REVIEW – My 58-year-old house still had the original, outdated, inefficient ceiling fans. I’m doing all I can to increase energy efficiency, and I jumped at the chance to look at Hampton Bay’s Wi-Fi and cloud-connected Zandra 52-inch ceiling fan. Fellow Gadgeteers, please join me for a deeper look.
What is it?
The Hampton Bay Zandra is a Wi-Fi and cloud-connected, remote control capable, variable speed 52-inch variable speed ceiling fan with a dimmable, five-color temperature LED light.
What’s included?
- Motor assembly
- Fan blades and blade brackets
- Mounting bracket
- Six-inch ball/downrod assembly
- Wireless receiver
- Wireless receiver extension cables
- Remote control with two AAA batteries
- Remote control wall cradles
- Assembly screws and hardware
Tech specs
- Size: Fifty-two inches
- Speeds: Six
- Airflow: 1171 to 5720 cubic feet per minute
- Efficiency: 184 (highest speeds) to 427 CFM/Watt
- Weight: 13.23 pounds (6kg)
- Gross weight: 16.91 pounds (7.67kg)
- Volume: 1.31 cubic feet
Design and features
The Hampton Bay Zandra 52-inch Wi-Fi ceiling fan arrived in a colorful, well-packaged box.
Before installing, please ensure your safety. Read the manual, turn off the electricity, and be prepared to spend time on a ladder. Hire a professional if you’re uncomfortable or unsure of any part of the process. Electricity is dangerous, and falling from a ladder will ruin your day. Please be careful, my friends! There’s an excellent installation video here.
The motor requires assembly before connection to the ceiling bracket.
The manual does an excellent job of stepping through the process.
I ran into an issue with one of the installation steps: The Hampton Bay Zandra 52-inch Wi-Fi ceiling fan’s motor assembly must be in place in the ceiling bracket before the wireless receiver can slide above it. With the wire nut connections above the mounting bracket, there was very little room to pivot the receiver into place, and the wires were too short. I suspect there is an assumption that the electrical installers from 58 years ago will include an ample service loop. Nope, not in my house. I needed to remove the entire assembly twice to reroute the wiring for proper fit. Another six inches of wire on the wireless receiver would have eliminated the issue and saved me a dozen trips up and down a 17-foot ladder and a little cursing.
I had no trouble completing the rest of the installation and clipping the fan blades into place. Installing the LED light took only seconds. That’s a nice-looking fan!
The remote can control all of the fan’s functions.
The Hampton Bay Zandra 52-inch Wi-Fi ceiling fan’s remote control takes two AAA batteries. To pair, apply power to the fan and press the “Learn” within 30 seconds. The process worked flawlessly the first time. I appreciate the inclusion of a wall bracket for the remote. Home Depot includes drywall anchors and screws, but I like the ability to attach it to a toggle or Decora-style wall switch faceplate. The plates provide enough room to allow the switch to function after installation. Very clever. In my case, I had separate switches for the old fan and light. The new one didn’t need two, so I bought a blank to cover the opening.
The Hampton Bay Zandra fan is compatible with the Hubspace app. Registering an account and adding the fan was easy, thanks to a QR code on the wireless module. Oh, wait. That’s hidden above the mounting bracket. Thankfully, another copy is included with the paperwork and on the inside of the remote on the battery cover. Please don’t lose them, or you’ll the ladder will need to make another guest appearance. I put my copy behind the remote control wall bracket for future reference.
The app’s main screen contains a list of devices added to Hubspace.
Selecting the device opens the controls for on/off, brightness, color temperature (2700, 3000, 3500, 4000, 5000, and 6000 Kelvin), fan speed, timers, and schedules.
There’s a settings page for customizing names, location, connectivity, and device info.
An “Integrations” page links Hubspace with Amazon Alexa and Google Assistant.
Performance
The brightness of the LEDs is far superior to the single bulb housed in my old fan. I’m a big fan of having my home’s lighting color temperature consistent from room to room, so the ability to select the color temperature is outstanding.
The fan’s performance is exceptional and helps regulate the temperature very well. I appreciate there are no dangling chains, and the direction is settable via the app or remote, so there is no longer the need to climb a ladder twice a year to flip a switch. Yay!
The DC motor is exceptionally quiet, even at the fastest speed, and as a bonus, uses shockingly little electricity (pun intended J), rated at a mere $3 per year.
What I like about the Hampton Bay Zandra ceiling fan
- Easy to install
- Cloud connected
- Great light and fan performance
- Remote control
- Wallplate mounting bracket for the remote control
What needs to be improved?
- Lengthen those power wires!
Final thoughts
My aging entryway needed an upgrade. Hampton Bay’s Zandra 52-inch ceiling fan is ideal with its excellent air circulation and color-controlled LED lighting. With a remote control, smartphone app, and Alexa, I don’t need to interrupt movie time to turn anything on or off. I liked it so much that I ordered a second one to install in my sunroom. Thank you, Home Depot!
Price: $209.00
Where to buy: Home Depot
Source: The sample for this review was provided by Home Depot. Home Depot did not have a final say on the review and did not preview the review before it was published.
