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The newest smart fan from Big Ass Solutions is the most affordable one yet

Remember Big Ass Fans? It's making a big push into the smart home -- and its new smart ceiling fan is a whole lot easier to afford.

Ry Crist Senior Editor / Reviews - Labs

Originally hailing from Troy, Ohio, Ry Crist is a writer, a text-based adventure connoisseur, a lover of terrible movies and an enthusiastic yet mediocre cook. A CNET editor since 2013, Ry's beats include smart home tech, lighting, appliances, broadband and home networking.

Expertise Smart home technology | Wireless connectivity Credentials

10 years product testing experience with the CNET Home team

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Ry Crist

Jan. 4, 2016 11:00 a.m. PT

2 min read

The Haiku L Series Ceiling Fan.
Ry Crist/CNET

The cheekily named Big Ass Fans made a smart-home splash in 2014 when it unveiled a gorgeous Wi-Fi-enabled ceiling fan packed with intelligent sensor tech. The only problem? That ceiling fan cost over a thousand dollars.

Now, for 2016, Big Ass Fans is back with a new version of that smart ceiling fan that will retail for just $450 -- less than half the cost of the original. Called the Haiku L Series, the ceiling fan comes in white or black and sports the same modern aesthetic as the original.

Shop for Big Ass Solutions Haiku L Series Ceiling Fan (Black)

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$831 at Walmart

$640 at Amazon

The L Series takes a different approach to smart features, though. The original Haiku that retailed for $1,045 had the brand's "SenseMe" tech built right in, enabling it to run automatically based on presence detection and room-specific climate conditions. With the L Series, the SenseMe tech is pulled out of the fan and relocated to the new Haiku Wall Control unit, which will retail separately for $125.

The Haiku Wall Control device has four buttons, and is about the size of a doorbell.
Ry Crist/CNET

That smarts-sold-separately approach means that you'll need to spend a total of $575 in order to enjoy the full benefits of a connected ceiling fan. That includes the Haiku's integration with the Nest Learning Thermostat that allows it to work in tandem with your HVAC system to help maintain your home's ideal temperature while lowering your energy bill.

There are new features and integrations planned for 2016, too. Most notable among them: voice control by way of an integration with the Amazon Echo smart speaker. Big Ass Solutions plans on demonstrating the feature in Las Vegas before rolling it out a little later this year.

The new fan and wall control unit are both parts of a new lineup of Haiku-branded smart home devices that the Lexington, Kentucky-based manufacturer is debuting at the Consumer Electronics Showcase in Las Vegas. That new "Haiku Home" lineup is actually an entire, smart home-centric division of Big Ass Solutions, joining the two company's other two divisions, Big Ass Fans and Big Ass Light.

Still, it's the Haiku smart fan that's the centerpiece of Big Ass Solutions' ambitions for the connected home. Cutting the price roughly in half is an aggressive step for the traditionally high-end brand, and one that signals a serious push to put the company's unique take on the connected living space into as many homes as possible.

The Haiku L Series fan and the Haiku Wall Control unit will both be available direct from the Haiku Home website by the end of January. The rest of the new Haiku Home line includes smart recessed lighting fixtures that are expected to arrive this April -- beyond that, Big Ass Solutions plans to release a Wi-Fi-connected HVAC unit, though no release date is set just yet.