The best electric fans

Get the Full StoryWhen 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 the best electric fans you can buy:

Best fan overall: Vornado 660 Large Whole Room Air Circulator Fan

Best quiet tower fan: Rowenta Fresh 180 Tower Fan

Best affordable tower fan: Seville Classics Ultra Slimline Tower Fan

Best tabletop clip fan: Avalon Convertible Table-Top and Clip Fan

Best quiet fan: Rowenta VU5670 Turbo Silence Oscillating Fan

Best high-end fan: Dyson Air Multiplier AM06 Table Fan

Updated on 10 22 2019 by Les Shu: Updated prices, links, and formatting.The best electric fan overall

Vornado

The Vornado 660 Large Whole Room Air Circulator fan sets itself apart from the crowd with multiple airflow 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 by 13.5 by 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.

The Boing Boing review praises the power 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. Keep in mind that this fan is not new, but it's a tried-and-trusted model.

One Amazon buyer loves that the Vornado 660 runs silently on the lowest power setting while delivering an impressive level of airflow at the highest power setting if you don't mind a bit of noise . Noise is really the only downside, as it is noisier than some of our other picks.

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.

Vornado backs the fan with a five-year warranty.

Pros: Four power settings to precisely adjust airflow, small footprint versus some fans of equal power, 6-foot power cord, silent operation on low setting, available in black or white

Cons: High price point, noisy on high setting

The best quiet tower fan

Rowenta

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 tower fan

Seville Classics

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.

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 fan. You can adjust the fan speed without having to leave your perch on the couch. 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.

The most common complaint among owners is that it has a short lifespan. 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 airflow, runs much quieter than most blade style fans, offers a reasonably good price point, available in black or white shell colors

Cons: Longevity is an issue, runs a little louder than other tower-style fans

See the rest of the story at Business InsiderSee Also:The best sheets for your bedThe best desk lampsThe best cookware sets you can buy to get all your pots and pans at onceSEE ALSO: The best window air conditioners you can buy

SEE ALSO: The best USB desk fans you can buy

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