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       The ideal time to buy a fan is before you need it. Summer is getting warmer and wetter, with the recent heat wave causing record temperatures across the UK. If you buy one of the best fans on our list too late, you’ll have to spend days and nights waiting for it to arrive. It’s also not uncommon for some models to completely sell out, leaving you with fewer options in terms of price, durability, and portability.
       In general, fans are much cheaper to buy and run than air conditioners, with basic models starting from £20. However, cheaper fans are often noisier and have limited features, so you may have to spend a little more to find a quieter fan with a remote control, timer, or even smart home features and voice control.
       If you don’t think it makes sense to buy a fan that you’ll only use a few days a year, there are fans that can also be used as heaters, providing year-round availability.
       From small table fans and portable fans to large tower fans and fan-heater hybrids, we’ve tested a variety of fans to find out which ones provide the best heat protection.
       We tested each fan in different sized rooms in our home to evaluate each unit’s cooling capabilities. From small home offices to large open living spaces, we place the fan in the center of the room and determine whether its impact is felt on the sides of the room. For small portable fans, we measure performance by calculating how close you need to be to the device to experience the benefits. We pressed all the buttons, played with timers, remotes and noise levels to get a full understanding of what will be most useful when the warm weather arrives.
       This multitasking device doubles as a heater, air purifier, and (almost silent) fan, making it very useful considering it can be used all year round. Visually it’s very similar to the Dyson AM09 hot+cool (also included in this review), but the Vortex Air model is over £100 cheaper. Also, unlike the AM09, it comes with a HEPA 13 air purifier.
       We love its streamlined design that blends seamlessly into the room. While we tested the white and silver design, it is available in eight colors to complement your decor.
       The device comes with a remote control timer, so you can adjust settings from anywhere in the room without getting up or pressing any buttons. The maximum setting was so strong that we felt a significant drop in temperature just two minutes after turning on the fan. Typically, bladeless fans like these can quickly cool a room by drawing in air and circulating it faster than a traditional fan, and this model is no exception. The heating function works just as quickly.
       There are timer settings that allow you to set the device to run all night to help you sleep better during the heat. We also really liked the smart thermostat feature, which meant we could select the temperature and automatically turn off the fan when the room cooled down to that level, helping to save energy.
       Working from home has its benefits, but leaving the office air conditioner on on a hot day is not one of them. If you can’t help but spend hours in front of your computer, then purchasing a desk fan in the summer is a no-brainer and can make your life more comfortable. Since you’ll be sitting next to the fan, you won’t have to spend extra on fancy features, smart controls, or even tons of power.
       This model has everything you need to keep you cool, all at an affordable price. It’s easy to use and assemble, has only two speeds, and doesn’t even take up much space since it’s much smaller than a traditional desk fan.
       Although it sits on a sturdy base, we especially like that it can be clipped to the side of a desk to take up less space, which we think makes it a must-have for a summer office.
       If you can’t decide whether you want a desk fan to cool you while you work or a floor fan to cool the entire room, then this convertible model from Shark is the perfect choice. It can be used in 12 different ways, from wired to wireless, and even outdoors. It can be placed on the floor to cool you down when you’re having a picnic, or it can be turned into a floor fan when you’re sitting at the table or relaxing in a lounge chair. If you want to feel like you’re sitting by the pool, even if you’re just on the balcony, there’s an InstaCool spray attachment that attaches to a hose and sprays a fine mist of cool water at you like a breeze.
       The battery life is very long and provides 24 hours of cooling on a full charge, so you can use it to sit outside in the garden all day to replenish your vitamin D stores without breaking a sweat. It has five cooling settings and a 180-degree swivel that does a great job of cooling the air on both sides of the device as well as directly in front of the device.
       The set weighs 5.6 kg, it is strong and durable, so it will not tip over even if accidentally hit. However, the downside of this is that you will need two hands when you want to move it from one place to another.
       If you need to go out on a hot day for a wedding or barbecue, this neck fan is an affordable way to make life more comfortable. When fully charged, the battery life is up to 7 hours, so you can use it throughout the day. With three settings, you can increase the freshness when the midday sun is strongest, then reduce the speed for a gentle breeze.
       The streamlined, minimalist design ensures you won’t look like you’re wearing a fan and will only be heard by those close to you as the noise level is less than 31dB at its lowest level. We like that it provides constant cooling to the neck and face, and we find it more efficient than a handheld fan. Another benefit of wearing a fan versus holding one is that your hands are free to take photos, eat, drink, and enjoy summer socializing.
       If you’ve been thinking about spending money on appliances that you only use during the hottest days of the year, Dyson has the answer. AM09 not only cools, but also heats the room, so you can control the temperature in your home all year round.
       If you use a device regularly, you need it to be easy to look at, and luckily, this model also meets that requirement. It’s a stylish dream machine with curved edges and a long power cord so you won’t have to worry about placing it near an outlet. The easy-to-read LED display also shows the current temperature of your room.
       The cooling effect is very good, especially when the fan rotates 350 degrees, so it can be used no matter where you are in the room. This is more than twice the vibration frequency of Vortex Air clean. Unlike the Clean, the Dyson model also supports voice services and easy-to-use apps, and also has a night mode that makes it quieter.
       No other fan in this review has the same features as this one, but it’s also the most expensive fan we’ve tested, so you may want to figure out how much you’ll use the app and voice control features before investing any money.
       Even at maximum power, this fan operates with a noise level of only 13 dB, making it completely silent. Although this is the most expensive floor fan we’ve tested, it offers 26 different speed settings so you can precisely control the temperature level in your room. We were impressed by the natural breeze pattern, simulating real wind, noticeably different from constant air currents.
       It’s also the only floor fan we’ve tested that oscillates up and side to side, and the only one that has a free app. This allows you to control the fan from any room in the house.
       Thanks to its double blades, the fan has an air path of up to 15 m, so it can cool both large kitchens and small bedrooms. In night mode, the LED temperature indicator dims and can be set to run for 1 to 12 hours before it automatically turns off. The height is adjustable so you can use it as a table or floor fan.
       Anyone who has ever been camping knows that when there are multiple bodies in a tent, the temperatures can often get very hot and sticky. This EasyAcc model is a multi-functional wonder that can be used as a standing fan, a personal fan, or as a base to keep your campsite cool. Simply pull the pole to extend the length and you have a fan that will keep your two-person tent cool. However, we’re not sure it’s powerful enough for four people, so you might want to buy two.
       It comes with a rechargeable battery, meaning you won’t have to drag cables across the floor or worry about where the nearest outlet is. What’s really useful is that it has a built-in light, so you can use it instead of a flashlight during nighttime bathroom breaks. The light is adjustable, so it can also be used as a night light for campers who have trouble falling asleep.
       This stylish black pedestal fan features a unique five-blade design that draws more air per revolution than a standard four-blade fan to quickly cool your room. It has 60W of power and three speed settings, and we found that the highest speed produced quite a bit of wind.
       It has a 90-degree swivel from side to side, which is half that of other models, but this fan is also much cheaper. As we sat next to the fan, the lack of movement didn’t bother us as we could still feel the rush of refreshing cold air.
       Although it only comes in black, it has a built-in carrying handle that makes it easy to tuck out of sight when not in use.
       Want to recreate the feeling of office air conditioning while working from home during a heat wave? LV50 uses water evaporation technology to simultaneously cool and humidify the air. The hot air is drawn in by the fan, passes through the cooling evaporative filter and is blown back out as cold air.
       A USB cable is included in the package, so you can easily charge the fan using your PC or laptop while working without worrying about running out of battery. It lasts four hours on a full charge, so we also tested it on our bedside table overnight and found the humidifier to be particularly refreshing. For a very compact device, it offers everything you need for cooling at a very reasonable price.
       This model comes with a powerful 120W motor and a huge 20-inch fan head that allows you to comfortably cool open spaces. Three speed settings allow you to adjust the intensity of the jet depending on where the fan is located in the room. It’s a bulky device that can operate in elevated temperatures for long periods of time, so it’s also great for home workouts. If you want to use your home gym, treadmill or exercise bike on hot days, this will be your new best friend.
       We love that this fan can be tilted up and down, so it can also be used to blow air up onto a desk. If you’re looking for a fan that can be used for a variety of purposes, such as working out and working at your desk, this could be the answer. However, it doesn’t have remote control or timer features, so we don’t recommend using it overnight.
       While tower fans are best suited for cooling large spaces, their sheer height means they are likely to stand out in most homes. This mini tower fan is the perfect solution. It’s powerful enough to really shine when the temperature rises and vibrates up to 70 degrees, but it’s only 31 inches tall so it won’t take up an entire room. It also weighs just 3kg and comes with a carrying handle so you can easily move it anywhere in the house.
       Although it looks a little plasticky, it’s one of the least noticeable fans we’ve ever tested, and we barely noticed it when it was installed in the corner of our living room.
       There’s no app connectivity or voice control, but the fan does have a timer so it can be set to turn off every 30 minutes, up to 120 minutes. It’s also nice to be able to add the scent to a small tray on a fan and let the breeze carry it around. Overall a great buy.
       When we dream about air conditioners, what sometimes comes to mind are fans that simply circulate hot air. This air circulator is the best compromise because it moves in a circular motion and pushes air away from the walls and ceiling, keeping the entire room (and everyone in it) cool.
       Not only is it amazingly attractive, but it’s also so effective that it can transform even the most stuffy rooms in our homes in a matter of minutes. Miraculously, our room even remained cool after we turned off the fan.
       That’s not all. While the maximum noise level is listed at 60dB, we think it feels much quieter thanks to the brushless DC motor and is cheaper to run. At maximum fan speed, Meaco says it costs less than 1p per hour (based on current electricity prices).
       The fan also has an eco mode that adjusts the speed depending on temperature changes, a sleep timer and even a night light, which is very convenient when used in a children’s room.
       It’s thicker and takes up more space than most desktops, but when it works this well, we’re definitely not complaining.
       This attractive black and white fan cools the room quickly. If you’ve been out all day and come back to the sauna, it only takes a few minutes to feel instant relief. This is due to the impressive maximum fan speed of 25 feet per second.
       While this is one of the most powerful fans we’ve tested, with a noise level of 28 dB, it’s also one of the quietest. We have to pay attention to hear. But the most impressive thing about this Levoit tower fan is that it comes with a smart temperature sensor. It monitors the indoor temperature in your home and reacts accordingly by changing the fan speed. Ideal for busy people who don’t want to add “changing fan speed” to their to-do list. However, if you want to take back control, it’s relatively easy to switch to manual mode by pressing a button on the head unit, but we liked letting it do its thing in the corners.
       Of course, the Dyson had two notable things in our review – this model can not only cool, but also heat the room, and also eliminate pollutants, including pollen, dust and formaldehyde. The latter is a colorless gas used in building materials and household items such as paint and furniture, and the Dyson purifier can detect molecules 500 times smaller than 0.1 microns. While this is a nice bonus, it probably won’t convince you to shell out a ton of money to have it in your home.
       Luckily, it’s a stylish dream machine with a super-efficient heater and a great air purifier that kicks into high gear every time it detects pollutants in our homes. What we especially like is that we can see how clean the air is on the LED screen on the front.
       The cooling effect is also very good, especially when the fan rotates 350 degrees, so it can be used no matter where you are in the room. It also supports voice services and easy-to-use apps, and has a night mode, so we didn’t have any problems sleeping when it was on.
       No other fan in this review will give you year-round bang for your buck, but you’ll want to make sure you’re using all of its features before blowing your budget.
       Decorating your home with the latest high-tech fans is great, but it doesn’t really help when you’re on the go. With a compact, portable design tucked away in your bag, you can still stay cool during your commute or even to the beach.