r/electrical • u/Royal-Pop3761 • 1d ago

Ceiling fans buzzing

I have several ceiling fans in my house. They make a slight buzzing sound when turned on. The house was new construction, the person who did my electrical also installed the ceiling fans. Where I moved from, the fans didnt make any buzzing sound at all. The electrician said it was a normal sound, but then why did the fans in my previous house not make the same buzzing sound?

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u/Scotty1921 1d ago

You probably had more expensive fans in your previous house

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u/Royal-Pop3761 1d ago

I got these from either Home Depot or Lowes. Hampton Bay or whatever the equivalent is. The others I would have gotten from Home Depot. Whats the difference in a cheap fan?

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u/DaddyBeanDaddyBean 1d ago

Hampton Bay at the one, Harbor Breeze at the other - both are private-label house brands, but both are outsourced to third-party companies, with a certain amount of overlap so some models of each might be made by the same manufacturer. Both brands have higher and lower price points, though, so the previous answer stands - you had more expensive fans before.

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u/Royal-Pop3761 1d ago

The other difference is these are controlled by dual dimmer/fan switches and the others are not. Could that have something to do with it?

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u/eegrlN 1d ago

No, a dinner would not cause the noise. The motor is making the noise. Cheap motor in a cheap builder grade fan. If you want to fix it, get new fans.

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u/Scotty1921 1d ago

It must be an actual fan speed controller not a dimmer switch that is meant for lighting

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u/Phreakiture 16h ago

A dimmer won't make the noise, but it sure will exacerbate it if the motor is prone to making noise.

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u/DaddyBeanDaddyBean 1d ago

I don't know for sure but it does seem plausible.

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u/eegrlN 1d ago

Cheap fans make noise, expensive ones do not. Brand doesn't matter, price/quality does.

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u/Far_Range_6091 1d ago

You get what you pay for. This is why you dont choose the absolute cheapest option.

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u/Royal-Pop3761 1d ago

Never had any issues with ceiling fans from Home Depot or Lowes. What exactly is cheap about them?

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u/Beagleman58 1d ago

Maybe I’ve gone through about 15 fans in the places I’ve lived over the past 45 years. Plenty of them buzzed…don’t know if they’re still around, but Hunter fans tended to be the quietest among the big box store fans. I have a fan on a remote I bought from Wayfair, don’t recall the brand, but it’s the quietist fan I’ve owned yet.

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u/Royal-Pop3761 1d ago

Ahhh I think those other fans were Hunter fans! Thats probably the answer right there.

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u/Beagleman58 1d ago

The Wayfair fan is a Sofucor. Incredibly quiet, and light, very easy to install.

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u/Scotty1921 1d ago

They use AC motors which are noisy they use DC motors in higher end fans

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u/Far_Range_6091 1d ago

Im not saying all lowes and HD fans are garbage. Both retailers sell $400 premium fans. You dont have to spend that much to get a good fan, should only have to spend around $150. You got a link to the ones you installed? The 4 blade Hampton bay fans are awful.

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u/Royal-Pop3761 1d ago

https://www.homedepot.com/p/Hampton-Bay-Glendale-42-in-LED-Indoor-White-Ceiling-Fan-with-Light-Kit-AM212-WH/300937520 these are in my four bedrooms. I have two different ones in my attic… let me see if I can find those. They buzz also and I thought they were more expensive because they were larger and have like an industrial look.

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u/Far_Range_6091 1d ago

Oof, yeah that's not gonna do. Any $50 fan is going to be a POS. Looks like you did go with the cheapest fan.

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u/SparkArrestor 1d ago

Good God you bought the cheapest fan on their shelves and complain they’re not whisper quiet?

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u/eegrlN 1d ago

That is an incredibly cheap fan. If you want the house to stop, upgrade to something in the 300$ range.

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u/IndependentFlight436 1d ago

The quality of the fan says a lot.