Ceiling Fan Led Light Remote Control 54 34 Noble Bronze

2 reviews for Ceiling Fan Led Light Remote Control 54 34 Noble Bronze

1. 

   Rated 5 out of 5

   William G. – February 20, 2023

   The Hunter Apache is part of (currently) a set of three Apple HomeKit-compatible fans. The Hunter Signal and Hunter Symphony are the other two, but the Apache is the most expensive of the three as of this review date.I have both the Apache and the Signal, but for now let’s focus on the Apache. It’s described as a bronze finish, but I’d say unless you have very good eyes it is – for all intents and purposes – black. The fan blades are plastic with a distressed-wood-like finish on them which is convincing enough that you’ll believe they are wood. I think they look really good!Installation isn’t hard if you’re replacing an existing fan. If you’re replacing a recessed light or basic light fixture (as I was), you will need a suitable brace to go into the joists. An excellent one to get is the 
   Westinghouse Lighting 0110000 Saf-T-Brace for Ceiling Fans, 3 Teeth, Twist and Lock
   . I used this for installing both the Apache and the Signal, and couldn’t be happier.With the fan installed (follow the simple instructions!), I tried to add the fan into the Hunter app… and failed. So here’s the first warning: The app isn’t very good. And here’s the second warning: Be sure that your iPhone/iPad etc is connected to your 2.4Ghz network (not the 5Ghz). If it’s not, you will NOT be able to add this fan to HomeKit. After you’ve added the fan to HomeKit, you can re-connect your phone to the 5Ghz network and carry on as before.My suggestion? Install the Hunter app (you need it to turn off the frustrating beeps the fan makes when doing anything), but don’t set up the fan in the Hunter app. Just used the pre-installed HomeKit app called “Home” on your phone, and you’ll be much happier. After struggling with the Hunter app for the installation of the Signal, the Apache install went much more smoothly when using the “Home” app instead. After adding the fan using “Home,” it was simple to go into the Hunter app and turn off the beeps.With HomeKit set up, I’m able to voice control the fan and light using Siri, and it all works swimmingly. I was also pleasant surprised to see the fan/light show up in my Lutron Caseta app, so that’s a nice bonus, too.But some things to note:1.) Unlike the traditional blades that the Hunter Signal comes with, the Apache’s fan design is a little… interesting. This did mean that it wasn’t as well balanced when spinning, and with the fan at 75-100% it was wobbly, much more than the Signal. I found I had to use the included weight kit to get things settled down. You likely won’t eliminate ALL the wobble, but it should be greatly reduced once you’ve played with the weights. Also, while you may get the wobble minimized when the fan is spinning counter-clockwise (summer setting), when you reverse the fan direction you’ll likely find the fan wobbles more. I’ll just file this under first-world problems and not worry about it too much…2.) My Apache light would not dim out of the box. Be sure to read the little instruction sheet that comes with the remote, because it tells you how to fix this. You press and hold the “up” and “down” arrows at the same time for 2 seconds to re-enable the feature. I’m not sure why it was disabled in the first place on my unit (it wasn’t on my Signal). There are other little tips, like holding down the fan button to reverse the direction (for winter). You can also do this in the app.3.) The light output is reasonable, but doesn’t compare to the 3x 60 watt-equivalent LED bulbs I used to have in a globe fixture at that same spot in the ceiling. It has an interesting light dispersal, so if you can demo this unit you might want to. In my 12×12 office it could still be a tad brighter. Also, since the LEDs all point down, if you’re sitting directly under the light you might find the light to be a tad harsh, even with the light diffuser on. Your mileage may vary here.4.) There’s no flickering from the LEDs at low brightness, which makes me happy. There’s also no high-pitched sound at lower dimming levels, either.5.) The Apache/Signal/Symphony is advertised as having WhisperWind technology for an ultra-quiet motor. The reality isn’t quite so simple. Yes, it’s pretty quiet, but there is an obvious motor sound if you’re sensitive to it. Kind of a “waa-waa-waa” sound, that’s louder the faster the fan speed is set. It’s not particularly annoying, but it is there. The same sound is present on my Signal fan.6.) The fan blades were a bit of a nuisance to install, requiring the use of the two included allen keys + custom screw system to install. By comparison, the Signal just used regular Phillips-head screws that were much easier to install.Overall, this is a nice unit. It’s not quite as simple as the Signal, but it certainly looks a more premium design. The HomeKit integration is great, but it’s a shame there’s no nice wall-switch that Hunter sells for this. While HomeKit is great, it’d be nice to walk into a room and smack a switch to have the light come on at full brightness rather than using a remote to turn on the unit to the previous setting the light was set to prior to it being turned off etc.Even with these niggles, this fan is a solid 4 out of 5. Recommended.
   
   

2. 

   Rated 5 out of 5

   Dijitle – February 20, 2023

   So I bought a new house and went automation crazy. Smart switches, garagedoor openers, Alexa, everything. This fan struck my eye as it’s wifi-connected and works with Alexa. Seems to be pretty high quality and hunter is a well known and respected brand, so what can go wrong…Well, I installed the fan, and the instructions said you can in fact, have 2 switches, one for the light, and one for the fan. So naturally, you’d think they would work independently.. but no… This is not the case. I’m about 99% sure it won’t work with a dimmer (didn’t actually try it) and turns out the fan switch actually has to be on in order for the light to toggle… and I say toggle because if your light switch was in the ON position and your turned on the fan switch afterwards, the light would actually be off, and turning the light switch OFF actually turned the light ON… what? So you have to do a song and dance to get the switches to sort of do what you want. I emailed hunter support and they told me straight up that the fan was not compatible with light switches and you have to use the remote or app to control it… Being the handy-man that I am however, I did manage to take the fan apart and rewire it to the light will work independently on a dimmer. I would not recommend this as I’m pretty sure it voids your warranty, but if you know what you’re doing, it can work. I’ve done it with other cheaper fans. So as far as user experience… not so hot. But my smart switch that works with Alexa can now dim the light with the fan being off (mind BLOWN!)Now for the app… omg… someone was actually paid to write the app… it’s terrible. Set up is somewhat odd in that you are forced to take a picture of the QR code. And once it’s set up, you have to cycle through 4 different levels of which house, room and fan name until you can get into the actual settings. Because clearly, you own many houses and have many of theses $350 fans in each room…. They I guess wanted to mimic Alexa in some ways, but terrible. Controls are sluggish but do control the fan speed, direction and thankfully, with Alexa skill, you never have to look at that app again. Which is why I didn’t really give it a lower rating. It does what it says it’ll do, and with some minor hacking can do exactly what I want it to do.The fan itself looks great. Only qualm I have is the motor hum is noticeable but it quickly drowns out in the background and doesn’t bother sleeping or anything. Certainly not silent.Would I recommend it… well.. it depends. If you are automation crazy like me and have the money to burn, go for it. It’s probably the smartest fan out there. If you only care about turning it on/off via alexa… might be cheaper to get a nice “dumb” fan and a couple smart switches that will more-or-less do the same thing.