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Insulated homes and air conditioning systems are now common in every household across the nation, but the fan still remains an essential appliance nonetheless. However, you may not want a ceiling fan in a small study, or you might want an outdoor fan for those summer evening garden parties. How should you decide, and what should your choice of fans be based on? Read on about the ideal fan for your home and how to find it
Energy Savings
If you happen to live in Florida, Texas, Louisiana or any other state that gets pretty toasty, it is likely that the fan will have to serve heavy duty during the summers. Since fans basically consist of blades being turned by a motor at extremely high speeds for long stretches, you can expect your power bills to rise quite significantly as a result!
To minimize the power consumption, find fans that come with high energy-efficiency ratings. This can make quite a big difference over time, although energy-efficient fans will cost more upfront. That cost is well worth it though, given that you will be saving a lot more in power bills over the years.
Function and Style
In order to select the right fan, the function must be determined first. Do you simply need a table fan or a pedestal fan for indoor use, or are you looking for an outdoor fan for the Sunday barbeques?
It needs to be both functional for the purpose, and stylish enough to complement your carefully designed interior and exterior décor, rather than standing out like a sore thumb.
Take a look at Lasko’s range of stylish outdoor, table and pedestal fans to know the kind of style-functionality combo that we are talking about. They also have bladeless fans, wall-mountable fans, window fans, utility fans and even air circulators, so you will definitely not be short on high-quality options across all categories.
Can You Judge a Fan’s Quality by Its Noise?
It is difficult to judge a fan’s noise, since initially most fans do not have a noise problem. As the ball bearings get older and overused though, the screeching develops and we do all hate that! How soon the fan will need to be serviced and its bearings changed will depend on the quality of the materials used to manufacture the product.
That being said, fans manufactured by quality OEMs such as Lasko will always last the longest, while cheaper rip-offs will keep you up at night with their screeching within a few months!
There is however, one factor that differs from model to model in regard to noise, and it has nothing to do with the bearings inside. The higher RPM/CFM a fan has, the more swishing noise it will make naturally. You can of course, set the power down to reduce the noise and a lot of people actually prefer the loud hum of a fan, since it drowns out distractions, helping them to sleep better.
How Much Power Do You Need?
As already mentioned, the more powerful and high-speed a fan is, the more noise it will produce, along with drawing more electricity.
RPM stands for rounds per minute, while CFM stands for cubic feet per minute. Both of these convey the information regarding how much airflow the products will produce, and how much area they will cover.
All fans come with regulators and some of them even come with their own remotes these days, so setting it to low or high speed as required should not be a problem. On the other hand, selecting an underpowered fan can be an issue, since it won’t be able to cover the area properly, leading you to spend more money on buying extra fans.
Blade Size
Does the blade size matter? It matters in all types of fans out there, but ceiling fans are usually where the blade size matters the most in a residential setting.
Unlike box, window or table fans, ceiling fans are designed to disperse the airflow over a larger space from above, such as the living room or the master bedroom. This is why the longer the blades a ceiling fan has, the more area it covers.
In case of portable fans, the same theory also applies, as larger fan blades will always cover a larger area. The difference is that smaller, more portable fans are meant to provide concentrated airflow, while ceiling fans are supposed to provide flat air displacement.
If you search online, you will see some pretty adorable little fans that come in all kind of styles and décor, while costing a fraction of what a branded product would cost. Resist the temptation to buy them, if you really need your fans to be more than just a showpiece! They will make you regret your choice when the heat picks up.
