Thirdly, the 'natural wind' mode deserves a mention of its own. It may sound trivial, but if you're sat directly in front of a fan during a heatwave, then the subtle variation in the airflow that mimics a natural breeze is far less tiring to have cooling your skin than the constant blast of a non-variable airflow. Out of every fan on our list, the Princess Smart fan offers what we think is the best value and balance of features for most people. It’s essentially just a high-quality tower fan with smart features built-in, which should be precisely what you’re looking for.

Imagine: a wonderfully cooling breeze that follows you into every room of the house. Wonderfully fresh air in every corner turns your hot, stuffy house into an oasis of cool. New: the Whisper Flex Ultimate: an incredibly versatile, energy-efficient and powerful fan that can be set to your ideal temperature and works whisper-quietly. And you can take it anywhere: the rechargeable battery lasts 12 hours for wireless mobility around the home and beyond. Let a breath of fresh air blow through your home!

Controls are simple, using the built-in speed control on the fan, the remote control, or the app, compatible with any modern device. There are 26-speed settings, a seriously wide variety, as well as the usual variety of function modes, including night settings. The AirGo Smart Fan was supposedly the UK’s first smart pedestal fan, so has some serious heritage to build on. It’s also Quiet Mark approved, making this one of the quietest fans on the market for its 55W power rating.

Fan technology has changed a lot over the last ten years, with new designs and DC motors bringing in an era of quieter, more energy-efficient but still very powerful air-shifters. What hasn’t changed so much, however, is the way that fans are controlled and used. Buttons, switches and simple LED indicators are still very much the norm, and in an era when even light bulbs and heaters are working with apps and voice control, smart fans are few and far between. Oscillation range– There’s no fun if your smart fan only blows air out at one spot and you constantly have to mess around with it. This is a rare problem as most of the fans we’ve seen rotate automatically, cooling our entire room down.

Simply the best!

Typical of this fan is its enormous power. A strong stream of cool air is easily blown up to 15 meters. Ideal if you want to cool a larger room. You can simply operate the Whisper from your chair, with the handy remote control. Choose which mode you prefer: one speed, \’natural wind\’ or, for example, the night mode where you are lulled to sleep by the whooshing of the wind. I walked towards it curiously. Duux mentioned the white base as well as a digital circle with 11 on it and some other symbols. I still heard nothing except the cooling wind. The Whisper Flex is an all-rounder. It has 26 modes, is energy efficient and has a powerful motor with dual fan blades. In addition, thanks to the horizontal and vertical swing, the wind blows in all directions. And all this with minimal noise production.

To provide the necessary stability for the floor-standing configuration, this fan’s base seems a bit large in desk fan mode. Its most notable feature is the big, round control panel and display near the front. This is clearly reminiscent of Nest thermostats, working in a similar way: turning the ring scrolls between menu items, and pressing selects one. It works well once you’re used to it, but the ring doesn’t feel particularly happy about turning. My sample had a mis-aligned and poorly fitted glass top, too. As one of our reviewers said, 'It's the only fan I can get to sleep with; it's so quiet. If I wasn't able to feel how powerful it was, I'd forget it was even on'. High praise indeed considering the headache-inducing drone that a lot of fans produce whilst they're operating.

Meet the whisper-quiet Duux fan that surprises you with a gentle breeze, a strong gust of wind and everything in between. The Duux Whisper has no less than 26 modes. This way you will always find the perfect airflow strength. What\’s great: it doesn\’t matter where you go in the room, because thanks to the horizontal and vertical oscillating function, it brings a pleasant coolness everywhere.

Meet the whisper-quiet Duux fan that surprises you with a soft breeze, a strong gust of wind and everything in between. The Duux Whisper has no fewer than 26 settings. This way you always find the perfect air flow strength. What\’s really nice: it doesn\’t matter where you are in the room, because it brings a pleasant coolness everywhere thanks to the horizontal and vertical oscillating function. While most fans only offer 1, 2 or 3 different wind speeds, the Whisper has no fewer than 26. This way you determine exactly how hard the wind blows through the room. Is it energy efficient? Another thing that’s easy to overlook, especially if the fan is on the cheap side is how efficient with power the fan is while running. Smart fans generally use less power than normal ones but it’s still something we look into.While we tend to prefer the more modern and slightly more efficient designs of tower fans, the greater power and airflow of a pedestal fan definitely still has a place in a lot of homes. A smart fan is relatively simple to describe. It’s literally a fan that can be controlled through Bluetooth, using your phone or other devices. As for power consumption, the Whisper Flex consumes around 28.5W at full power and just 3.5W at its lowest setting. Again, you’ll struggle to find a more frugal pedestal fan, though the Meaco 1056P manages to push a little more air for fewer Watts.