Are your fans Big Ass?

As big as they are, Big Ass fans consume only as much electricity as a light bulb. Going green also now means having a beautiful piece of design on your ceiling.

Yes, that’s really the name of these electric fans: Big Ass Fans. And they are! The biggest is an industrial fan measuring seven meters in diameter and installed in malls, schools like Xavier and IS, and churches like Manila’s iconic Quiapo Church.

At the opening of Geo Green Philippines in Rockwell Power Plant Mall last week, the company introduced Big Ass’ Haiku fan collection for residential use.

Architect Liza Morales Crespo, whose company Philippine Geo Green Inc., distributes the fans, among other products, says, “We’ve been around since 2009 and for us it’s not just a business but an advocacy to encourage people to live green. Our products are friendly to the environment, like these Big Ass Fans which are only 30 watts and consume the same amount of electricity as a light bulb.”  

Big Ass Essence fan: The biggest Big Ass fan is seven meters in diameter and installed in schools like International School Manila, malls and churches like Quiapo Church. Available at Geo Green’s pop-up store in Power Plant Mall.

When we remarked on the brand name, Liza says, “It’s good branding because when they first came out 20 years ago, the name was HVLS (High Volume, Low Speed), which nobody could remember. They installed it in an Ikea or Costco and someone remarked, ‘That’s a big-ass fan.’ So the CEO said, ‘Okay, we’re going to change the name.’”

This time, Geo Green Philippines is focusing on the residential collection of Big Ass. Introduced in 2012 and designed by John Noble, Haiku fans use cutting-edge technology for effortless conservation. Unlike conventional fans, Haiku’s blades rotate slowly, and Lisa says the downdraft is enough to cool a room. “I live in a condo and I have the option to use an AC but I also have fans for when it’s a rainy day like today.”

But is it strong enough to cool a room without AC on a hot summer day? “Yes,” says Liza. “Even when used in tandem with AC, you still consume less because you can raise the thermostat and reduce your HVAC consumption.”

Haiku is a beautiful piece of aerodynamic design with its three airfoils (blades) and central motor housing blending together into a single, seamless organic form. It can be installed indoor or outdoor, and high-end resorts — such as Amanpulo, Misibis Bay and Anvaya — also have them in their rooms or public spaces.

Architect Liza Morales Crespo, founder of Philippine Geo Green Inc., and Brian Smith, managing director for Asia Pacific of Big Ass Fans, during the launching of the pop-up store in Rockwell, which is open until Sept. 7. Photo by Geremy Pintolo

Haiku’s award-winning motor and controls deliver silent operation and an 80  percent improvement in efficiency over conventional ceiling fan motors. All of this engineering comes beautifully wrapped in a sleek, modern package. No bells, no whistles.

Brian Smith, managing director for Asia Pacific of Big Ass, says, “The inventor of Haiku fan, John Noble, who’s based out of our Malaysia engineering and manufacturing facility, wanted to find an answer to the rickety old rattily ceiling fans that wobbled, made noise and basically didn’t look good. He modeled the airfoils out of  a bird’s wings in flight and created a very simple, aerodynamic design without any superfluous detail. He also wanted to add more speed settings than the normal three, so Haiku has seven.”

Geo Green Philippines also distributes Solatube, which is a tubular light pipe system that delivers natural daylight through an aperture tube. Think of it as a light passage that takes light from outside and funnels it into a room where it’s not possible to install lighting — or where owners don’t want to install lighting.

Liza explains, “Solatubes basically bring in light from the sun, so it’s zero electricity but at night there is no light because there’s no source. We’ve installed them in residential homes and warehouses and they come in different diameters, from 10 to 21 inches. This technology has been around for more than 20 years and we brought them in 10 years ago.” 

Solatube is a tubular light pipe system that delivers natural daylight through an aperture tube.

Another product that Geo Green distributes is the Atmospheric Water Generator (AWG). “There are 37,500 trillion gallons of “fresh” water in the air at any given time and through a hydrological cycle recycles this amount every nine to 16 days. Eight miles straight up of untapped atmosphere just waiting to contribute to life on Earth. Until now, it was a mere fantasy to harness that unlimited, and renewable natural resource.”

Liza says AWGs “have a filtration system so you know your water is clean.   Roughly it can generate eight gallons of water a day. Yes, it can be installed indoor, I have it in my kitchen.”

Liza has been an advocate for sustainable products and projects since she started her architecture practice. She got her degree from UP Diliman and her master’s at Columbia University in New York. “I lived and worked in Manhattan for almost 12 years working on sustainable design with Brennan Beer Gorman (BBG) for high-end hotels, like the renovation of Waldorf Astoria and St. Regis, Mandarin Oriental New York, and several W Hotels. I was exposed to these projects and I thought why not bring them here?

“After you have kids, you kind of think, hey, what am I doing? You try to think about your legacy. I thought there had to be something more than designing hotels and I felt strongly about doing more.”

Geo Green and her architecture practice are just two of her businesses. The third is a BPO based in New York, and the fourth is Tali Handmade, which exports bags she designs and made by the women inmates of Davao City Jail. 

Haiku fans use cutting-edge technology for effortless conservation. Unlike conventional fans, Haiku’s blades rotate slowly and the downdraft is enough to cool a room.

“We work with the inmates so they would have a skill and an income while they’re serving their sentences in jail. Now we’re importing these bags to Paris, New York and Japan, and locally they’re available at Rustan’s. We’ve also set up a halfway house kasi when they get out of jail, the problem is they have a hard time looking for a house or a job. Now they have the opportunity to keep working with us when they’re free.”

Coming from a family of structural engineers, Liza remembers being a child of seven or eight and accompanying her father to site inspections on road works and wearing a little hard hat.

Today, her biggest project is to convince people to live a sustainable life and correct the biggest misconception about it, which is that it costs more. “It doesn’t. I feel that when people talk about sustainability it’s only up to energy saving. It’s more than that, it actually creating a healthy environment and protecting the occupants of buildings and homes.”

* * *

Geo Green’s pop-up store is open until Sept. 7 and located at the second level of Rockwell Power Plant Mall.

Visit the author’s travel blog at www.findingmyway.net. Follow her on Instagram and Twitter @iamtanyalara.