A fan system comprising: a fan rotor including a rotating blade assembly configured to rotate around an axis, the rotating blade assembly comprising a flat circular region disposed at a center of the rotating blade assembly; a fan motor configured to cause rotation of the rotating blade assembly around the axis; and a braking mechanism comprising a control arm, a braking portion of the control arm disposed at one end of the control arm, an actuating portion disposed at an opposite end of the control arm, and a base portion disposed between the braking portion and the actuating portion, wherein the base portion includes a pivot rod disposed perpendicular to the control arm, and wherein the pivot rod is configured to pivotably couple the braking mechanism with a fan housing; wherein the braking mechanism is configured to apply friction to the flat circular region of the rotating blade assembly via the control arm when the braking mechanism is engaged, wherein application of friction to the flat circular region of the rotating blade assembly stops rotation of the rotating blade assembly around the axis, wherein the braking portion of the control arm is configured to be disposed in a contact position against the flat circular region of the rotating blade assembly when the braking mechanism is engaged, and is configured to be disposed in a non-contact position in which the braking portion is physically separated from the fan rotor when the braking mechanism is disengaged, wherein the control arm is configured to pivot between the contact position and the non-contact position, and wherein the base portion comprises a biasing element coupled with the pivot rod and configured to bias the braking portion of the control arm toward the contact position. a fan rotor including a rotating blade assembly configured to rotate around an axis, the rotating blade assembly comprising a flat circular region disposed at a center of the rotating blade assembly; a fan motor configured to cause rotation of the rotating blade assembly around the axis; and a braking mechanism comprising a control arm, a braking portion of the control arm disposed at one end of the control arm, an actuating portion disposed at an opposite end of the control arm, and a base portion disposed between the braking portion and the actuating portion, wherein the base portion includes a pivot rod disposed perpendicular to the control arm, and wherein the pivot rod is configured to pivotably couple the braking mechanism with a fan housing; wherein the braking mechanism is configured to apply friction to the flat circular region of the rotating blade assembly via the control arm when the braking mechanism is engaged, wherein application of friction to the flat circular region of the rotating blade assembly stops rotation of the rotating blade assembly around the axis, wherein the braking portion of the control arm is configured to be disposed in a contact position against the flat circular region of the rotating blade assembly when the braking mechanism is engaged, and is configured to be disposed in a non-contact position in which the braking portion is physically separated from the fan rotor when the braking mechanism is disengaged, wherein the control arm is configured to pivot between the contact position and the non-contact position, and wherein the base portion comprises a biasing element coupled with the pivot rod and configured to bias the braking portion of the control arm toward the contact position.