2026-06-17 17:30 UTC
Replies (38)
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@RyanE@mastodonapp.uk 2026-06-17 17:36
@TechConnectify@mas.to Looking forward to this one!
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@craz8@hachyderm.io 2026-06-17 17:38
@TechConnectify@mas.to this one will be a fan favorite…. I’ll show myself out
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@zeiroslion@meow.social 2026-06-17 17:39
@TechConnectify@mas.to Gotta say that I'm a fan of that pun!
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@matt@proud.social 2026-06-17 17:39
@TechConnectify@mas.to Do a retrospective on attic fans (I think people call these “whole house” fans these days). These were super common in the South in 1950–70s construction: https://www.energy.gov/energysaver/cooling-whole-house-fan I haven’t seen one of these in decades.
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@jackeric@beige.party 2026-06-17 17:35
@TechConnectify@mas.to and this will blow _you_ away https://youtu.be/eZchOopvunQ?si=yes
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@msk@mastodon.gamedev.place 2026-06-17 18:11
@TechConnectify@mas.to great! I keep putting off buying one. I guess that’s going to be more than I need to know to finally get to it.
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@Crazypedia@mypocketpals.online 2026-06-17 18:34
@TechConnectify@mas.to I'm a fan 🪭 :blobcatbigfan:
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@womump@mastodon.social 2026-06-17 18:44
@TechConnectify@mas.to preparing your OnlyFans debut?
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@tehstu@hachyderm.io 2026-06-17 18:46
@TechConnectify@mas.to OK, I'll bite based on that thumbnail. Oh hey, it's the person who did that fascinating solar panel video. Wait... this is an hour long. Oh, it's one of *those* videos! Yeah, I'll be watching this tonight.
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@sampler@freebeerextremist.com 2026-06-17 19:05
@TechConnectify@mas.to ceiling fans are one of my best friends in Indonesia where it's > 30*C and >90% humidity every day!
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@holsta@mastodon.art 2026-06-17 19:18
@TechConnectify@mas.to The runtime is listed as 1:11:10 for me in the video player, but 1:11:11 in YouTube's thumbnail. I'm furious and I expect a full refund.
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@dat@social.g33ky.de 2026-06-17 19:32
A 1h 11min and 11s long video about… only fans? And you didn't do the obvious lame pun? How can you afford so much restraint in todays economy?
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@amdg2@diaspodon.fr 2026-06-17 19:39
@TechConnectify@mas.to that likes to views ratio :drake_like:
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@DarioZanette@mastodon.uno 2026-06-17 19:48
@TechConnectify@mas.to blow you by blow air on you.
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@jernej__s@infosec.exchange 2026-06-17 19:48
@TechConnectify@mas.to Skipping details … and still 71 minutes long.
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@stodarahodan@chaos.social 2026-06-17 20:05
@TechConnectify@mas.to now i really want a Hunter Original
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@be@floss.social 2026-06-17 20:14
@TechConnectify@mas.to I'm a big fan.
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@lx@swiss.social 2026-06-17 20:31
@TechConnectify@mas.to What blew me away was the runtime of over an hour 😵
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@veviser@mastodon.social 2026-06-17 21:51
@TechConnectify@mas.to Over an hour, but not long-winded! Also that differently-shaped notch bothers the heck out of me too! I'd absolutely take a file to it!
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@337guanacos@xarxa.cloud 2026-06-17 22:19
@TechConnectify@mas.to #martesdeventiladoresdetecho
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@DrorBedrack@mastodon.social 2026-06-17 22:45
@TechConnectify@mas.to I was a ceiling fan before is was cool
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@mitchib1440@mastodon.social 2026-06-18 01:27
@TechConnectify@mas.to just watched it through, this is fantastic not just from an entertainment perspective but also a research perspective. Very cool!
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@hellomiakoda@pdx.social 2026-06-18 02:39
@TechConnectify@mas.to I wish the Hunter Original wasn't so expensive. That does look like a nice fan. Though, I don't know if the mount in my room is rated for that weight.
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@hellomiakoda@pdx.social 2026-06-18 02:43
@TechConnectify@mas.to Are light kits interchangable? The light kit on mine is ugly.
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@bubbajet@mastodon.world 2026-06-18 02:44
@TechConnectify@mas.to Great video. Thank you! I’ve got 8 ceiling fans in my house, and it’s…fantastic. I’ll show myself out.
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@Elizafox@social.treehouse.systems 2026-06-18 03:04
@TechConnectify@mas.to I'm a real fan of this video. This video is like a breath of fresh air. Finally a creator not full of hot air... I'll stop.
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@hellomiakoda@pdx.social 2026-06-18 03:12
@TechConnectify@mas.to If you're up for it, I'd like a video on improving existing fans. Taking mine out for something nicer is a bit much. I'd like tips on how to find a compatible light kit and blades. Mine fan works well enough, but it's effingly ugly. It's got that "We're selling this house" look, if you know what I mean. The same aesthetic that resulted in my walls being very fresh and clean... but effing gray. Also... can I put bigger blades on? Can one upgrade a 42 inch to 52?
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@hellomiakoda@pdx.social 2026-06-18 03:27
@TechConnectify@mas.to By the way, thanks for saving me from making a mistake. I was considering swapping this fan for a cute one I saw. It wasn't going to be real soon, money's tight. Buuut... your video taught me that a lot of ceiling fans suck cause they sacrifice performance and function for style. It prompted me to look in to the specs... DC motor. I don't want a DC fan for a few reasons, and looking closer, the blade pitch is shallower than the fan I have. So, you spared me some regret!
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@TransitBiker@urbanists.social 2026-06-18 04:39
@TechConnectify@mas.to watched it earlier. Lots of thoughts on the topic. Great video!
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@krono@toot.berlin 2026-06-18 05:06
@TechConnectify@mas.to \ o /
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@heluecht@pirati.ca 2026-06-18 05:15
@TechConnectify@mas.to After watching it, I know now everything about a device that I most likely will never own 😀
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@kp_rider@techhub.social 2026-06-18 05:45
@TechConnectify@mas.to Hi Alec, I noticed you just released a fantastic video on how usa keep messing up ceiling fans! Given your love for residential energy efficiency and motor design, I think you should do a deep-dive episode on the electronic wizardry inside "BLDC Ceiling Fans." They are incredibly popular in India right now (pioneered by a company called Atomberg), and they represent a massive leap over the traditional single-phase AC induction fans usa use in the West. Here is why they are a perfect fit for a Technology Connections episode: 1. The Efficiency Leap: A standard AC induction fan draws about 75 Watts at peak speed. A BLDC fan delivers the exact same airflow (around 220–235 CMM / 8,000 CFM) while drawing only 28 to 35 Watts. At low speeds, they run on an unbelievable 2 to 3 Watts. 2. Hidden Inverters: Inside the fan canopy is a sophisticated circuit board. It takes incoming AC wall power, rectifies it to DC via an internal SMPS, and then a microcontroller uses Pulse Width Modulation (PWM) to step it back into a simulated 3-phase AC wave to spin a permanent magnet rotor. It ties perfectly into your older video on how induction motors and 3-phase power work! 3. Absolute Silence: Because they don't use old capacitor-drop or resistive wall regulators to chop the AC voltage waveform, they never experience that annoying low-speed electrical motor hum. They run completely silent. 4. The Engineering Trade-offs: Traditional fans are "dumb" copper and iron machines that can survive a lightning strike and last 40 years. BLDC fans put an entire computer motherboard into a hot, humid ceiling environment. If a power surge fries the PCB, the fan is bricked. Furthermore, they are native to 220V grids—running one on a standard 110V North American outlet requires a step-up transformer, or the internal chip throws an under-voltage error. They cost around $37 to $59 USD in India (though shipping them over to the US pushes it past $220 due to freight). Seeing you tear down the internal circuitry, explain the electronic commutation, and benchmark the power draw using your power meters would make an incredible video. It represents the exact kind of "invisible engineering" that makes household appliances so fascinating. Thanks for the great content!
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@Raffael1000@chaos.social 2026-06-18 14:11
@TechConnectify@mas.to I didn't think a video only about fans would be so entertaining!
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@valhalla@social.gl-como.it 2026-06-18 17:31
@TechConnectify@mas.to as a short person living in a house with 3 m¹ ceilings I sort of resent the description of remotes as gimmicky :) Although I guess that they mean that our 15-ish year old fans probably have a processor that is more powerful than the apollo guidance computer (and we had to replace some components, iirc capacitors, at least once). ¹ almost 10 freedom units
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@geoffl@mastodon.me.uk 2026-06-18 17:43
@TechConnectify@mas.to Did I miss it or did you get through 1:11 without mentioning the word punkhawallah? The punkha (or pankha) was the predecessor to the ceiling fan and was often operated by a punkha wallah, who was paid to keep the punkha moving. It dates back to 8th century Arabia. Because ceiling fans replaced the punkha and the wallah they were sometimes called punkhawallahs. The word lives on in the 'Punkah Louvre', the kind of device you'll find above your head directing air towards you.
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@JustinH@twit.social 2026-06-19 01:25
@TechConnectify@mas.to This video finally convinced me to throw out my blue LED Christmas lights
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@DeltaFurTrash@macrofurs.social 2026-06-20 02:04
@TechConnectify@mas.to Thanks a ton for having a Mastadon. Wish more folks realized Bluesky is kind of a dead end. Hope you've been enjoying your stay!
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@vldi@hachyderm.io 2026-06-20 03:46
@TechConnectify@mas.to Nice episode - explained a lot. In 2012 I was struggling in a small office with low ceilings in a suburban Chicago home. I ran three computers and a laptop, and my wife (in the same office) ran a mac book with a large monitor. Existing fan was low enough, that if we turned it on to have a reasonable effect, papers start flying off of both of our desks. I also hated the choppy blows of air which that three-blader delivered. When searching for other options, I came across the Indiegogo campaign for Exhale fans (https://www.indiegogo.com/en/projects/nikhiner/tesla-inspired-bladeless-ceiling-fan), which billed themselves as Tesla-inspired. Backed it up in November 2012, reserving two fans, for which I paid $250 as an early bird. It did arrive in early February 2014. It was all that it promised in marketing. It created smooth circulation in the room without noise or choppiness. It was enough flow without papers flying. Later I've added a light and upgraded a motor. We ordered two more of these fans when moved to downtown at the cost of about $550-$600 (different colors), which I think was a very fair price for what they delivered, being a small-batch production. And I recommended it to anyone who would ask (which was everyone who stopped by, it looks cool). The management seemed to have changed since and I do not know where Nik Hiner is now. But If I see his name on a Kickstarter again - I am in.