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Tower fans are becoming increasingly popular for their portability and how easy it is to fit one in a tight space. You’ll save a ton of room by switching to a tower fan, but do they actually blow cold air? After all, the whole point of getting a fan is to make the room more bearable.
Tower fans blow cold air if they have evaporative cooling tanks or if there’s a bowl of ice in front of the fan. However, these fans usually circulate the air, making it feel colder than it is. Tower fans cycle air conditioning air and other sources of cold air, thus lowering the room’s temperature.
In this post, I’ll explain why some tower fans blow colder air than others, how you can make your tower fan blow cold air, and whether or not they’re colder than regular fans.
Do Tower Fans Give Cold Air?
Tower fans don’t give cold air unless they have evaporative technology or ice bowls in front of them. However, they pull the coldest source of air and circulate it throughout the room. The airflow blows against perspiration, which naturally makes you feel colder.
Appliance Analysts recommend using tower fans for small rooms since they don’t take up too much horizontal space and they can oscillate. These movements are known to quickly move air in the area. You can run a tower fan at a low speed as early as possible in the morning for the best results.
Quick Suggestion: Turn on the tower fan before it gets too warm in the house. Shut the windows and close the blinds to prevent the sunlight from heating the windows. Most windows have horrible heat insulation, and they can actually make the room hotter than it is outside. Circulate the cold morning air throughout the room, then close the windows when it’s hotter outside than it is inside.
If you’re looking for a tower fan that cools the room, try the Ontel Evaporative Portable Cooling Tower Fan. This fan has a removable water tank that you can fill. Load up the tank and watch as the tower fan slowly disperses the cold air into the room. It doesn’t leave a film or mist, so you don’t have to worry about extreme humidity
The aforementioned tower fan also includes these perks:
- Three speed settings
- Oscillation
- Light humidifying
- Air filtration for a cleaner room
- Auto-shutoff safety features
- Night lights
- Ultra-quiet operation
There are a couple of other ways to cool the room with a tower fan if you don’t want to try a new one. Let’s dive into the tips and tricks below.
How Do You Make Your Tower Fan Blow Cold Air?
To make your tower fan blow cold air, follow these steps:
- Turn off the oscillation setting. Tower fans oscillate back and forth, which means they can’t blow concentrated air on the ice, cold towel, or water bowl placed in front of them. Stop the oscillation and point the tower fan in whichever direction you want most of the cold air to go.
- Place a bowl of ice in front of the tower fan. Temperature Master suggests placing a bowl of ice where the air flows to lower the room’s temperature. This classic tip is an excellent way to cool down a small room without adding air conditioners and evaporative fans to the space.
- Place a bowl of water in the freezer to replenish the ice in front of the tower fan. I like freezing a whole bowl of water rather than using a handful of ice cubes. The dense block of ice takes longer to melt, which means you don’t have to replenish the bowl too often.
- Turn the fan on its highest setting. Higher speeds push the cold, icy air around the room much quicker. The breeze flows over the ice and cools the room instantly. I’ve used this trick countless times on 100-degree (Fahrenheit) days numerous times without running the air conditioner.
If you don’t want to put ice in front of a tower fan, consider getting the previously mentioned evaporative tower fan. You won’t have to use ice and bowls, which saves space and energy. You can keep your tower fan’s sleek, thin design, too.
Pro Suggestion: If your tower fan isn’t blowing air like it used to, consider cleaning the blades with paper towels and compressed air. Debris often clogs the blades and bearings, which overheats the motor and limits the airflow.
Are Tower Fans Colder Than Regular Fans?
Tower fans aren’t colder than regular fans because any fan can’t lower a room’s temperature without evaporative cooling or a coolant. You’ll often find portable air conditioners with built-in fans, but they’re not considered the same as tower fans, floor fans, or pedestal fans.
Many people enjoy using tower fans in bedrooms, bathrooms, and other small spaces because they regulate the temperature.
Interestingly enough, tower fans can circulate the coldest air in the room, but they don’t produce cold air. In other words, the room can only be as cold as the coldest air, rather than lowering its temperature as it does with an air conditioner.
Tower fans can overheat if they’re used around the clock. It’s best to give your tower fan a break every few hours to prevent it from getting permanently damaged. Fix your loud tower fan to prevent worn bearings, misaligned motor shafts, and clogged blades from overheating the fan.
That being said, tower fans typically don’t get as hot as regular fans. An old-school fan’s motor gets hot quickly, which can make the room a bit warmer than it was. People often believe tower fans (and other modern fan designs) produce colder air because their motors don’t run as hot.
Here’s a list of reasons tower fans stay cold for many hours:
- Tower fans are thinner, which means they typically have smaller motors.
- Most tower fans require less electricity than regular fans, and they create less heat.
- Tower fans are often designed to stay cool and quiet.
- Some tower fans have overheating settings and night mode options that slow the fans or turn them off if they’ve been on for too long.
