This is a beautiful fan and love the remote control features/options.  The problem is the combined heights/lengths of the downrod and motor housing make this fan unusable on an 8' ceiling.  The total drop of the fully assembled and mounted fan is 17" down from the ceiling.  That's scary low for anyone that's 6' tall or more. The downrod is too long and you can't cut it down shorter.  There's no reason the downrod couldn't be shorter, or a shorter option provided in the fan kit.  It could be half the length it is now and there's still *plenty* of room for blade clearance.