Best fans for cooling your home

Beat the heat with our guide to the best cooling fans for your living room, bedroom or home office.

A woman on a sofa adjusting the speed of a Dimplex Ion fresh cooling tower fan with a remote.

One of the easiest ways to keep cool during the warmer months is to use fans throughout your home. From desktop and tower units to fans that work like air conditioners, there are many ways to make a room cooler.

Different types of electric fan

Keep your home cool and comfortable with these six fan ideas.

Tower fans

Tower fans have tall and narrow bodies, which take up very little space. Typically, they move more air around, so can cool a whole room.

Why they're great:

Can be conveniently tucked in a corner or placed against a wall.
Have more features than pedestal fans and are quieter than many other fan types.

Best for: Medium to large spaces.

Argos Home modern remote control ceiling fan.

Ceiling fans

Ceiling fans circulate still air to create a cooling, indoor breeze. They work particularly well in rooms with high ceilings. You can also choose ceiling fans with lights for extra functionality.

Why they're great:

Circulate air throughout the room to keep you cooler in summer and warmer in winter.
Available in a wide range of sizes, styles and finishes.

Best for: Lounges and conservatories.

Desk fans

Designed for personal cooling, desk fans are compact enough to be placed on top of a desk or table, making them ideal for home offices and smaller spaces.

Why they're great:

Portable design makes them easy to position.
Take up less space than tower or pedestal fans.

Best for: Cooling one person at a table or desk.

Pedestal fans

These floor fans sit on an adjustable stand. Many have tilt and swivel functionality, allowing you to direct the airflow where you need it most.

Why they're great:

Circulate cool air evenly throughout a room.
Easy to operate, can be moved wherever they're needed.

Best for: Small and medium-sized rooms.

A Dyson purifier with fan and heater in silver.

Bladeless fans

Bladeless fans work like a vacuum but in reverse - the air is pushed out instead of sucked in. With no spinning blades, they're considered safer than other fans.

Why they're great:

Generate an uninterrupted flow of air with no buffeting.
Open design makes them easy to clean and maintain.

Best for: Day and night use.

Air purifier

Breathe cleaner air with air purifying fans. They filter different contaminants to circulate cool and clean air.

Why they're great:

Can effectively remove indoor pollutants like dust and bacteria.
Help in reducing unpleasant odour.

Best for: Bedroom, living room, and offices.

Quiet fans for bedrooms

The whirling noise that some fans make can be a distraction, especially if they’re operating in a quiet space like a bedroom. Luckily, there are a number of models designed with quietness in mind. These fans circulate air as silently as possible, so you can run them all night without disturbing your sleep.

A Russell Hobbs retro tower fan heater in an office.

Fans that heat and cool

Some electric fans combine heating as well as cooling capabilities into a single unit. These fans draw in air from around a room, and release it back, either as heated air or as a cool high-powered breeze. The main benefit of this type of fan is that it can be used all year round.

A few of our favourite fans

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Features to look for in an electric fan

Any fan will provide a cooling breeze, but some offer more advanced features. Certain units can be controlled through your smartphone, while others have sleep timers and auto shut-off functions. Here’s some of the key features to look out for.