Editing Ceiling fan (section)

==History==
[[Punkah]] style ceiling fans are based on the earliest form of the fan, which was first invented in [[India]] around 500&nbsp;BC. These were cut from an Indian palmyra leaf which forms its rather large blade, moving slowly in a pendular manner. Originally operated manually by a cord<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.navrangindia.in/2015/10/punkah-hand-operated-hanging-fan.html|title=Punkah. hand-operated hanging fan the colonial legacy}}</ref> and nowadays powered electrically using a belt-driven system, these punkahs move air by going to and fro. In comparison to a rotating fan, it creates a gentle breeze rather than an airflow.

[[File:Perry's Camp ceiling fan.JPG|thumb|right|Ceiling fan originally installed in the dining room of the house in [[Perry's Camp]], turned by the water wheel]]
Some of the first rotary ceiling fans appeared in the early 1860s, and 1870s in the [[United States]]. At that time, they were not powered by any form of [[electric motor]]. Instead, a stream of running [[water]] was used, in conjunction with a [[turbine]], to drive a system of belts which would turn the blades of two-blade fan units. These systems could accommodate several fan units, and became popular in stores, [[restaurant]]s, and offices. Some of these systems survive today, and can be seen in parts of the [[southern United States]] where they originally proved useful.

The electrically powered ceiling fan was invented in 1882 by [[Philip Diehl (inventor)|Philip Diehl]]. He had engineered the electric motor used in the first electrically powered Singer [[sewing machine]]s, and in 1882 he adapted that motor for use in a ceiling-mounted fan. Each fan had its own self-contained motor unit, with no need for [[belt drive]].<ref name="fanbook">{{cite book |last= Scharff |first= Robert |author2= Casablanca Fan Co. |title= The Fan Book |year= 1983 |publisher= Reston Publishing |location= Reston, VA |isbn= 0-8359-1855-6 |page= [https://archive.org/details/fanbook0000robe/page/128 128] |url-access= registration |url= https://archive.org/details/fanbook0000robe/page/128 }}</ref>

Almost immediately he faced fierce competition due to the commercial success of the ceiling fan. He continued to make improvements to his invention and created a light kit fitted to the ceiling fan to combine both functions in one unit. By [[World War I]] most ceiling fans were made with four blades instead of the original two, which made fans quieter and allowed them to circulate more air. The early turn-of-the-century companies who successfully commercialized the sale of ceiling fans in the United States were what is today known as the Hunter Fan Company, Robbins & Myers, Century Electric, Westinghouse Corporation and Emerson Electric.

By the 1920s, ceiling fans became commonplace in the United States and had started to take hold internationally. From the [[Great Depression]] of the 1930s, until the introduction of electric air conditioning in the 1950s, ceiling fans slowly faded out of vogue in the U.S.,<ref name="fanbook"/> almost falling into total disuse in the U.S. by the 1960s; those that remained were considered items of nostalgia.

[[File:Late 80s Usha Prima.jpg|thumb|right|Late 1980s Usha Prima, one of the most common ceiling fans in India]]
Meanwhile, ceiling fans became very popular in other countries, particularly those with hot climates, such as [[India]], [[Pakistan]], [[Bangladesh]] and the [[Middle East]], where a lack of infrastructure or financial resources made energy-hungry and complex freon-based [[air conditioning]] equipment impractical. In 1973, Texas entrepreneur H. W. (Hub) Markwardt began importing ceiling fans into the U.S. that were manufactured in India by [[Crompton Greaves]], Ltd. Crompton Greaves had been manufacturing ceiling fans since 1937 through a joint venture formed by [[Greaves Cotton]] of India and [[Crompton Parkinson]] of [[England]]. These Indian manufactured ceiling fans caught on slowly at first, but Markwardt's Encon Industries branded ceiling fans (which stood for ENergy CONservation) eventually found great success during the energy crisis of the late 1970s and early 1980s since they consumed less energy than the antiquated shaded pole motors used in most other American made fans. The fans became the energy-saving appliances for residential and commercial use by supplementing expensive air conditioning units with a column of gentle airflow.

[[File:Casablanca Delta ceiling fan.JPG|thumb|right|[[Casablanca Fan Co.]] "Delta" ceiling fan from the early 1980s]]
Due to this renewed commercial success using ceiling fans effectively as an energy conservation application, many American manufacturers also started to produce, or significantly increase the production of, ceiling fans. In addition to the imported Encon ceiling fans, the [[Casablanca Fan Company]] was founded in 1974. Other American manufacturers of the time included the Hunter Fan Co. (which was then a division of Robbins & Myers, Inc), FASCO (F. A. Smith Co.), and [[Emerson Electric]]; which was often branded as [[Sears-Roebuck]]. Smaller, short-lived companies include NuTone, Southern Fan Co., A&G Machinery Co., Homestead, Hallmark, Union, Lasko, and Evergo.

Through the 1980s and 1990s, ceiling fans remained popular in the United States. Many small American importers, most of them rather short-lived, started importing ceiling fans. Throughout the 1980s, the balance of sales between American-made ceiling fans and those imported from manufacturers in India, [[Taiwan]], [[Hong Kong]] and eventually [[China]] changed dramatically with imported fans taking the lion's share of the market by the late 1980s. Even the most basic U.S-made fans sold for $200 to $500, while the most expensive imported fans rarely exceeded $150.

Ceiling fan technology has not evolved much since 1980, with a notable exception being the semi-recent{{when|date=May 2022}} increase in availability of energy-efficient, [[remote control|remote]]/[[mobile app|app]] controlled [[brushless DC electric motor|brushless DC]] fans to the masses. However, important inroads have been made in design by companies such as Monte Carlo, Minka Aire, Quorum, Craftmade, Litex and Fanimation—offering higher price ceiling fans with more decorative value. In 2001, ''Washington Post'' writer Patricia Dane Rogers wrote, "Like so many other mundane household objects, these old standbys are going high-style and high-tech."<ref name="Washington Post">{{cite news |last= Dane Roger |first= Patricia |title= Eye on Design |newspaper= The Washington Post |date= June 14, 2001 |page=H5}}</ref>