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Just turn it up: Fan control on the smartphone
Photo: Berti Kolbow-Lehradt
When the summer heat gets under your skin, fans blow the wind over it, providing a mild cooling effect.
For the preferred amount of fresh air, current models offer several airflow levels.
If you wish, you can also swivel the housing so that everyone gets something out of it and nobody sits in the draft all the time.
If every step is too much and there is not enough concentration left in oppressive temperatures, smart fans are an advantage.
They can be conveniently operated from a sweaty seated position using a smartphone app or voice command.
In addition, with the help of automatic controls, they only switch on when necessary and always switch off when everyone has left the room.
A WLAN chip and sensors make it possible.
Thanks to a cloud connection, forgetful people can start and stop such devices even when they are away from home.
This also makes it easier to control fans from different brands and other smart home devices together.
At the start of the home cinema evening, the fan level can be automatically reduced while the curtains close and the lights are dimmed, a conceivable scenario.
But how practical are the technically upgraded wind throwers really and which one suits your own smart home best?
To find out, we tested five smart fans.
The tested models at a glance:
Djive Flowmate ARC Casual 2-in-1 (200 euros)
The narrow tower fan requires little floor space because instead of an expansive rotor, a small impeller in the base sucks in air and blows it through an annular gap above it.
As an additional talent, the device filters and sterilizes the air using a HEPA filter and UV-C light.
Dyson Purifier Cool Formaldehyde air purifier TP09 (640 euros)
This model is three times the price of Djive's, but it can do about the same thing.
There is no UV-C disinfection.
On the other hand, the case with metal look accents is a bit fancier.
InLine SmartHome table fan (64 euros)
The most compact and inexpensive fan in the test can be placed on a table or chest of drawers and blows wind around your nose with a rotatable and tiltable rotor with a diameter of 17 centimeters.
Sichler ceiling fan WiFi VT-960.led (200 euros)
If the perceived temperature goes through the ceiling, the combination device wants to bring it back onto the carpet with a large rotor and also illuminate the room with an LED ring.
Xiaomi Mi Smart Standing Fan 2 (100 euros)
The classic standing fan mixes the air with a rotor in a large, round cage.
Part of the standpipe can be removed to convert the device into a table fan.
However, the expansive 33 centimeter base does not shrink with it.
This is how we tested:
Fan function
: What counts in the end is what comes out.
We therefore check the range of fan speeds and options with which the airflow can be adjusted to preferences - and whether the cooling effect is pleasantly subtle or annoying with a too concentrated draft.
Noise and energy requirements:
Smart fans should be able to be quiet enough for concentrated work or a nap.
How much is it worth not letting the device run pointlessly?
With measurements we expose wasteful troublemakers.
Smart operation
: How easy is it to operate the functions via the app?
Which voice commands do the devices understand?
A classic remote control is a bonus.
Automation
: What options are there for creating automatic switching on and off according to time, temperature and presence?
The easier this can be implemented, the better.
Djive Flowmate ARC Casual 2-in-1
The combination device offers many talents, but no top performance.
With a subtle airflow from small slots, the Djive model circulates much less of the heated stuff than the rotor alternatives.
We therefore have to turn it up more so that a gentle breeze can get through at a distance of 1.5 meters.
The possibility of swiveling the housing 80 degrees sideways and allowing the air flow to swell and swell is advantageous.
The range of fan speeds is wide with nine levels.
In automatic mode, the air purifier function chooses one itself, based on the suspended matter detected by a sensor.
The operating noise is moderate, but even in "sleep mode" at 35 dB(A) too loud for bed rest.
If the device is on the floor, as intended, it can only be operated in the conventional way while squatting, which is extremely uncomfortable.
The multifunction button, LED display and infrared receiver of the remote control are mounted at ankle height.
Djive Home smartphone app (download for Android and iOS ) is more convenient, provides access to all functions.
The device can be started and stopped using voice commands for the Google Assistant.
Alexa also allows you to select a fan speed.
The automation options are extensive, but can only be called up completely in a roundabout way.
In the manufacturer's app, the device can only be switched on and off according to the time or depending on the outside temperature retrieved from the web.
Both are far too imprecise and therefore not useful.
If you also want to integrate a smart room thermometer or a motion sensor, you can switch to the Smart Life smartphone software (download for Android and iOS), which Djive uses as a substructure for its app.
Therefore, it offers an almost identical interface, but does not limit the interaction of devices to one brand.
You find out by chance that this is possible, Djive doesn't reveal it.
Dyson Purifier Cool Formaldehyde air purifier TP09
The Dyson model is not only the luxury version of Djive's device because of its higher price.
It moves a little more air masses, but not substantially more because of the same construction.
The Dyson machine is quieter in all ten fan speeds.
The only thing that bothers you is its high-frequency buzzing when you turn it up a notch.
The oscillation angle is not fixed, but can be adjusted in four steps from 45 to 350 degrees.
It also consumes less power than Djive's alternative.
Access via remote control also works without having to twist or place the device on a pedestal.
The app called Dyson Link (download for Android and iOS) can do the same as the classic operating aid, but also offers a graphic of the quality of the room air.
The Alexa voice control is great.
Dyson's device understands more commands than any other in the test, but it does not verbally accept fan speed control.
It is the only model that listens to Siri shortcuts without restrictions.
After all, it can be started and stopped with the Google Assistant.
The Dyson hardware actually offers a great starting point for automatics.
After all, in contrast to the other test devices, there are sensors for temperature and humidity.
However, the control mechanism of the app does not make use of this, but only reacts to fixed times.
You can do more with the Alexa app.
The fan can also be started there by an external temperature or motion sensor.
If you don't want to integrate the Dyson device into more functional but undocumented DIY solutions for smart home controls, you have to do without sophisticated automatic scenarios.
InLine SmartHome table fan
In order to cool effectively, the compact fan is not squeamish.
The highly concentrated airflow from the small rotor is too uncomfortable for long sessions.
Oscillation mode, which swings the device 60 degrees, somewhat alleviates the charge.
With three levels, the blower can only be varied roughly.
Even at the lowest level, which is also used in "sleep mode", the operating noise of 34 db(A) is not whisper quiet enough for a nap.
In addition, the vibrations of the engine are clearly audible.
With up to 39 watts, the Greedy Throat sucks more out of the socket than the tested alternatives.
The manufacturer saves a remote control and its own app.
Access to all functions is provided by buttons on the housing and the standard app of the Tuya platform called Smart Life (download for Android and iOS).
This is not a disadvantage.
Both options enable quick and self-explanatory operation.
If you prefer to control the fan by voice, you can switch it on and off using Google Assistant and also select the speed and start or stop oscillation with Alexa.
Automation is easy thanks to the possibilities of Smart Life.
With external sensors from various manufacturers, the starting process of the device can be linked to room temperature and presence.
A possible example: if it is more than 25 degrees Celsius and motion is detected, the device switches on at the preferred fan level including oscillation.
The fan deactivates itself via geofencing when the last member of the household leaves the property with their smartphone.
Sichler ceiling fan WiFi VT-960.led
The large rotor blades in the 60 centimeter diameter housing ensure a pleasant breeze even at low speeds - with a low operating noise of 28 dB(A).
Great: The air flow can be infinitely adjusted from 0 to 100 percent and, if desired, imitates a natural breeze by increasing and decreasing.
The electricity requirement for ventilation is pleasingly low, not counting the light.
As a smart ceiling light, the combination device can easily light up a larger room with up to 3000 lumens.
The third advertised function is not worth mentioning.
If the rotor moves in the opposite direction at the push of a button, it should serve as a heater.
But the air is at best lukewarm.
The combination device can be controlled on the smartphone either with the apps called Elesion (download for Android and iOS) or Smart Life (download for Android and iOS).
The range of functions is almost identical, but the possible interaction with other devices in the latter case is more diverse.
Both apps can control all light and fan parameters separately.
In this respect, however, they do not offer more than the included remote control.
What is more practical is that the mobile device is usually quicker to hand than the classic operating aid.
When it comes to voice control, the Sichler device initially proves to be taciturn.
However, after the manufacturer repaired the software, it can still be linked to Alexa and Google Assistant without restrictions.
Cumbersome: In order to use Siri shortcuts, we first have to create a scene in the Elesion app - strangely, direct switching via Siri doesn't work.
Because of the common Tuya ecosystem, the Sichler device offers a similar number of options in terms of automation as that of InLine.
The control is possible by time, by sensors and geofencing and offers a lot of creative freedom.
Xiaomi Mi Smart Standing Fan 2
The second cheapest device in the test offers the best fan functions.
It runs comparatively quietly at all levels and is fully suitable for the bedroom at the lowest level with a level of 27 dB(A).
The energy consumption is very low at 1 to 13 watts.
Nevertheless, the Xiaomi fan not only creates a gentle breeze, but also a stiff breeze.
The airflow is pleasantly subtle, can ebb and flow in breeze mode and pivot in increments from 30 to 140 degrees.
The smart operation is convenient.
With the app called Xiaomi Home (download for Android and iOS) you can do even more than with the case buttons that are sensibly assigned.
On the smartphone, the airflow can be regulated in 100 steps instead of just four.
Verbally is less possible.
Alexa and Google Assistant switch the device on or off on command, nothing more is possible.
There are many ways to automate the fan.
With the exception of the time schedules, however, this requires additional components.
Smart home enthusiasts have to limit themselves to sensors from Xiaomi's partner brands, but then don't need another app.
One thing is missing: geofencing.
Therefore, the fan does not turn off automatically when everyone has left the house.
Conclusion: cool more comfortably
Smart fans don't cool any better than "dumb" ones, but they are much easier to operate.
If the smartphone is in hand or the microphone of a voice assistant is nearby, everyone in the room can select their preferred fan setting and not just the person standing next to the device or watching over the remote control.
With each of the five devices tested, access to the many device settings via app is more convenient than in the conventional way.
Even more than with manual operation, smart fans play to their strengths in interaction with other smart devices and in automatic operation.
In this regard, the Smart Life compatible fans from Djive, InLine and Sichler offer more choice of combinations with other manufacturers than the Xiaomi model, which is stuck in its brand universe.
Dyson is much less easy to integrate into the smart home, but is best controlled by voice.
Of course, the fan properties themselves also count. Adding this up, Xiaomi puts together the best overall package in the free-standing devices, because the device has a particularly large number of operating settings up its sleeve, cools pleasantly and runs quietly.
If you are not afraid of ceiling mounting and do not want to use voice commands, you can alternatively use the Sichler model, which moves even more air and, as a bonus, also takes over the smart basic lighting.