New Ceiling Fan Takes Flight

In large part, we have Danny Parker and his father-in-law to thank. Parker, a senior researcher at the Florida Solar Energy Center, tells the story:

“One hot Florida summer evening, my father-in-law, Shep Shepperd, and I were sitting around talking over a drink. I remarked how much cooler it felt under the ceiling fan above us. A retired airline pilot, having flown many a propeller-driven aircraft, Shep looked up and said—‘Yep, but those damn things haven’t changed since I’ve been around.’ Shep is 83. I asked him what he meant by that. ‘Well,’ he said, ‘I never flew an airplane with a flat propeller.’ That started me thinking about why ceiling fan blades are flat in the first place....”So started Parker’s investigation of ceiling fans. His research identified four areas with real potential for increasing energy efficiency and performance: