Buying guide for best tower fans
When the weather heats up and the temperature rises, it’s time to reach for your trusty fan. But if you’re short on space, not just any fan will do. Tower fans are tall and narrow and, while they may lack the power of a stand or box fan, the air flowing from a tower fan is more widely distributed, and oscillation disperses the air more evenly through a room.
Not only do tower fans look stylish, but they also fit in corners and spaces where other fans don’t. Many come equipped with a timer, variable speed controls, oscillation modes and smart app compatibility. Most come with a remote control that stores in the unit itself.
Tower fans can be standard or bladeless. The rotor or impeller in standard fans generates a column of air that is directed up the length of the tower and expelled through a grille. Some models have multiple rotors or full-length impellers for impressive air movement. Bladeless fans have a hidden rotor in the base and expel air through vents in a tube, making them safer and quieter than standard tower fans.
We looked at and tested a variety of tower fans. If you want to invest in a top-of-the-line model with exceptional features, one that will keep you comfortable and the air in your house cleaner, the Dyson Purifier Hot+Cool HP07 is a stylish and multifunctional choice that heats, cools and purifies the air. For those seeking a simple yet effective model, we recommend the Honeywell QuietSet 8 Whole Room Tower Fan.
Best tower fans
Dyson products are a splurge compared to most other brands, but they pack amazing and sometimes jaw-dropping features in sleek, futuristic designs. The Dyson Purifier Hot+Cool combines a tower fan, air purifier and heater in one premium package. We tested the Dyson Hot+Cool and, as expected, found it to be a feature-packed appliance with impressive smart controls and a smartphone app.
As a tower fan, it uses bladeless air multiplication to project a powerful breeze across a room without any exposed blades or rotors. You can change the strength and direction of the air flow and set the Hot+Cool’s oscillation anywhere from 0 to a full 360 degrees, covering a whole room if you want. As an air purifier, it comes with a HEPA filter and built-in air quality monitor. It also includes a heating function for use during cold weather.
At about a tenth of the price of our top pick, you might think the Honeywell QuietSet tower fan skimps on features. True, it isn’t an air purifier or heater, and it isn’t bladeless, but it has plenty of capabilities and a lot of style at an appealing price point.
With eight settings, you can adjust the Honeywell fan from a firm breeze down to settings so gentle they’re barely audible, hence the name QuietSet. In fact, one of the settings is specifically designed to generate soothing white noise for sleep or concentration. The large display that covers the top panel is dimmable if you want to use the fan in the bedroom. The Honeywell fan has a timer for automatic shut-off and a handy little remote that snaps into the main unit for storage.
One of the most popular tower fans on the market, the Dreo Nomad One makes an impression by using a full-height impeller rather than a rotor to generate air flow. The impeller extends the length of the tower, generating air movement directly instead of via the usual bottom-up distribution of other tower fans.
Like other Dreo fans, the Nomad One is notably quiet, only 48 decibels at the strongest of its four speed settings, which is softer than a quiet conversation. Its lowest setting is 28 decibels, which is barely audible. At 36 inches tall and 9 pounds, it’s as portable as a pedestal or box fan. The grille and impeller are more easily detached for cleaning than those on other tower fans. The Dreo Nomad One also has a programmable timer and comes with a remote.
Some tower fans aren’t restricted to indoor use. The Lasko Outdoor Living tower fan is a great choice for cooling off on your porch, patio or other outdoor space. Its weather-resistant construction stands up to rain and UV rays. The electrical components are similarly designed for outdoor safety, with a built-in circuit breaker and three-prong grounded plug on its 10-foot power cord.
The Lasko tower fan boasts internal louvered oscillation, a wide 13-inch base for added stability and a 42-inch height that’s ideal for outdoor seating. It offers four air speeds, including a quieter Night Mode. And at 15 pounds with a full-size handle, the Lasko Outdoor Living fan is easy to move around.
Vornado is famous for its air circulators, fans whose blades and housing create a vortex that moves all the air in a room. The Vornado 184 brings that concept into the tower fan format. Unlike most tower fans, which distribute their breeze laterally via oscillation, the Vornado 184 generates a steady stream of whole-room air circulation from its eye-catching contoured vents.
Like Vornado’s other air circulators, this one prioritizes air movement through the whole room over a strong breeze in one direction. We tested this fan in our Testing Lab and found it to be very effective at creating a cool and comfortable space. We also liked its simple controls and the way the round remote snaps magnetically into place atop the unit.
The Ozeri Ultra looks particularly sleek and futuristic with its flip-up see-through lid, detachable remote and brightly colored front display. What’s particularly useful about the Ozeri Ultra is its adjustable height. You can place the assembled fan housing directly on its base for a height of 32 inches, or you can use the support column to raise the fan to 42 inches, putting the effective breeze 10 inches above the floor.
The Ozeri Ultra fan boasts quiet operation at its three air speeds and offers three wind-flow patterns, including a nature mode that mimics a natural breeze. In addition to timer setting, speed, pattern and 90-degree oscillation status, the display also shows the room’s ambient air temperature, so the fan doubles as a room thermometer.
At about the same price as our Best Bang pick from Honeywell, the Lasko Wind Curve tower fan is another solid choice for your cooling comfort. This 42-inch fan offers three speeds, a programmable timer and a wide 15-inch base to support oscillation. The slightly arched shape is designed to direct air a little higher and lower than other tower fans with straight housing. The Wind Curve features a simple five-button control pad with easy-to-read indicator lights, as well as a handy remote control. Among the settings is a nighttime mode that automatically lowers the speed of the fan to a quiet 31 decibels and dims its indicator lights so as not to disturb sleep.
How we tested
First impressions
- Ease of setup: We set up the fan and took note of any assembly required and if any tools were needed.
- Appearance: We evaluated the fan based on its looks, noting its dimensions, weight and design.
- Construction: We judged the fan on its product build, its materials, its sturdiness and stability, and on how easy or difficult it was to disassemble for cleaning.
Usage
- Controls: In putting the fan through its paces, we noted what sort of controls it has, how easy they were to use and if it had any displays or other visual indicators.
- Speed settings: We checked the number of speed settings and how high or low they each were.
- Special features: If a fan promised features like air purification, outdoor use, whole room circulation, etc., we noted the feature and evaluated its performance.
Performance
- Cooling: We used the fan in a real-world setting to see how quickly, effectively and thoroughly it cooled our testers in small and large rooms.
- Noise: At each speed setting and with various features activated, we noted how loud or quiet the fan was and whether it disturbed rest or conversation.
- Oscillation: For oscillating tower fans, we tested the oscillation angle, noise and how it affected the fan’s stability.
What to know before you buy a tower fan
Durability and maintenance
Most fans, including tower fans, last between 3 and 5 years. Using a fan in a very dusty or gritty environment can shorten its lifespan. Avoid using a tower fan outside unless the product specifications say it’s intended for outdoor use.
It’s smart to clean the grille on a tower fan regularly. Some fans are designed to be difficult to take apart. We recommend reading the user manual closely for the recommended upkeep and maintenance suggestions.
Controls
Tower fans come with a convenient control panel near the top of the housing, with a large graphical display that makes it easy to view and control the different settings. These controls can be simple push buttons or digital touch pads. Most tower fans come with a remote control, allowing you to slow down, speed up or shut off the fan from across the room, among other functions. If you use Amazon’s Alexa or Echo, Google Assistant or Apple’s Siri or Home, look for a tower fan with controls that are compatible so you can connect it to your voice or smart home hub.
If you need specific features, look for a tower fan that has some or all of the following:
Variable speed: Tower fans come with at least three and as many as eight different speed settings. The lower settings are usually the quietest, while the higher speeds provide the most air flow.
Oscillation: Almost all tower fans oscillate, or rotate the grille side to side. Oscillation distributes the cool air in a wider arc, allowing one fan to more effectively move air through a large space.
Timer: If you want the fan to run while you fall asleep but not have it running all night, or you often forget to turn off the fan, look for a model with an automatic shut-off function or timer.
Noise
No one likes a loud appliance, especially when it comes to fans. At the same time, many people enjoy the white noise that a fan can provide. Many tower fans advertise how loud or soft they are in decibels (dB). Anything below 20 decibels is very quiet, like the sound of your own breathing or that of a quiet library. Normal conversation, a refrigerator or traffic is around 40 to 60 decibels. Anything above 60 decibels registers as loud, and above 80 decibels is potentially harmful. Most standard and bladeless fans don’t exceed 50 decibels on their highest settings
Placement
The slim silhouette of a tower fan lets you position it out of the way, but improper placement can minimize the fan’s cooling power. Keep it out of busy walkways but put it where the air can move about with the least obstruction. Most oscillating fans rotate between 90 and 180 degrees. If your fan oscillates 180 degrees, it makes more sense to place it next to a wall where it can reach all areas in front of it, while a model with 90-degree oscillation would do well in a corner.
FAQ
Q. How much do tower fans cost?
A. Standard tower fans cost between $50 and $150, with good models starting around the $70 mark. Bladeless tower fans, especially those made by Dyson, are much more expensive, costing as much as $700, although in those cases the brand reputation, features and build quality are considerable. We don’t recommend bladeless fans that cost less than $100 because of quality and longevity concerns.
Q. Are tower fans good for the environment?
A. Tower fans use a little more energy than a desk fan but less than most box fans. All fans are much more economical to run than an air conditioner and don’t use refrigerants or other chemicals. To optimize your tower fan’s energy consumption, use the lowest speed setting that’s comfortable, dim the display if possible, activate the auto shut-off feature and clean the vents and grille regularly.
Q. Are tower fans easy to move around?
A. Tower fans are usually easy to move around, but they can be unwieldy due to their design. If you think you’ll be moving your tower fan a lot, check to see what kind of handle or grip it has and how much the model weighs.
