The 11 best fans to keep you cool all year long
Dispel the muggy air. You’ll never have an uncomfortable summer’s day again.
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We get it, the cold, dark depths of January may not seem like the time to think about buying a fan to keep the house cool later in the year, but that’s where you’re wrong. The colder the weather is, the cheaper the best fans are, and we’re all for saving some cash where we can. Whether your living room typically resembles the inside of a furnace in mid-July or you need to combat sweltering temperatures in home offices and bedrooms, we guarantee a bit of cool, moving air will make you feel better.
Due to the wealth of options available to you, there’s almost certainly a fan to work for your situation, be that a desk fan to keep you cool while WFH, an oscillating pedestal fan to make the living room a bearable place to sit, or chunkier cooling units that keep noise levels down through clever night modes to cool and clean the air in your bedroom.
It’s never too early to invest in a top-quality cooling fan, and you’ll likely thank yourself later in the year when the sun decides to wash over your otherwise underprepared house, but don’t sweat it about figuring out which one is worth getting. We’ve selected our favourite fans for living rooms, bedrooms, hot-box-like home office studies and even a few to prop up in the kitchen so you can get zen-like cool air anywhere in your home.
Much like summer-friendly menswear essentials such as shorts, sandals and short-sleeved shirts, powerful fan technology is increasingly easier on the eyes, ears and, in the case of air purifying units, even the nose. With the right guidance, you’re sure to find the right bit of kit for your room. If your bedroom is particularly stuffy, we’ve got guides on the best mattresses, pillows, and duvets to help you keep cool and comfortable all year round.
What are the best fans you can buy right now?
Hands down the best purifying fan you can buy, Dyson's top-spec air purifier does it all. If you're still hyper-concerned with cleanliness after two years of health scares, this one scans the room for bacteria, eradicates it, and then wafts cooling air all around the space.
If the price of the all-singing Dyson above makes your eyes water, consider this affordable, eye-catching tower fan that's made of sustainable materials to create a cold breeze around your home.
If colleagues are starting to notice beads of sweat dripping down your cheek during your weekly Zoom calls, then get this brilliant desk fan to regulate temperatures. It's a powerful bit of kit, capable of blowing cool air at you from almost 30 feet away, so you can bring it into the office to keep everyone comfortable.
Like to keep the fan on in the bedroom to keep the night sweats at bay? This is one of the quietest models around, so you can sleep better overall during a scorching heatwave.
- Best quiet fan: Duux whisper flex smart fan,
£169£129 at amazon.co.uk - Best standing fan: Boneco F220 Air Shower Floor-Standing Fan, £159 at amazon.co.uk
- Best tower fan: Tower Scandi 16in metal pedestal fan,
£59£47 at amazon.co.uk - Best desk fan: Meaco MeacoFan 360 Air Circulator, £59.49 at amazon.co.uk
- Best evaporator fan: Evasmart Evaporative Cooler, £239 at amazon.co.uk
- Best overall fan: Dyson Purifier Hot + Cool Formaldehyde, £599.99 at dyson.co.uk
- Best portable fan: Honeywell Turboforce HT 900E, £24 at amazon.co.uk
- Best USB-charged mini-fan: Muji USB Desk Fan, £35 at muji.eu
Skip to: Which fan is the best brand? | Which type of fan is best: pedestal fan or tower fan? | Which fan is best for a bedroom or home office? | How much should I pay for a fan? | What fans are best for cooling?
Which fan is the best brand?
You’ll likely have heard of some of the more premium brands available like Dyson and Duux to get your cooling fix at home, but figuring out which brand is best isn’t as nuanced as you might think. So long as your fan can blow cooler air around your room and do so quietly, you’ve got a good model on your hands. Dyson will always be the most popular and most sought-after brand, as it typically offers more comprehensive features like air purification, more powerful motors for a superior cooling breeze and the ability to reduce the overall temperature of a room a lot faster. They will also be more energy efficient than many others.
However, if you want a smaller desk fan to waft you as you work, there are plenty of other options available for a much more affordable price tag, with ultra-quiet blades, adjustable angles and long cables so you can move them around as needed. Some might also be smart-focused fans with Wi-Fi connectivity, smart voice assistants or the ability to connect to your phone so you can set the temperature as you fire off texts.
Which type of fan is best: pedestal fan or tower fan?
Pedestal fans are your bread and butter type, with a rotating, circular set of blades sat on an adjustable stand that oscillates air around the room. These are often more affordable, though they will be a little bit noisier. There's also the issue of plastic spinning blades simply pushing warm air at you rather than regulating the temperature, though many brands opt to use higher-quality material, turbo modes and oscillation to crank up the cooling power.
A tower fan, on the other hand, sucks in warmth and blasts out cooler air from one tall column which is much more compact. Most also come with remote controls, air-purifying settings, height adjustable, and additional options on top of fan speeds and rotations.
Which fan is best for a bedroom or home office?
If you're looking to keep a smaller room cool on those miserably hot days, you might not be particularly keen on a chunky, retro pedestal fan that looms over your bed or desk wafting air over you. Instead, a smaller desk fan will be the best option to cleanse the space of hot air. There are plenty of options that are small enough to fit on a bedside table or on the end of your desk, and won't be overkill compared to larger models.
How much should I pay for a fan?
If you really want to take the Stark Industries approach to home cooling, then a top-tier Dyson fan can cost upwards of £500. Still, you don't need to pay anywhere near that amount to enjoy features such as dehumidifiers, air purification, smart home compatibility, different speed settings and wireless remote controllers. Sweltering shoppers on a budget can pick up a smaller standing fan or desk fan to get the job done for a modest price tag, around £30-£50, so long as aesthetics aren’t much of a consideration. In all honesty, all you need in most cases is an oscillating fan with a powerful airflow that can simply move the air around you so you can actually get comfortable in the heat.
What fans are best for cooling?
It’s not enough to just buy a fan and be done with it. You have to help your fan help you, and while you might not have done so well in your physics exams at school, you’ll have to learn a bit of basic science in order to stay cool in the hotter months.
The best fans move the air around, but the biggest problem with this is that it’s simply wafting warm air across large spaces, which is doing nobody any favours. Instead, open a window, place the fan head in front of it and blow the air out the window. We know it sounds weird but stay with us: this increases the airflow and circulates warmer air from the fan motor and your room through the blades and sucks the outdoor cooler air back in. You can do this with any device, whether it’s a bladeless fan, floor fan, or pedestal fan, which should make it easier to manage.
To maximise this, you want to create a throughway for cooler air to move through large rooms and hallways by opening a window on the opposite side of the home. This will push air quickly around and create a cross breeze to keep temperatures low.
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Shop GQ’s pick of the best fans for 2024…
1/11Duux whisper flex smart fan
Pros: One of the quietest fans we’ve used | Plenty of speed settings | Voice assistant-enabled
Cons: Quite basic for the price | Fairly short battery lifeKey specs
- Speed settings: 26
- Smart features: Alexa and Google Assistant-enabled
- Noise levels: 13dbs
If the whirring drone of blades spinning does your head in, look no further than Duux’s specially designed fan that caters to those who need tranquillity alongside their cool air. Even on its high-velocity speed setting (of which there are a whopping 26) it operates at around 13 decibels, which is no louder than the sound of leaves rustling outside. You get a 12-hour timer so you can leave it on and it will auto-turn off for peace of mind.
You can use this fan as a plugged-in beast or have it on a battery so you can move it around a bit easier, and there’s an included remote control so you can adjust settings on the fly (or use voice control. It’s been a lifesaver for us as we test its cooling capabilities overnight with a whisper-quiet sleep mode that keeps the fan speed high but cuts down on the noise. From
£169£129. At amazon.co.uk and very.co.uk
2/11Boneco F220 Air Shower Floor-Standing Fan
Pros: Built-in air-purifying tech | Plenty of customisation options | Simple to set up and use
Cons: Quite expensive for a fan | Design might not please allKey specs
- Speed settings: 10
- Smart features: N/A
- Noise levels: 20dbs
When it comes to traditional bladed pedestal fans, you'll struggle to find any better looking than those from Boneco. Hailing from Switzerland, the heartland we think of most for its horological leanings, the F220 floor-standing fan has the same Bauhaus aesthetics as a minimalist watch, which will slot in unobtrusively to any clean, modern interior. But like any good Swiss watch, there's plenty more to it than its dashing looks.
The Boneco F220 has been primed for high air circulation. Though the head isn't motorised, it does an excellent job of pushing air around rooms of any size with its deep-cut blades that operate within four-speed settings. Rotating 270 degrees, it offers a directional breeze, but when pointed up towards the ceiling will provide an “air shower”, which has all the perks of air conditioning without any of the skin-drying effects. It’s lightweight and easy to carry, with the upright pole stand doubling up as a handy carry handle to find the best spot.
The best bit? A built-in UV light inside the blades will kill up to 99.99 per cent of bacteria and viruses as the fan pulls in air, purifying the room as it cools you down. From £159. At amazon.co.uk, currys.co.uk & vikings-direct.co.uk
3/11Dyson cool Tower Fan
Pros: No blades mean consistent air movement | Easy to clean | Remote control
Cons: Very expensiveKey specs
- Speed settings: 1
- Smart features: Remote control, sleep timer,
- Noise levels: 10dbs
Dyson may well be better known for its vacuum cleaners, but the air-cooling qualities of its bladeless fans are among the best we've tested, even if they do come at a steep price. The bladeless design maintains consistent airflow at a much more powerful rate than you'd expect, eliminating the warm air much more efficiently than a bladed fan. It comes with a remote so you can adjust your cooling to your own preferences, but there is also a timer that can stretch up to nine hours should you need it. £349. At dyson.co.uk & argos.co.uk
4/11Tower Scandi 16in metal pedestal fan
Pros: Simplistic design | Simple to set up and use | Built-in timer
Cons: Not the most comprehensive fan | Oscillation sometimes gets a bit stickyKey specs
- Speed settings: 3
- Smart features: N/A
- Noise levels: 25dbs
It appears the Scandinavians know how to make great-looking fans that do an excellent job of keeping your room cool. Set up is easy and only takes five minutes, as it’s all in one piece, and then you can play around with the three speed settings and wide oscillating angle to get things just right for you. Not sure you need it on all day? There’s also a timer included that can keep the air moving for up to two hours, where it will automatically enter sleep mode to save energy. And if you don’t like the look of this pedestal fan, you can opt for a smaller desktop fan or a taller tower fan from the same manufacturer. While we tested, we sometimes found the oscillating head to get stuck at certain points of motion, but if we kept it aimed right at us, the slick blades did a great job of keeping us cool. From
£59£49. At amazon.co.uk
5/11John Lewis Tower Fan
Pros: Energy saving mode | Quiet | Powerful motor
Cons: Reasonably expensive | Quite largeKey specs
- Speed settings: 3
- Smart features: Auto switch off timer, LED display, remote control
- Noise levels: 15dbs
Tower fans are a good option for most people short on space, as they have a smaller footprint but a taller stature, meaning they are no slouch when it comes to wafting cooler air around the room. This particular one from John Lewis stands 26 inches tall, with an oscillating body and a sleep mode that makes it perfect for smaller bedrooms or offices. £75. At johnlewis.com
6/11Princess Digital 68cm Bladeless Cooling Fan
Pros: Bladeless | 15-hour timer function | 3 fan modes | Well designed
Cons: Chunky | Fairly expensiveKey specs
- Speed settings: 3
- Smart features: Timer function,
- Noise levels: 20dbs
It's not often than you consider your fan's aesthetic qualities, but when your cooling machine looks this good it's hard to ignore. Princess Digital's bladeless fan is a bit of a chunky beast, but you won't want to tuck it away under the window, as it's an immensely powerful, with three modes (natural, normal, and sleep) – perfect for keeping things cool and quiet in the bedroom. £99. At dunelm.com, therange.co.uk & amazon.co.uk
7/11Meaco MeacoFan 360 Air Circulator
Pros: Excellent desk fan | Quiet blades | Easy to store
Cons: Not particularly powerful for large rooms | Quiet bulky if you have a small deskKey specs
- Speed settings: 2
- Smart features: N/A
- Noise levels: 15dbs
If you're looking for a desk fan that can eliminate stuffy air in small spaces, check out Meaco’s MeacoFan 360 Air Circulator as a top choice for less than £100. You shouldn’t underestimate the virtues of a quiet fan, and this one is great for setting up beside your laptop to stay comfortable during work zoom calls, with a whisper-quiet set of blades in a smart-looking body that delivers a supremely quiet operation. The lightweight chassis also makes it a great portable air conditioner if you want to move it around the home to clear the air, and you can manage speeds and oscillation via the control so you needn't get up off the sofa to adjust them. £59.49. At amazon.co.uk, meacho.com, currys.co.uk
8/11Evasmart Evaporative Cooler
Pros: Long-lasting cartridges | Alexa-enabled | Evaporates cooler air rather than blows air around
Cons: Unusual design might not interest everyone | Not technically a fanKey specs
- Speed settings: N/A
- Smart features: Alexa-enabled
- Noise levels: 5dbs
If it’s seamless, versatile smart home integration you’re hunting for, here you have it. Evasmart’s fan operates from a comprehensive control app (found in both Apple and Samsung’s respective app stores) and is compatible with Amazon Alexa and Google Assistant so you can scream “Alexa, make everything not hot, for the love of God!”
Not technically a fan but an “evaporative cooler”, it enlists water cartridges (which last up to six months) to cool a room using a fraction of the energy of a conventional fan or aircon unit. Better yet, the patented “Evabreeze” nanomaterial absorbs ten times more water than most standard air coolers, effectively humidifying the air for up to eight hours before it’ll need a refill, making it one of the best air purifiers around. As a finishing touch, the colour-changing LED display light makes for a home decor talking point – might we suggest locking it on a calming, cooling blue? £239. At currys.co.uk
9/11Dyson Purifier Hot + Cool Formaldehyde
Pros: Weapons-grade air purification | Smart voice control | Unparalleled air-cooling tech
Cons: Extremely expensive | Quite big and bulkyKey specs
- Speed settings: 8
- Smart features: Alexa and Google Assistant-enabled
- Noise levels: 16dbs
Only after the very best fan? Then Dyson’s premium Hot and Cold Formaldehyde fan should be your best bet. Arriving with the latest purifying and cooling tech, this one can scan your room for dust particles, pollutants, and allergens to improve the air quality of the whole room while it cools you down. Better still, it comes with the same slick aesthetic (just a small hint of Dalek) that won't compromise your interior design in the process.
And while it comes with a smart-looking remote that magnetically attaches to the top of the machine, you'd be much better off tweaking to the highest settings via the Dyson Link app on your smartphone, where you can set timers, fine-tune oscillation settings and monitor air purity over time. Don't have a phone to hand? Alexa, Google Home or Siri will all adhere to your every voice command, too, making this model one of the best smart fans around. It will constantly update you on the quality of the air in the room and it’s even self-cleaning, with a limescale removal setting built in to clear away gunk at the press of a button. £599.99. At dyson.co.uk & currys.co.uk
10/11Honeywell Turboforce HT 900E
Pros: Solid desk fan | Turbo mode for increased power | Small and easy to move around
Cons: Won’t do much for larger rooms | Cheap materials feel low-qualityKey specs
- Speed settings: 2
- Smart features: N/A
- Noise levels: 15dbs
Cheap, cheerful, and small enough to pop on the corner of the desk to keep you cool, this powerful little fan from Honeywell, comes with three powerful speeds and a fun-sounding turboforce motor that can pump cool air at you from almost 30 feet away, in case you’re trying to cool down in a massive room.
The blades and chassis are made of plastic, but it’s reasonably quiet for its size and can oscillate up and down rather than side to side, so you could pop it on the floor in the corner of the room to get a good waft of cold air at your legs. There’s no getting around that it is small, and so won’t cope with larger spaces or if the heat really is turned up to unbearable levels, but the fact that it’s so small and portable means you won’t be struggling to fit it on bedside tables or in more restricted spaces. £24. At amazon.co.uk & argos.co.uk
11/11Muji USB Desk Fan
Pros: USB-charged for unparalleled portability | Inversed blades move air around well
Cons: Not a particularly good-looking fan | Expensive for what it isKey specs
- Speed settings: 1
- Smart features: N/A
- Noise levels: 20dbs
For something to ease the annoyance of working from home during a heatwave, Muji’s USB offering is as inoffensive to your home office set up as a fan can be. Designed by experts in aerodynamics (not just Japanese minimalists), the double-inverse fan blades will do plenty more than simply blow hot air at you while you stress over a spreadsheet and its low noise means you won’t have to unplug it during a conference call. Given its price and size, don't assume this will do the same job as those more carefully engineered alternatives on our list, but it’ll certainly take the edge off. Just make sure you have an adapter handy, should you be working from a newer Macbook with USB-C ports only. £35. At muji.eu
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