Press Releases

Consulting-Specifying Engineer has honored Essence^® by Big Ass Fans^® with a gold award in its 2014 Product of the Year competition.

Ranging from 8 to 14 feet in diameter and fully customizable, Essence is the first Big Ass Fan specifically developed to excel both indoors and out. Essence provides quiet air movement in a variety of air-conditioned spaces, such as showrooms and lobbies. The air movement from Essence can reduce a facility’s heating and cooling costs up to 30 percent without compromising comfort.

Consulting-Specifying Engineer is a monthly publication serving the non-residential building industry. The annual awards program was created to provide readers with information about the top new products in their fields.

Inc. magazine has once again named Big Ass Fans^® to its Inc. 5000 list of the fastest-growing private companies in the United States. Big Ass Fans is among only 3.5% of companies that have earned spots on the coveted rankings each year since the list’s inception in 2007.

The Inc. 5000 ranks companies based on their three-year growth rates. With a growth rate of 139% over that time period, Big Ass Fans earned the ranking of 2,697.

The Inc. 5000 ranking is the magazine’s latest recognition of Big Ass Fans. In 2012, Inc. honored Big Ass Fans as part of its Hire Power Awards, which recognized the private businesses generating the most jobs in the past three years.

To view complete results of the Inc. 5000, visit www.inc.com/inc5000.

Big Ass Fans^® today announced that its newest residential fan can now work with the Nest Learning Thermostat^™ to help reduce home air conditioning costs. The company’s smart ceiling fan — Haiku^® with SenseME^™ — connects with the Nest^® Thermostat through an iOS app and demonstrates the practical benefits of pairing smart home devices.

Americans spend $18.6 billion annually on home air conditioning with each residence dumping 2,751 pounds of carbon into the environment, the equivalent of burning 1,340 pounds of coal[1]. By working together for the first time, fans and thermostats can provide consumers with a simple way to use less energy and help them maintain more intelligent, efficient and comfortable homes.

How they work together

The air movement created by Haiku with SenseME can make you feel several degrees cooler than the actual temperature in a room, so you can raise the temperature on your Nest Thermostat higher than normal and stay just as comfortable. SenseME’s app automatically suggests higher temperatures that you can select conveniently from your iPhone. Both the fan and thermostat will learn your new, energy-efficient preferences and adjust accordingly.

Each degree you raise your Nest Thermostat saves you up to 5 percent on energy costs[2]. So give your air conditioning system a break and reap the savings — up to 30 percent. If each home thermostat was raised 6 degrees, we would reduce carbon emissions by 78 billion pounds, the equivalent of taking 3.2 million homes off the grid for a year.

Haiku with SenseME will begin shipping next week. Its app will be available initially for iOS devices and later this year for Android.

Looking to the future

As leaders in the smart home, both Big Ass Fans and Nest are among the founding members of the Thread Group. The organization seeks to promote the recently announced future smart home technology Thread, a simple, reliable and secure way to connect more than 250 devices. The pairing of fans and thermostats offers a compelling case for how connected smart devices will bring tangible benefits to homes.

Big Ass Fans^® joins several of the world’s top technology companies today in launching Thread, a revolutionary way to connect hundreds of smart home devices.

Big Ass Fans teams with industry leaders Nest Labs, Samsung, Yale Security, ARM, Freescale Semiconductor and Silicon Labs in the nonprofit Thread Group, which aims to make Thread the foundation for the Internet of Things in the home.

With Thread, consumers can easily and securely connect more than 250 devices. Thread’s reliable network offers no single point of failure and features secure, banking-class encryption. Thread devices, which will debut next year, will be simple to install with a smartphone, tablet or computer. The Thread protocol is also low-power, so devices that people use every day won’t require constant charging or frequent battery changes.

Big Ass Fans is actively involved in the shift to smarter homes. This year, the company debuted the world’s first smart ceiling fan — Haiku® with SenseME™ Technology. SenseME detects changes in temperature and humidity and automatically adjusts Haiku’s speed. Because ceiling fans create a cooling effect, Haiku with SenseME keeps residents comfortable even at elevated temperatures. Residents can raise their thermostat setpoints and save up to 30 percent on air conditioning costs without sacrificing comfort.

Big Ass Fans^® today unveiled the world’s first smart ceiling fan designed with an on-board computer and array of sensors. SenseME^™ technology, available exclusively on the Haiku^® ceiling fan, revolutionizes a home fixture that hadn’t changed for decades.

One Smart Ass™ Fan
You never think about comfort until you’re uncomfortable. Haiku with SenseME is the first fan to think and make decisions to keep you comfortable automatically.

• Forget the switch: SenseME knows when you enter or leave a room and turns Haiku on and off automatically.
• Forget the chains: SenseME monitors the room’s temperature and humidity, adjusting Haiku’s speed when conditions change.
• Forget discomfort: SenseME learns your comfort preferences, tailoring those speed adjustments to what you find comfortable.

Controlled by Smartphone
Haiku with SenseME, which begins shipping later this summer, is the first fan controllable by a smartphone app. Use the app to set schedules for both the fan and light or select from several unique control modes. 

Fan on a Mission
The introduction of Haiku with SenseME technology marks an evolution for Big Ass Fans, which, for the past 15 years, has engineered solutions that make people more comfortable in big spaces, everywhere from factories and distribution centers to churches and restaurants. Now Big Ass Fans brings its industrial design and engineering into the home with one goal: making comfort simple.

For the sixth straight year, Big Ass Fans^® has been named among Kentucky’s “Best Places to Work.”

The prestigious award recognizes commitment to an excellent work environment. Big Ass Fans ranked third among 32 medium-sized companies (150-499 U.S. employees) chosen as Kentucky’s “Best Places to Work.”

At Big Ass Fans, employees are offered excellent pay and a challenging and rewarding work environment.

About ‘Best Places to Work in Kentucky’
The awards program was created in 2005 and is a project of the Kentucky Society for Human Resource Management (KYSHRM), Kentucky Chamber of Commerce and Best Companies Group. The selection process is based on an assessment of employee policies and procedures at companies, as well as results of an internal employee survey. Click here to learn more.

Environmental Design + Construction (EDC) magazine recently named Haiku^® the winner of the Reader’s Choice Awards in the HVAC category. The sixth annual contest honors products chosen by the magazine’s hands-on readership of sustainability-minded architects, facility managers, contractors and consultants.

Haiku’s perfect marriage of form and function sets it apart from all other ceiling fans. Haiku is a true original with innovative features such as its revolutionary motor that delivers an 80 percent improvement in efficiency over conventional ceiling fan motors and a unique, 13-step hand-balancing process that ensures no fan will ever rattle or wobble.

Big Ass^® Light today unveiled the Big Ass High Bay LED, a brilliant, long-lasting LED light fixture designed specifically to address common issues in industrial and commercial facilities.

Unlike competing fixtures that are made of stamped sheet metal, the Big Ass High Bay LED is robustly constructed to withstand the rigors of even the toughest environments. Built of a solid piece of heavy-duty, extruded aluminum, the Big Ass High Bay LED features ribbed fins to increase its surface area. That design allows the entire structure to act as a heat sink, quickly dissipating heat that can shorten the lifespan of LEDs. The design ensures the fixture’s LEDs stay brighter for longer.

The Big Ass High Bay LED’s innovative design accommodates both the ever-changing needs and uses of industrial and commercial facilities. Its patent-pending lumen maintenance tray protects the LEDs from the unavoidable dirt and debris that quickly accumulates in these workspaces. When the tray does get dirty, it can easily be removed, wiped clean and returned, so the LEDs stay vivid for up to 150,000 hours. The tray also provides light distribution options, allowing facilities to redirect lights to narrow, regular or wide angles as floor layouts change. An easy-access panel lets users swap out drivers and other components, so the Big Ass High Bay LED never becomes outdated.

The Big Ass High Bay LED is a long-term, energy-efficient and money-saving solution. Big Ass Light is so confident about the fixture’s performance that the company backs the product with a seven-year, bumper-to-bumper warranty.

Forbes has named Big Ass Fans^® to its list of “America’s Most Promising Companies.”

The third annual rankings recognize privately held, high-growth companies with less than $250 million in annual revenue.

Big Ass Fans has consistently seen growth rates at or above 30 percent annually between 2009 and 2013.

Methodology

Criteria considered by Forbes include growth in sales and hiring, quality of management team and investors, margins, market size and key partnerships. Click here to learn more.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has recognized Haiku^® as the Most Efficient of ENERGY STAR^® 2014.

The program recognizes highly efficient products that support the interests of environmentally motivated consumers. The products prevent greenhouse gas emissions by meeting rigorous energy-efficiency performance levels set by the EPA.

BUILDINGS magazine has selected the new global headquarters of Big Ass Fans^® as a 2013 ABBY Merit Award winner. Now in its eighth year, the America’s Best Buildings of the Year (ABBY) Awards highlight projects that set a new benchmark for facility managers to emulate.

Nominated projects were evaluated by the BUILDINGS editorial staff for the latest innovations in energy efficiency, sustainability, forward-looking design, purposeful renovation and streamlined management.

Big Ass Fans’ headquarters was completed in 2013 and has many unique features including energy-efficient high volume, low speed fans, as well as Solatubes to increase natural light and an open floor plan.

Jennie Morton, associate editor for BUILDINGS magazine, praised the project, saying, “An open floor plan and mix of collaborative spaces exemplify how to consolidate employees without sacrificing HVAC and energy performance.”

Inc. magazine today named Big Ass Fans^® to The Build 100, a new business index honoring an elite tier of companies that have expanded their employment in each of the past five years. The index was created by studying the growth performance of millions of U.S. mid-market companies between 2007 and 2012.

Inc. will unveil the full Build 100 list in its March 2014 issue. To make the cut, companies had to have achieved employment growth annually from 2008 to 2012.

Methodology
The Build 100 is not ranked. To qualify, companies must have been founded and generating revenue by Dec. 31, 2008. They had to be U.S.-based, for profit, and independent—not subsidiaries or divisions of other companies. The minimum number of employees for 2013 is 85; the minimum 2012 revenue was $8.5 million. All Build 100 companies must also agree to participate in a year-long research initiative studying the drivers of sustained growth. As always, Inc. reserves the right to decline applicants for subjective reasons.

About Inc. Magazine
Founded in 1979 and acquired in 2005 by Mansueto Ventures, Inc. is the only major brand dedicated exclusively to owners and managers of growing private companies, with the aim to deliver real solutions for today’s innovative company builders. Total monthly audience reach for the brand has grown significantly from 2 million in 2010 to over 6 million today. For more information, visit www.inc.com.