Dreo CLF521S Smart Ceiling Fan (Review)

Dreo has once again shown that it isn’t afraid to expand its portfolio into new and untouched territory (at least for it). It already has a variety of smart devices for your home, including tower/table fans, purifiers, and more. But what about those fans on the ceiling? Well, Dreo now has you covered for that as well with its new Dreo Smart Ceiling Fan (CLF521S).

There aren’t a lot of “smart” ceiling fans out there. Sure you have plenty of models with remotes that have built-in thermostats, thus allowing them to operate automatically when the temperature goes up or down. These work absolutely great but they are quite limited to those simple tasks. Now, you have the option of owning a truly smart solution that can respond to and be controlled from so much more.

Like any fan, it comes packed away into a box, spread into various parts that require being assembled. The process isn’t unusual and it comes together quickly, with two normal options to choose form, including a 6″ or a 4″ rod (note: this model does not support installing it flush to the ceiling without one of the two rods). It comes with the 6″ rod pre-built and ready to go. If you opt for the 4″ rod, you’ll have to disassemble the pieces and move them over to it. It isn’t rocket science as you can easily reverse-engineer how it’s assembled quite easily (especially if you’ve done it before).

Dreo provides a simple user manual as well as an online video you are able to watch, walking you through the various steps of installing it. The only catch with this model is that the light and the fan can not be wired separately. Sme homes have two switches running to a fan location for this purpose. So if your home is one of those, you just need to wire both to the fan and control the light with the remote (or your smart home hub solution using an app or your voice).

You get everything you need and are not left in the dust when it comes to install. Everything is neatly labeled to make the process easier to work your way through.

The fan comes with a white body color with the light-brown blades that are solid white on the other side in case you want to flip them for an all-white look. Dreo has other models that feature silver, black, and various color blades, but those models (within the same size as this one) only feature the remote option for now. So this appears to be the only color option for the smart series in the 52″ blade option.

The remote is small and similar to some of the other remotes found with Dreo fans. This one is a tad larger than the tower fan remotes and provide controls for every function of the fan. Including turning the fan on/off, as well as 6 speed modes that you can pick from. You have a seperate on/off for the light, with the option to dim up or down for brightness. Then you have the direction that the fan spins, the ability to mute sounds when changing options, the ability to change the temperature of the light (hot to cold), and three timer options (1 hour, 4 hours, or 8 hours).

If you find yourself using the remote a lot, this would likely be because it is pretty simple to use and self-explanatory.

When it comes to breaking into its more advanced features, this is where having a “smart fan” comes in handy. It is controlled via the Dreo app, just like any other smart Dreo device. Which also supports Amazon Alexa and Google Assistant. Allowing you to control the fan (and its light) using your voice.

Or even better, you can create scenes within one of the digital assistants that allow you to control the fan based on various triggers. Such as automatically turning it on during bedtime and back off around the time you wake up normally. Or you can trigger the fan to come on and off based on the temperature of your smart thermostat. To help take the load off during the hotter months.

Having a smart fan opens your options on how you are able to control the fans throughout your home. Giving you deep integration into your smart home setup. Maybe one day, Dreo will even write an open API that would allow it to integrate with many other hub solutions as well (this has yet to happen though). For now, Amazon Alexa and Google Assistant are your go-to solutions for getting your smarts on.

Quality

It seems that in order to obtain a competitive price point despite being a fancy smart/connected fan, which heavily evolves your ceiling fan experience when compared to typical ceiling fans, some slight sacrifices were required to balance things out. But the only sacrifice you’ll see is the build quality of certain materials. Such as the light for the bottom being a light plastic material for the enclosure and dome (which shouldn’t be noticeable or bother anyone) and the blades, which appear to be some kind of pressed board material. Making them a lot lighter than typical fan blades.

Thankfully, the weight of the blades does not directly contribute to the amount of air the fan is capable of moving/pushing. The amount of air is determined by the motor the blades are attached to. However, the lighter the blade, the more efficient it is at moving the air. This is because it places less strain on the motor, requiring less wattage to spin the blades. Thus the company can balance efficiency between the fan itself and the light underneath, allowing for more wiggle room when it comes to brightness.

For example, a Hampton Bay fan that is in the room next to the one this one was installed in, is also decently energy efficient. In fact, it consumes around the same wattage as this one and has an impressive airflow rate. However, the fan blades are a very solid plastic material. Each one weighs around half of the Dreo blades combined (or more). This places more strain on its motor, forcing it to work harder to move the air around. In order to maintain the efficiency rating, it offers less lumens (brightness) in the light below it. Thus leading to a darker room with a total of 8-14 watts of LED lighting compared to the 24 watts max of the Dreo. It’s all about balance.

You just have to make sure not to raise anything up into the air while the fan is spinning. If you come into contact with those blades while they are in motion, there is a greater chance of damaging them compared to plastic or solid wood alternatives. But that’s the price you’ll have to pay in order to get energy efficiency, solid performance, smart home connectivity, and a reasonable cost. Else you’ll likely be spending a lot more on both price and energy consumption, or taking hits elsewhere, such as LED brightness. Again, it’s all about balance.

Performance

Smart appliances/devices are always a blast to integrate. This one may be lacking complete integration with all of the hubs out there, but it at least supports the two major voice assistants available. Plus, if you are really good with smart home integrations, you can always use them as bridges to other hubs using various methods.

That being said, it is helpful to be able to control the fan using various triggers. Allowing a much deeper control then your typical remote control experience. Both Google and Alexa have so many ways you can play with automations in order to achieve the perfect balance with everything else in your home (mainly your own personal schedule, as well as your thermostat.

When it comes to the speed of the fan, it is said to be capable of moving air at up to (or even more than) 5600 CFM (cubic feet per minute). Which makes for a decently powerful fan, especially for bedrooms, dens, and other small to mid-size areas around your home. The one we have been testing, was installed in an average-sized master bedroom. With that, it has been moving just as much air as the previous (non-smart) fan that was being used before it. A model that is a duplicate of the one installed in the room next to it, and mentioned earlier in this review. Thus the Dreo fan has definitely been able to keep up with the expectations left behind by the previous fan. Unfortunately, we don’t have the tools necessary to measure airflow volume, so all we could do is compare it to the other fans in the house.

As for general noise levels, it is able to operate below a 35dB level. Dreo labels a whisper as being 35dB, thus the fan is being sold as being quieter than a whisper. The latter is true depending on what mode you have the fan in. The lower speeds are fantastic for sleeping and incredibly quiet. However, if we were to compare to a whisper, the higher speeds are a little debatable. But this is only because a human whisper is actually between 20-30dB. So to be fair, this fan is doing just fine.

The light is decently bright, but like many fans with a singular dome or disk light, it only spreads so far. For 24 watts (max), we would like to have seen a little more lumens from it at its max setting. Personally, any fans I install in major areas of the house have to have regular bulbs and multiple of them so I can control how much light is in the room as I like things bright. Thankfully, this was just installed within a 10×12 bedroom, so it is fine for what it is. Still a little dim for the room if someone likes it bright, but great for the needs of this specific room.

You also have to consider that, since it doesn’t support flush-mounting, you will experience a deeper pocket of shadow above the light’s line-of-sight. If the ceiling isn’t tall enough, this may be distracting for some. So make sure your ceiling height is at least 9 feet or higher for the best ratio (preferably higher). About 9 feet is around the safe zone for a “minimum” install height anyway when it comes to ceiling fans so there is less chance of someone hitting it when they raise their hands into the air.

When it comes to energy efficiency, which is all so important these days, the fan hits the nail right on the head. Allowing it to compete with some of the best energy efficient models out there. It is rated at having an average energy use of just 19 watts. Which is really good for a fan, although a little more common finally when it comes to other fans out there.

It used to be that the only way you could get your hands on a fan with such a low energy use, was by buying into a fancy direct-drive motor fan from one of the specialty stores. This offered 15-25 watt solutions that moved a lot of air while being quiet. But now it is becoming a little more common for normal consumer models to feature the same specs.

Our Conclusion

Having the ability to connect to your smart home environment really does dial things up a notch. I can easily see someone wanting to replace all of fans in their home so that they can have a fully automated ceiling fan army to help interact with the AC in various ways. Helping to keep air flowing around the home while also taking strain from the AC. These would be fantastic for businesses as well, since can set them all to come on or off based on business hours, room occupancy, and more. It all depends on how deep you are willing to get with your overall smart home setup. As well as the other devices you have and what Alexa or Google have access to with each.

Meanwhile, it can also be controlled via the app and remote. Giving you plenty of options when it comes to interacting with the fan.

Airflow and noise levels are fantastic for the price and when compared to some of the quietest models out there. We have run into quieter fans that are capable of moving a lot of air, but as mentioned before, these can normally get pretty expensive. Meanwhile, this one comes close to many of them while keeping the price fair.

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