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When you're trying to beat the summer heat outdoors, a glass of lemonade at the pool works great, but beating the heat indoors works best with an electric fan. The best electric fan is the Vornado 660 Large Whole Room Air Circulator fan, as it provides a great mix of versatility, airflow, and quiet operation.
Most people love summer, but there are three little things that make it rough: Excessive heat, the stinky sweat that heat causes, and nasty tan lines. You wear high socks one time while mowing the lawn, and you have to live down the bad tan line all summer.
Fortunately, the best electric fans can help you with the first two problems. Electric fans move a volume of air around your body, allowing you to feel cooler and sweat less. When a larger fan moves air, it circulates the air throughout a room, eliminating hot spots and cold spots.
Electric fans have been around for decades, but that doesn’t mean they’ve stood still, just spinning their wheels … or blades. Even a simple home appliance like an electric fan has seen impressive gains in function and performance over recent years. With all of the available designs, finding a fan that can meet your specific needs has never been easier.
We've rounded up the best electric fans you can buy for any room or need. We've included highly rated normal fans, tower styles, personal ones, and other special fan designs.
Here are our picks for the best electric fans you can buy:
If you're in the market for an air conditioner, too, you should check out our guide to the best window ACs on Insider Picks.
Updated on 05/14/2018 by Malarie Gokey: Added the Rowenta Fresh 180 Tower Fan, updated older fans to new versions, checked prices, and updated formatting.
Read on in the slides below to check out our top picks for the best electric fans.
SEE ALSO: The best window air conditioners you can buy
The best electric fan overall
Why you'll love it: The Vornado 660 Large Whole Room Air Circulator fan sets itself apart from the crowd with multiple air flow settings and a small footprint.
For a versatile electric fan, the Vornado 660 Large Whole Room Air Circulator earns high marks. It works in a number of different situations and locations, so it should fit almost everyone's needs. The fan is small enough to set on a desk and keep you cool as a personal fan, but the Vornado 660 has enough power at the highest setting to circulate the air properly in a large room, too.
It only measures about 15 x 13.5 x 12 inches, so it can fit just about anywhere. Don't let its small size fool you, though. This fan is small but mighty. It can cool just about any room quickly with its blades.
Expert reviewers echo that point. Gizmodo's review says the Vornado fan delivers a high level of air circulation power for its small size. The Boing Boing review praises the power of the 660 fan and points out that it offers four air speed settings. The fan's 6-foot-long power cord also frees you up to place the fan in multiple locations.
One Amazon reviewer loves the fact that the Vornado 660 runs silently on the lowest power setting, while delivering an impressive level of air flow at the highest power setting, if you don’t mind a bit of noise. Noise is really the only downside here, as it is noisier than some of our other picks. It also comes with a 5-year warranty.
Most buyers seem to agree that the Vornado fan is more than powerful enough to cool large or small spaces, and expert reviewers consistently praise this fan. It is pricey, but it's a worthwhile investment for a powerful fan that's built to work in a variety of situations.
Pros: Four power settings to precisely adjust airflow, small footprint versus some fans of equal power, 6-foot power cord, available in black or white colors, silent operation on low setting
Cons: High price point, some noise on high setting
The best quiet tower fan
Why you'll love it: The Rowenta Fresh 180 Tower Fan is quiet and it has a timer, remote control, and an auto-shutoff feature so you don't waste electricity while you stay cool.
It can be hard to get to sleep when your fan is whirring away in the corner. If you've ever wanted to chuck your pillow at the fan and silence it forever, you need Rowenta's Fresh 180 Tower Fan. Not only is it super quiet and slim enough to tuck away in a corner, but it also oscillates 180 degrees, as 3 airspeed settings, and a bunch of energy-saving features like auto-shutoff, a timer, and a remote control.
We tested this Rowenta Fresh 180 Tower Fan in a New York City apartment during a brief spell of 90-degree weather. It was the perfect size to cool our bedroom, but it was equally adept at cooling our large living and dining room area. In comparison with other fans we've tested, Rowenta's Tower fan was much quieter and we liked all the energy-saving features.
On the top of the fan, you'll see a LED screen that shows you the ambient room temperature, so you can see the impact the fan's air circulation has on the room's temperature if you're curious. You can also adjust the airspeed, set the timer, and turn on Auto mode or the oscillation feature.
If you're using this fan in your bedroom to lull you to sleep when it's hot out, you can set a timer so it will turn off after 1, 2, 4, or 8 hours when you've finally fallen asleep (hopefully). The Rowenta fan also has a 12-hour auto-shutoff feature to save you energy and worry if you forget to turn the fan off before you leave home.
It also comes with a remote control, which makes it easy to turn the fan on and off without leaving your bed or couch. Since it's powered by a watch battery, the remote should last a good amount of time. The fan itself has a cord in the base that plugs into an outlet. It's fairly long and it retracts into the fan's base when you're done.
Although it's a bit expensive, we think this Rowenta Tower Fan is worth it for the extra features and it's incredibly quiet operation — even on high-speed settings. — Malarie Gokey
Pros: Quiet, slim, easy to store, auto shutoff, oscillation, remote control, timer mode, shows ambient temperature, multiple speeds
Cons: Expensive
The best affordable electric tower fan
Why you'll love it: The Seville Classics Ultra Slimline Tower Fan offers great airflow and an attractive tower fan design for an affordable price.
One of the most common complaints we all have about electric fans is noise. Sure, almost any electric fan can move a lot of air. However, it may sound like a fleet of airplanes have invaded your home when your old box fan gets going on the high setting.
If you need a quiet fan that also moves a decent amount of air, the Seville Classics Ultra Slimline Tower Fan is a terrific option. It may not be quite as quiet as some of Rowenta's fans, but it's much more affordable. The fan oscillates 75 degrees, has a timer, and features four speed settings, one of which is the eco setting for energy savings.
The Wirecutter recommends the Seville Classics' tower fan because it runs far quieter than most blade style fans and it's more affordable than other tower fans.
It's not the quietest fan you can buy period, but it is much quieter than your average box fan. Your Best Digs says that although the Seville tower fan runs a little noisier than other tower fans, its noise is not a deal breaker because of its strong airflow performance. If you do need a quieter fan, you should consider one of Rowenta's super quiet fans (see the next slide).
Another plus is the helpful remote control unit that comes with the Ultra Slimline fan. You can adjust the fan speed without having to leave your perch on the couch. The remote is powered by two AAA batteries. Additionally, this Seville fan is available in either 17- or 40-inch models, as well as in black or white shells. It should look decent in any room, and it's less ostentatious than a big box fan.
One Amazon reviewer praises the Seville Classics Ultra Slimline for its quiet performance and good air movement. The most common complaint among Amazon customers regarding these Seville tower fans is a lack of longevity. However, if you take good care of it, it should last at least a few years.
Pros: Nice looking tower design, outperforms other tower fans in terms of air flow, runs much quieter than most blade style fans, offers a reasonably good price point, available in black or white shell colors
Cons: Longevity is a question mark with these fans, runs a little louder than other tower style fans
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