Skip to main content
DEAL WATCH: Keurig K-Express | 22% off $69.99

Keurig has changed the face of coffee, and snagging one of these for less than $70 is a solid deal. Read Review

BUY NOW
Home & Garden

Fan vs. air conditioner: Which is right for your home?

How to choose the best cooling solution for you

A Vornado fan and GE air conditioner against a blue and purple background Credit: Reviewed / Vornado / GE

Recommendations are independently chosen by Reviewed's editors. Purchases made through the links below may earn us and our publishing partners a commission.

It's that time of the year when temperatures start warming up across the country, and you may find yourself looking for ways to keep yourself cool.

For the over-heated consumer, this has rekindled an old debate: Fan vs. air conditioner.

As you might have guessed, the answer can vary from person to person, depending on several factors. To understand this—and to determine which cooling solution is best for you—we first need to look at how each technology works. Plus we'll tell you about our favorite fan and air conditioners: The Vorndao 660 fan and GE Profile PHC08LY.

$100 at Amazon

$439 at Amazon

Fan vs. air conditioner: Here's how they keep you cool

A fan vs. air conditioner helps you stay cool in very different ways. Both are primarily leveraging the cooling power of evaporation.

Fans blow air over your skin, which promotes moisture evaporation. Evaporation is an endothermic process, meaning the moisture absorbs heat from its surroundings as it turns into vapor. Part of what makes fans so efficient is they aren’t cooling down the whole room, just you.

A diagram of how air conditioners use, by passing air over coils of coolant, which then ferries the heat outside.
Credit: Getty Images / normaals

Air conditioners work by drawing in heat from the environment and moving it elsewhere.

Air conditioners utilize the same mechanism, but in a far more complex way. Inside your air conditioner is a coil of coolant that’s continuously undergoing evaporation and condensation. Air is pulled into the air conditioner and cooled by the evaporation process. The condensation process happens elsewhere in the unit, allowing the heat to be radiated outside your home.

Fan vs. air conditioner: The cost of cooling

A man looks at his electricity bill, positively shocked at how much more money he owes because his A/C use has been 100 times more costly than his fan use.
Credit: Getty Images / Damir Khabirov

While it’s common knowledge that cooling your home will increase your energy bill—but did you know air conditioners use 100 times more energy than fans?

It takes significantly more energy for an air conditioner to move heat around than it takes a fan to blow air onto your skin. As a result, parking yourself in front of a fan vs. an air conditioner is significantly more energy efficient. Fans use around 1% of the electricity consumed by air conditioners. You could leave a fan running for a full 24 hours and still use less energy than 15 minutes of air conditioning.

While there are ways to minimize how much energy your home A/C is using, fans should be the go-to cooling option for the environmentally-conscious.

Our no 1. rated fan, the Vornado 660, does a great job of maximizing wind speed without your energy bill taking a hit.

$100 at Amazon

When fans just can't cut it

A woman sits slumped back on her couch in front of a fan, wiping sweat from her brow.
Credit: Getty Images / Tommaso79

While they’re a significantly more energy-efficient way of helping you stay cool, fans aren’t always a perfect solution.

While ideal in many circumstances, you should avoid using a fan when temperatures start to heat up.

By speeding up the rate at which moisture evaporates from your skin, fans are also increasing your rate of dehydration and electrolyte imbalance. This is why the CDC only recommends using fans at temperatures below 95°F. Increasing hot-air circulation and sweat evaporation can actually speed up heat-related illnesses, like heat exhaustion.

Unless you're able to use the fan to pull in cooler air from outside, it's best to leave it off.

Fans don’t lower the overall humidity, either. Plus, humidity can make you feel hotter.

On humid days, sweat will evaporate off your skin more slowly, which further limits the effectiveness of a fan.

Fans, such as ceiling fans and desk fans, are best when used at close range. Otherwise, fans don’t do much for you if you’re sitting more than a few feet away.

When air conditioning is a good option

A traditional A/C unit, installed in a window.
Credit: Getty Images / AlexWang_AU

Though they come with their own issues, air conditioners are simply the best cooling option for certain circumstances.

While air conditioners use lots of energy, they’re the most comfortable cooling option when temperatures start to rise. Since they reduce the ambient heat in your environment, they’re much better at cooling larger areas. And air conditioners also help to remove moisture from the air, reducing humidity and letting your body dissipate heat more efficiently. If it’s above 95°F, air conditioners are your best bet for cooling.

If you're still worried about energy consumption, we recommend our no 1. rated window air conditioner, the GE Profile PHC08LY. Not only will it effectively reduce the humidity, but it also fears energy-saving settings to keep your energy bill as conservative as possible.

$439 at Amazon

Which option is best for you?

Against a blue wall, an array of fans and air conditioner.
Credit: Getty Images / Alex LMX

So at the end of the day, is a fan or air conditioner right for your cooling needs?

A direct comparison between using a fan vs. air conditioner is unfair since each one helps you cool down in different ways. Determining which one is better for you depends on current conditions, needs, and size of your space.

Use a fan if:

  • It’s less than 95°F
  • It’s not very humid
  • You can position yourself close to the fan
  • You want to use less electricity

$100 at Amazon

Use an air conditioner if:

  • It’s over 95°F
  • It’s humid
  • You’re looking to cool a large area
  • You can afford a higher electrical bill

$439 at Amazon

Whatever you decide, we’ve got you covered. We've lab tested the best fans, desk fans, air conditioners, and portable air conditioners available (and can explain what the difference is between those last two), so you can figure out the best fan or A/C to suit your needs.

During a heatwave, you don’t have time to mess around with products that don’t get the job done. Shop smart and keep yourself cool!

Related content

  • A person holding up two air conditioner filters. The left filter is dirty and the right is clean.

    how-to

    Your air conditioner is full of mold and bugs—here's how to clean it
  • A ceiling fan hanging from a white ceiling.

    best-right-now

    The Best Ceiling Fans of 2024

Up next