How would you redesign a ceiling fan?

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How would you redesign a ceiling fan?

Asked at Google over a year ago

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H P · Answer 1 · 2020-02-04T09:59:47+0000

Clarification:

There are various environments and context in which a ceiling fan is used e.g. ceiling fan at home is different than ceiling fan used at huge party halls (or even in our parliaments). Are we looking at a particular context/setting or generic ceiling fan at home? Answer: The one used at home
Are we redesigning the ceiling fan because it doesn’t achieve one or more objectives, or do we want to improve a certain metrics i.e. power consumption, Wind flow speed, aesthetics, usability, durability etc. - Answer: All of them

Understand the problem:

Ceiling fan is typically used by someone staying in a moderately hot condition and want to cool themselves with the breeze/air flow that is provided by the ceiling fan's rotating blades. Ask is to redesign the ceiling fan to improve the efficiency, aesthetics, durability, noise levels and wind speed or something that can make people feel comfortable in a warm/hot surroundings

User need:

The primary job (user need) that the user wants is to bring down the room temperature and cool the person down and make him/her comfortable in the hot/warm environment

The process above should be shorter
The process shouldn’t create disturbing noise
The process should require least user intervention
The fan should be pleasing look wise

There could be many other, but we'll consider the above in our consideration set and design the solution for the same

Features	Effort	Impact/Outcome	Revenue Potential
The ceiling fan can be voice enabled and be connected to home automation devices (Alexa/Google etc.)	M	H	H
The ceiling fan can have a sensor based on which it starts when a person is in the room and the temp is high	M	M	M
The ceiling fan can have very small water jets that sprinkles small water particles in extreme hot env	L	M	M
The ceiling fan can have light enabled on it to give it an aesthetic appeal	L	L	L
The ceiling fan can have a speaker that can play sleep assisting music	M	L	L

I would choose #1, #2 and #3 to begin with as it providers a better ROI. Based on the response received, we can add the additional features later

Bella Rubin · Answer 2 · 2020-02-02T18:48:31+0000

Approach

1. Clarify the Q

2. Brainstorm pain points

3. Brainstorm solutions

4. Evaluate solutions

5. Summarize & recommend

Clarify

1. Who is this for? Classroom setting

2. What is the goal; make is smaller, quieter, more powerful, use less energy...? All of the above

3. Any constraints I should be aware of? Limited budget

4. What kind of ceiling fan; electric, plug-in, battery? Electric

Brainstorm pain points

1. Too loud

2. Too weak, doesn't cool the room

3. Doesn't reach all corners of the room

4. Teacher does not have access to controls, rather it is powered by maintenance staff

5. Uses a lot of electricity and is expensive

Brainstorm solutions

1. Remote-controlled

2. Solar-powered

3. Multiple fans dispersed across the room

4. AI technology to maintain a certain temperature

5. Label corners of the room; cold, warm, neutral for students to choose where they want to be

Evaluate solutions

1. I would focus on solar-powered ceiling fans to save electricity and reduce costs

2. Then I would concentrate on making them remote-controlled so teachers can easily control the temperature and maintain a comfortable learning environment

3. Lastly, I would install multiple small fans across the room to reduce the noise (smaller blades will cut the air quieter) and reach all areas of the classroom

Summarize and recommend

We are redesigning a ceiling fan for the classrooom setting. We will first make them solar-powered to save electricity and reduce costs. They will also be remote-controlled so the teacher can easily manipulate the classroom temperature for an optimal learning environment and add to cost-reduction strategy. Lastly, there will be multiple, small fans disperesed across the classroom instead of one, main one in the center of the classroom so cool air can reach students in all corners of the classroom and areas can be designated as cold, warm and neutral.