorators Collection Shanahan, the Harbor Breeze Merrimack II, the Lowe’s-exclusive Hunter Lantern Bay, and the Home Depot–exclusive Hampton Bay Mena. Though these fans aren’t necessarily waterproof, they should be able to withstand the occasional burst of sideways rain.

In addition to its being weather resistant, the Home Depot–exclusive Hampton Bay Mena is also the most affordable Energy Star–certified fan we found in our research. The WAC Lighting Blitzen F-060, WAC Lighting F-001L, Modern Forms Lotus, and Modern Forms Slim are all Energy Star certified as well and give you smart-home features on top of that—but they also cost between $200 and $400. Other Energy Star–certified options include the Minka-Aire Minute F553L-WHF and the Kichler 35153A; these cost around twice as much as our beloved Westinghouse Comet, but they may be worth the investment for the energy savings.

The Home Decorators Collection Ashby Park also stood out to us because of its built-in LED light, which lets you select your preferred color temperature (2,700K, 3,000K, or 5,000K). This could be a good option for someone who wants to switch between warm white and cool white.

Additional reporting by Thom Dunn.

This article was edited by Thom Dunn and Harry Sawyers.