High efficiency ceiling fans
 

Working on some solar designs for my cabin. It occurred to me my wife requires a ceiling fan most of the year. I didn't find any recent threads here about fans. A little bit of research and of course there are some huge differences in cfm per watt, even in energy star rated fans.
So far 2 of the best I've found are
Shop Harbor Breeze Slinger 72-in Brushed Nickel Downrod Mount Ceiling Fan with Light Kit and Remote (9-Blade) ENERGY STAR at Lowes.com
8885 cfm for 30 watts on high speed, retailing for $299
Shop Harbor Breeze Platinum Kingsbury 70-in Oil Rubbed Bronze Downrod Mount Ceiling Fan with Light Kit and Remote Control ENERGY STAR at Lowes.com
8286 cfm for 29 watt retailing for $209
For comparison the energy star fan looking most similar to mine requires 62 watts to move 5497 cfm. Where I could find medium and low speed numbers all fans are more efficient at lower speeds

A 72 inch ceiling fan is HUGE. In order to get anything close to the rated flow, it will need to be mounted 3 or 4 feet below the ceiling. A normal 8 foot ceiling should have a fan no larger than about 52 inches.

I built a new house in 2011, and had a Hunter Sonic P/N 21591 ceiling fan installed. It was available only with remote control. I did not want a remote control, I wanted a switch on the wall. So I threw away the remote, ripped out the electronics, and had it wired directly to a wall light switch and fan speed control.

The fan has been working well. The bulb failed a few times. The only bulb I was able to find in the GU-24 base that was short enough to fit was a Satco brand. The Satco bulbs make good light and have good color rendition, but the quality is junk. If you can find a different brand with the right base, overall length, wattage, and color, buy it.

I'm with you, honestly max airflow is never an issue at our house. We rarely exceed low speed. The space I'm furnishing does have a 20 ft ceiling in the open vault area, but I doubt we'd ever go higher than medium speed. Most air conditioners around here push 600cfm per ton, 8000 cfm is one room would be like a tornado. The 2 fans I linked to show 6 speeds which makes me think they are constant torque or brushless dc motors, not sure, but they use half the power to move more air than other fans. In my case I'm toying with only a 300watt morningstar inverter and battery power, the difference between 60 and 30 watts is significant. But if there are no led options for the light that could be a significant flaw. I also hate to buy anything that doesn't have a normal medium light bulb base, which it seems all manufacturers quit doing after congress voted doing away with medium base incandescents; after-which they all went to candelabra and intermediate base.] I was a little surprised to find cfm and wattage info for fans. The last time I finished out a house and bought a bunch of fans was 6 years ago and the only info available was bulb size.
This is a 52" fan, 6200 cfm at 30 watts for $160 with the same 6 speed motor.Shop Harbor Breeze Platinum Aniva Bay 52-in Aged Bronze Downrod Mount Ceiling Fan with Adaptable Light Kit and Remote (3-Blade) ENERGY STAR at Lowes.com

Looking a little further, all the 6 speed fans have a dc motor and they use half the power of the ac motors, around 30 watts on high speed. While some are pricey there are several models in the $160 range. This could be an opportunity in savings for anyone shopping for ceiling fans.