It’s only in the last few years that we’ve seen the entry of truly smart ceiling fans that allow you to do more than simply turn the device on and off, but affect every single aspect of the fan and light. While these smart ceiling fans have been expensive until now, I was excited to try the Dreo 44'' Smart Ceiling Fan (originally $149.99, but on sale at Amazon at the time of this writing), which was reasonably priced and from a company I think is doing interesting things with cooling and fans.
Simple design with easy installation
The Dreo comes in two sizes: the 44-inch, four-blade version I was testing and a larger 52-inch version with five blades ($159.99, already sold out). Since my office ceiling fan desperately needed an update, it was the perfect time to test the Dreo. Simple in design, the fan features clean lines and smooth surfaces, and the light is one large low-profile LED. This fan would fit into virtually any decor, from modern to classic, without standing out. The only assembly required is choosing which side of the blades you’d prefer to face the room—one side will have a wood grain, and the other side will have a different color, depending on which size you buy.
Once attached, it’s time for installation. If you’re replacing a fan, you’ll simply need someone to assist in holding the fan while you wire it to the junction box that is already in your ceiling; then you bolt the fan body on and begin attach pieces in layers, starting with the cover for the junction box, the light base and, finally, the light cover. From there, you install the Dreo app and pair the fan. There is also an optional light switch and remote to be installed.
Unique smart features
I’m already a fan of the Dreo app: It’s well-designed to have just enough functionality with a clean, clear design. From the app, you can use a slider to choose the speed of the fan; there are six speeds (the larger model has twelve), but the slider makes it feel like it has infinite speeds because you can be granular in choosing what feels right. To my delight, the ceiling fan shared the same feature as their standing fans where you can choose “normal” or “natural” mode. Just as it did on the ground in the standing fans, the “natural” setting produces what feels like more of a breeze, not by simply slowing the fan down but by pulsing through various speeds to simulate wind. It’s a charming feature I use all the time. A neat trick is that you can change the direction of the ceiling fan at the click of a button in the app, so the fan could be used in winter, too (when you want to more evenly distribute warm air around the room instead of sending cool air down). Most fans have this ability, but it's typically a manual toggle on the fan itself, and folks often don't take the extra step to reverse the fan and lose out on a nice way to move warm air through the room in the colder months.
While the light is plain in design, it does a good job of lighting the room. I immediately saw a difference in how bright the room felt from the old ceiling fan, which had four independent lightbulbs. The 2400 Lumen LED temperature can be adjusted from warm to cool (2700K-6500K), and the brightness can be dimmed using a slider. Once you adjust it, the light does not jump to the color or temperature you selected, but rather morphs gently into it. Though Dreo integrated seamlessly into Google Home and Alexa, including the associated assistants, it does not currently work with Apple HomeKit or IFTTT, and there’s no Matter or Threads integration.
You can also set up schedules for the fan and light, independently or together, or set the fan to “sleep” mode which will gradually slow down the fan overnight or even turn it off, if you use the timer.
Incredibly quiet
The most notable aspect of the Dreo ceiling fan is the volume: It is so quiet that you will forget it’s on. It was quiet enough that I asked Dreo how they were silencing the blades, and their support channel attributed it to a brushless DC motor and correct installation (when a fan is off balance, the rocking can make noise). Despite the missing sound, the fan works as you'd expect in moving air around the room. The smaller version promises 3170 cubic feet per minute (CFM) versus 5673 CFM in the larger unit. This is average for the size of fan, but when using the "natural" settings, and in absence of the typical white noise of a fan in the background, it just feels like you left a window open on a breezy day.
It’s hard to take a passionate stand for a ceiling fan—they are unsexy, as far as appliances go. However, the Dreo is a really good pairing of technology and usability. For about $150, you get an easy-to-install fan (less than half the cost of competitors) that is simple to use but also feels different than other ceiling fans. It’s quieter, brighter, and cools without feeling like you're in a wind tunnel. While I might enjoy more high-end design, on the functionality, the Dreo Smart Ceiling Fan can’t be beat.