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We’ve seen small, portable models before, and they’ve usually been a bit rubbish. Not so with the MeacoFan 260C Cordless Air Circulator, which has a lot of power, reaching a maximum air speed of 2.3m/s from 15cm away. That’s enough air to give you a cooling dose of air. There are four fan speeds in total, with the lowest running at 49.7dB, or quiet enough to sleep through. In fact, that is probably the ideal use, because it’s heavy enough to pose a problem getting up and down stairs if used at home, as well as taking up a lot of space and making a fairly industrial noise. You wouldn’t choose it for cooling your bedroom at night, but it’s the only one we reviewed that can stand a chance of cooling a 40 square-metre space. Sitting somewhere between an air conditioning unit and a fan, the Princess Smart Air Cooler uses a tank of water to cool the air through evaporation. This makes it more effective than just a fan on a hot summer’s day, although this model is also a powerful fan in its own right. Opt for the Dyson Purifier Hot+Cool Formaldehyde and you get air purifying too, but at a cost; for the price, the Princess Smart Heating and Cooling Tower delivers excellent performance all year-around. With some air coolers, there’s a risk of adding to the room’s humidity, which can be a problem if it already suffers from excess humidity. Plus, where water tanks are open inside the cooler, there’s also a risk of spillage – which can be a worry if you’re using a desktop model plugged into your laptop or PC.
Princess 358640 Smart Air Cooler | Princess
Unlike a fan, which can’t affect the actual temperature, the evaSMART can reduce the temperature of the air it blows at you: we measured a 3C drop. This is a small amount, but the cooling envelope of air around us made us feel much cooler than if we’d just used a fan. Its power helps a lot: we measured air speed at 4m/s from 15cm away making this one of the most powerful fans that we’ve tested. Fortunately, this fan is very quiet, moving between 43.5dB on the lowest fan setting up to an acceptable 57.2dB on the maximum setting. With a neat remote control giving you easy access to all of the fan’s features, this is a top-quality fan for keeping you cool and your room feeling fresh. If you want a desktop version, go for the MeacoFan 650 Air Circulator. All fans can adjust the amount of air that comes out of them by adjusting how fast their blades spin: the slower they go, the lower the air flow. Having control over the air flow is very important for different situations, and where you sit. So, as our tests show, the slower the fan speed, the less the impact is at distance, so if you sit further from the fan or want to cool more people, you need a higher fan speed. Conversely, if you’re sitting at a desk and just want to cool yourself, then you can get by with a lower fan speed, which will also mean that you don’t blow papers around on your desk. Additionally, it should be easy to use and maintain, with features like air cleaning filters, automatic shutoff and timers. You’ll also want to make sure it’s energy-efficient. The more powerful units use more energy, although all air coolers are much cheaper to run than air conditioners.” If you’re looking for a powerful fan that will blow colder-than-room-temperature air and doesn’t cost a fortune to run, this is a great choice.
How we tested
A fan with a remote control can be a good option if you want to adjust settings on the fly. This is particularly true in the bedroom, where you may not want to get out of bed to turn off your fan. On that note, look for a fan with a sleep timer so that it will shut off after a set time. In this test, I haven’t given any 10 out of 10 scores because I don’t want to give the impression that air coolers are perfect. In a heatwave, an air cooler will be just enough to make the difference between sleeping and not. The Princess – a Dutch brand – was the first air cooler I tried, in the middle of 2022’s heatwave when all the big-beast proper air conditioners were sold out. It was a bit of a revelation, reducing the temperature in my bedroom from an entirely unreasonable 23 degrees (at midnight!) to a more bearable 19. All fans are put through their paces in the same way, so that we can accurately compare the performance of each one. We start by measuring air flow in metres per second (m/s). We measure at 15cm and 1m, to see how performance drops off, and at minimum and maximum fan speeds, to see what the range is. Ideally, a fan should offer a good range of speeds, ranging from a gentle breeze to a full on blast of air.
air coolers 2023: Evaporative fans tried and tested from Best air coolers 2023: Evaporative fans tried and tested from
Sliding the plastic disc up and down lets you point the air flow where you want it. There’s also a 90-degree oscillation mode, so you can sweep the air around. The benefits of the new system are three-fold. First, you can sit in a bubble of cooling air; secondly, on oscillation mode, the fan doesn’t blow bits of paper on your desk everywhere; third, the fan is far smaller than Dyson’s previous desktop models. Air coolers are much cheaper to run* than portable air conditioners, averaging 2-4p compared to 20-40p per hour. They’re also much lighter, averaging around 6-7kg rather than 20-30kg, and require no complicated set-up – although it’s wise to leave a door or window open to avoid too much humidity building up in the room, reducing their effectiveness. The question is, can they compete when a heatwave strikes?Next, this model is also a humidifier, adding moisture to the air when needed. Again, it’s a fully automated system that will only add moisture when it’s needed. This helps improve the home environment and can help with dry skin and make it easier to breathe. AirConDirect’s Victor Stoica, another longstanding aircon expert, adds that they’re more environmentally friendly than refrigerant units, since they don’t use harmful chemicals. “Also, unlike air conditioners, they’re suitable for outdoor spaces like garages, workshops and patios,” he says. “They create spot cooling, dropping the air temperature by a few degrees.” Tower fans are a great space saver but they often sacrifice power to get a slimmer body. Not so with the VonHaus 35″ Tower Fan, which manages to deliver some of the best fan performance that we’ve seen, both up close and across a room.
Princess Smart Air Cooler review - Tech Advisor Princess Smart Air Cooler review - Tech Advisor
We also like the fact that you can clean the filter under the tap or in the dishwasher, and that the illuminated side panels can be set to glow with a choice of seven colours if you fancy a little mood lighting. While it could be easier to remove the filter and get the water tanks in and out of place, for sheer value and convenience, this cut-price compact cooler is a winner. Even the least energy-efficient – the Princess Smart Air Cooler – wasn't much more expensive, averaging about 2p an hour. We measured fan speed on maximum at 3.08m/s at 15cm, dropping to 1.31m/s at 1m. That’s pretty good, and enough air flow that you can feel this fan across a room, although there are more powerful fans on this list. On the minimum speed, the fan runs at 1.31m/s at 15cm, which is actually a little too powerful and we’d have preferred a greater range in performance. verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ All the fans on our list rotate to some extent, but the models with greater ranges of motion can help improve the comfort of several people at once. For a living room, try the Dyson Purifier Cool Auto React, which rotates just shy of 360 degrees. Weight Alongside these controls, there’s a timer (one, two or four hours) and oscillation mode (65° angle). If you don’t want to walk to the fan, then there’s also a remote control that attaches magnetically when not in use. There are controls at the base of the fan although these are a little confusing: you have to tap, rather than hold, the power button to change modes. Fortunately, there’s a remote control in the box, which makes it easier to use the Duux Globe. Unfortunately, it doesn’t move as much air as its 120W motor would suggest and is a little bit more unwieldy than the other tower models. But it’s solidly constructed, has a big water tank and should last a long time.
Best Fan 2023: Dispel the summer heat with our top picks
Desktop fans are the traditional models. These let you tilt the fan to direct airflow; you turn on the oscillation mode to let the fan sweep from side to side. As anyone who’s tried to buy a new fan in the middle of summer can attest, there’s a ridiculous amount of choice out there and mostly from brands you’ve never heard of. Just take one look at the available wares of some of the biggest online retailers and you’ll know exactly what we’re talking about.
The best air coolers for 2023 are:
Fans make you feel cooler by helping sweat evaporate from your body. How effective a fan is, depends largely on how humid it is. When there’s high humidity, it’s hard for sweat to evaporate, so a fan doesn’t do much to help cool you. This is why on humid days we tend to think of them as being hot and sweaty. Conversely, when humidity is lower, it’s much easier for evaporation to happen, which is when fans feel the most effective. Air purifiers are a good way to boost the internal comfort of your home. They’re designed to filter out impurities in the air, including pollutants, allergens, dust and, in some cases, gasses. By filtering these out of your air, you get cleaner, purer air inside your home, which is beneficial to all but particularly those with respiratory problems or allergies. We measured noise at a maximum of 48.5dB on the minimum setting, up to a more powerful 60.1dB on maximum – both measured from 15cm. This means that you can always hear the fan when it’s turned on, although it’s not too distracting. There is a remote control and a display that shows you what the current temperature and fan setting is. This display is a little hard to read, but we can forgive this minor issue, given how good the fan is. Even better, the VonHaus 35″ Tower Fan is one of the cheapest fans that we’ve tested, too. If you’re after a powerful tower fan at a great price, look no further. For this reason, you may want to think about buying a dehumidifier, too, which will improve a fan’s performance and make your room feel more comfortable. The increased air circulation can also stop a room from feeling stuffy.
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