Choosing the floor fan
Floor fans are great to have in your shop or garage, not to mention your home when needed. Most of them have multiple speed settings to let you decide how much cool air you want to blow. Floor fans are made to cool entire rooms and are designed to help you achieve comfortable airflow in your shop or home. Below we’ve broken down some of the more imporant features to consider when purchasing a floor fan.
Blade size
Blade size can be important when you are choosing a floor fan because often the size of the blades correlates with the amount of air that moves through the fan. The larger the blades are, the more air is moved. If you’re looking for a model with large blades then check out our Editor’s Choice the Ozeri 3x Tower Fan which has 20-inch blades. Or if you’d rather have a fan with no blades at all, try the Dyson AM08 for your quiet floor fan needs.
Airflow
Airflow is one of the most, if not the most, important consideration when looking at different floor fan models.
If the fan doesn’t put out enough airflow for your needs, it won’t achieve the cooling or ventilation you desire. And if the airflow is too strong, it may be too noisy for your needs, or be too disruptive to the space around you: such as blowing papers around in an office setting.
Airflow is typically achieved by fan blades, but oftentimes it can be altered or changed by the variety of settings and features built into the floor fan, so it’s important to keep all these aspects in mind when looking for the best floor fan with the airflow that meets your needs.
Settings
All the floor fans on our list have a variety of settings. This allows you to choose the speed of the fan blades (or moving air) and decide how cool or warm you and your room remain. Some may even measure the air temperture for you. If you want a floor fan with a lot of different speeds and settings then look no further than our Editor’s Choice the Ozeri 3x Tower Fan which has 3 independent fans with 3 different settings, making for 9 combinations.
Timer
A timer on a floor fan will let you set the speed on your fan and then have the fan automatically stop after the set time.
This is really great for someone who wants to have a fan blowing on them for part of the night, but don’t want to have to wake up to shut it off, or for those worried about accidentally leaving their fan running. Not all floor fans come with a timer option, so if this is an important feature make sure you select one with a timer option. For the fan with the most robust timer look at the
LEVOIT LV373 which has a timer than can be set for up to 12 hours.
Height adjustment
Some floor fans come with height adjustment options, usually if they’re pedestal fans, though not always.
Height adjustments allow you to better aim the airflow coming from the fan, perfect for adjusting to reach a high bed, or to keep a fan from blowing directly in your face, but still aimed in your direction.
For a fan that has the greatest options for height adjustment then check out the retro looking
Vornado VFAN which can adjust its height from 42 inches up to 55 inches.
Dimensions and weight
The dimensions of your floor fan can matter for a couple of different reasons. If the fan is too big, it may take up a lot of space in your room and be obtrusive in your area. And if it’s too large, it becomes difficult to store when you’re not using it. The same is true for weight. If you plan on moving your fan from different locations, you’ll need one that’s not too heavy. For the fan with the smallest dimensions look at the Ozeri 3x Tower Fan, which is only about 3 inches wide, and for a fan that’s easily portable the Budget Pick Lasko Stanley 655704 weighs under 8 pounds, making it easily to carry from place to place.
Warranty
We all hope that we will never have to use the warranty that comes with our floor fan. But sometimes accidents happen at home or even in shipping. In those cases, you want to pick a floor fan with a great warranty, so that way your fan can be repaired or perhaps even replaced if needed. Check out the Vornado VFAN which comes with a fantastic 5-year limited warranty.
Extra features
Most of the floor fans on our list come with bonus features, such as special settings and remote controls. For the fan with the most high-tech remote-control capabilities looks at the Dyson AM08 which has a curved remote that’s magnetic so it can stay attached to the fan when not in use. And for a fan with settings geared for nighttime fan users, check out the Rowenta VU5670 which is ultra-quiet and has a “silent night” mode as well as a “turbo boost” mode for when you want to cool down quickly. Otherwise the Lasko 2264QM is the only floor fan on our list that can be wall-mounted, saving you floor space.
Price vs. quality
Often times you get what you pay for, and that’s also the case with floor fans. There are many awsome fans out there that are on the cheaper side, such as out Budget Pick Lasko Stanley 655704, but often times a cheaper fan means that it won’t have the lifespan of some of the more expensive ones. This is because the cost is usually saved in manufacturing, such as replacing metal pieces with plastic. But that’s not to say it’s always the best idea to purchase the most expensive floor fan. Sometimes it’s worth buying a cheaper fan, especially if you’re trying to decide what works best for your home and needs. That way you won’t spend a lot of money on a fan that lasts for years, but you don’t ever use because it doesn’t meet your needs.
Proper use and care
Like most appliances, proper use and care of your floor fan will extend the life of you fan and keep it working efficiently for a long time. Fan blades, even though they’re frequently moving at a high speed, will still collect dust, so it can be important to clean the blades every now and then. If you’d rather not deal with dusting blades, then consider the Dyson AM08 which doesn’t have blades and therefore doesn’t need to be cleaned in that fashion.
And make sure you’re picking a fan that works well for your location: don’t use a fan that’s not rated for outdoor use outside, or your fan may fail well before it should.
