When looking for an affordable way to cool down your office or living room, you will probably be faced with the decision of buying a regular pedestal fan, a desk fan or a tower fan, leaving you wondering, which fan works the best?
Well, each type of fan has its advantages and disadvantages, but all are great for cooling you down quickly and efficiently. For example, tower fans are often preferred over desk fans as they are oscillating, meaning they have more coverage when cooling down a room.
To help you figure out which type of fan will suit you best, we have compared the three down below, including how their cooling systems function, their pros and cons, along with how much they cost to run.
Let's get into it!
A Pedestal fan is a fan with a long stand and has visible blades which produce airflow as they rotate within the head of the fan, these fans are very traditional, portable and can cool a room down quickly.
They also have height adjustments on their stand so as you can direct the airflow to different places and will often come with variable speed settings depending on how much cooling you want.
The cooling process by pedestal fans is operated via an electric motor that rotates the blades to produce a wind cooling effect, the rate at which this cooling effect is produced will be through single or multi-speed systems.
These fans do not cool the air in the room but instead cool you down by moving the hot air away from you.
Pedestal fans are traditionally preferred over other types of fans as they are adjustable and very powerful, they also have much more coverage than tower fans and desk fans due to their height and can be moved around according to how cool you want certain parts of a room to be, they are also the best for cooling down a room with a group of people in rather than just for a single person.
The drawbacks of these fans are that they are not as safe to have around children as tower fans are, they are also less portable than desk fans and can sometimes be too powerful and make rooms uncomfortably cold.
Desk fans on the other hand are pretty similar to a pedestal fan but have a shorter stand, this allows them to be put on a desk at work and keeps them very lightweight, ideal for single person use.
Although these desk fans are often equipped with small motors, they can also be oscillating and you can find more variety on the market with all kinds of power sources such as battery or USB powered desk fans.
A desk fan uses the same system as a pedestal fan to cool you down, but just has a smaller cooling coverage in comparison, a desk fan will take the hot air around you and increase its circulation with the rotation of its mini blades, making a wind effect against the person it is positioned at, helping you too cool down and evaporate sweat.
Although these fans might have limited settings and features, they can be moved closer to your face or further away to change the cooling intensity.
Desk fans are the better choice over tower fans and pedestal fans if you after a cooling device that is small and portable and doesn't need fancy features like a timer.
They also tend to be more affordable than the other two types of fans and beneficial when it comes to single-person use.
Downfalls of these mini fans are the obvious fact they lack power and coverage, meaning they would not give as great a cooling effect as a tower fan or pedestal model would, they also can't be used by multiple people at once and aren't as durable as other fans.
If your looking for a more stylish type of fan, then a tower fan is probably for you. These types of fans operate with a tall rectangular shape and their blades are cylinder and enclosed, unlike desk fans and pedestal fans blades.
These fans will come with a variety of speed and cooling settings, as well as timers and, are additionally oscillating. Towers fans tend to be stationary and can come with heaters too for the colder months.
Just like the other fans on our list tower fans do not directly cool the air, but instead, take in the coolest air located at the bottom of your room through their vents and release it back out with more circulation, which then lowers the temperature producing a breeze.
Some tower fans will also come with a thermostat which allows the fan to automatically cool a room when it becomes above a certain temperature.
Overall, in comparison to desk fans, tower fans are much better for whole room use and are more stylish than traditional pedestal fans, they are better to use around kids too as they don't have any exposed blades. Tower fans also take up less space than pedestal fans so might be better for small rooms.
Downfalls of tower fans in comparison to desk fans have to be their size which is not very portable, they are also noisier than pedestal fans due to their motor system and might not have as much power as a pedestal fan.
To conclude our three comparisons, each fan is great for different uses, but a tower fan tends to be the winner if you are looking for an all-round fan that can be used for cooling a family home. Not only are these fans safe without exposed blades, but they are also very modern and have enough power for an average-sized room.
However, you might find a desk fan is the best if you are looking for a fan that is more portable for single-use, so this all depends on how you are going to be using your fan and the size of the room.
Nowadays, more and more people are opting for tower fans as the better option because they are stylish and modern, these fans have great cooling and heating abilities, making them two in one model and are safe to use with pets or children.
These fans are also very popular because of their wide range of modern features such as voice control and thermostats which traditional pedestal fans tend to still lack.
When comparing which fan is the best, you should also be considering which type of fan is the most expensive to run, as this can change your mind if your best fan consumes too much energy.
Tower fans cost the most to run in comparison to table fans and pedestal fans because of their high motor power and several small blades which draw more watts of power, these fans average about £25 a year to run if they are used on a medium setting.
Pedestal fans are the second most expensive option and cost around £17 a year to run on a medium setting, however, commercial pedestal fans may have higher power than this so could cost more to run.
Last but not least is desk fans, these models are the least expensive to run because of their small size, this means they don't consume a lot of power like the bigger tower fans and pedestal fans do, the most a desk fan will ever cost annually is only around £10.
Out of all the fans above, a tower fan is the easiest to maintain despite its high running cost, this is because the blades are hidden inside of the device, meaning that they don't get as dirty like pedestal blades would, all you simply need to do cleaning wise on a tower fan is give it a dust down on the outside.
Desk fans and pedestal fans however will need you to disassemble the fan and clean the blades, you will also need to clean the drill as it attracts a lot of debris and dirt during use.
Is a tower fan safer than a pedestal fan?
A tower fan is safer than a pedestal fan as its blades are deeper inside of the machine and can't be touched, this makes them more suitable to have around children.
What costs more upfront, a tower fan or a pedestal fan?
Tower fans may cost more than a pedestal fan due to them being more modern and coming with better designs/updated features, however, some commercial pedestal fans can be expensive too.
Can I charge desk fans with a USB?
Some desk fans can be charged via USB or portable chargers due to their small power use.
Overall, a tower fan is considered better and more modern than a desk fan and a pedestal fan thanks to its sleek design which encloses the blades and makes them better to have in households, they are additionally more popular because they often have heating capabilities too, making them a great 2 in 1 model.
We suggest going for a pedestal fan if you are after power, a tower fan if you want something that fits nicely in your home and a desk fan if you need portability.
