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This 3-in-1 Concept Cleans, Circulates, and Monitors Interior Air

04.23.18 | By
This 3-in-1 Concept Cleans, Circulates, and Monitors Interior Air

Despite its ubiquitous nature, the electric ceiling fan hasn’t changed all that much since engineer Philip Diehl invented the first one in 1882. The 3-5 blade configuration is commonly delivered with uninspired and dated designs. Though there are a few modernized smart home connected models available today, there’s nothing quite as full-featured as the ceiling fan imagined by Korean industrial design student, Hyojeong Lee. Her Fan Tone concept serves triple duty as a ceiling fan, HEPA filtration system, and air quality monitoring device with a noticeably updated personality.


The first thing you’ll notice is the Fan Tone’s 3-tier design, which gives every bit the impression of a Dyson air purification device styled by HAY. A 3-blade circulator is purposed to bring air through a floating ring perforated with intake grills. Air is then moved through a HEPA filter membrane, finally upward/outward to discharge at the top. Anyone with a ceiling fan can attest how much dirt and dust can accumulate in short time circulating interior air; by combining circulation with filtration, in theory the Fan Tone should result in cleaner interior air and less dirty blades.

Additionally, the Fan Tone integrates an air monitoring system, using a novel color coded lighting communication system engineered to indicate interior air quality. One could argue this adds a fourth feature – mood lighting – though one may not be necessarily pleased by the sight of poor air quality no matter how pleasant the light.

Of course, being where we are today with the state of smart home technology, Hyojeong Lee also imagines the Fan Tone to work in harmony with other connected devices via app – like air conditioning and other fans – giving users the ability to set an ideal temperature and allow the disparate appliances to work in coordination, while also reporting back an air quality score.

With interior air quality a rising concern in urban hubs across the globe, we recognize the likelihood of something similar to Hyojeong Lee’s concept being realized in the future commercially. By integrating air purification overhead, Lee has lessened the eyesore associated with interior filtration, something any resident would be a “fan” of.

Gregory Han is a Senior Editor at Design Milk. A Los Angeles native with a profound love and curiosity for design, hiking, tide pools, and road trips, a selection of his adventures and musings can be found at gregoryhan.com.