Summer is on its way and that means swimming, barbecues, chasing fireflies, and, of course, some intense sunshine.
That’s especially true here in Phoenix where it doesn’t hurt to have several different ways to stay cool just in case the electricity goes out or your AC takes a nosedive.
In those cases, a battery operated fan can be a blessing. They help you stay cool and you don’t have to be near an outlet or power source. In fact, you could even take it with you to a park or child’s outdoor sporting event.
This post will help you understand what size portable fan might serve you best and how to choose one that has features you’ll appreciate the most.
Size May be Most Important
Sure you could pick the first one you find or the one that has the best ratings but what if you end up choosing a battery-operated fan that’s too heavy for you to hold for any length of time? Or what if you choose one that you later find is too small to provide any relief?
If you don’t take at least a little time to think about how, when, and where you intend to use it, you might end up picking one that you end up hating.
I have had a couple of instances of tennis elbow and this seems to happen more often the older I get. When I have it, holding anything upright for more than a few minutes causes my arm to feel tight and then it hurts to straighten the arm.
I, personally, would need a small fan that was as light as possible.
Another thing to consider is battery life of the style you choose.
If you’re only going to use this a few times during the summer maybe it doesn’t matter how many batteries you’ll need but if you want something you can use everyday then it might matter whether you need a lot of C batteries that you might not have on hand as easily as AA batteries, for example.
Thinking through how, when, and where you want to use a portable fan will help you pick one that balances ease of use as well as cost of operation. You might save yourself more than you’d imagine.
Considerations When Choosing a Portable Battery Fan
The most important items to think through when choosing are battery life, size, weight, speed settings, noise level, and any extras that might apply to select models such as misters or USB charging options.
Battery Life
Battery life determines how long your fan will run before you have to recharge it or replace the batteries. Usually, fans with fewer, small batteries have shorter run times than those running on larger sized batteries or more batteries overall.
That’s not always the case but paying attention to the number required for operation and whether or not the model uses rechargeable ones can help you reduce the cost of running your fan.
Size & Weight
Think about where you intend to use your portable fan and how often that means you’ll need to pick it up and move it to a new location.
My dad does a lot of work outside on his 2 acre property. He’ll get in his tractor, drive to one corner, and burn weeds one day and the next he and the tractor are in another corner spreading mulch.
He takes water bottles along to stay hydrated. He also takes a small fan so he can sit and get some cool air when he feels too hot. It’s the same fan he uses when sitting at his patio table on the 2nd story deck.
Since he has to carry it around but doesn’t want one that you have to hold in place, he’s gone for a tabletop style that’s medium sized.
Ask yourself how many people will be using the fan at one time. For one person, you can get away with something very small while to have enough coverage so that 2 or more people can feel the air flow will require something larger.
Then ask how many times you think you’ll have to move it each day and the maximum weight you’d be comfortable carrying that many times.
Those questions will help you narrow down an idea of the size that will work best.
Speed Settings
Even the smallest of battery-operated fans will have a setting that lets you choose the speed.
If you use your fan to cool off after a jog around the neighborhood maybe you want something that has a strong, high setting but that you can lower as your temperature drops and as you stop sweating.
If, though, you use it just to move the air on the patio while you sip your morning coffee, maybe you don’t need a lot of speed settings.
The hotter you are when you use one, the stronger you’ll want it to blow. Consider the hottest you’ve felt when you wanted to use one of these fans and then choose one that has a speed setting that matches.
If you do that, you’ll never find yourself wishing you’d chosen one that was stronger.
Noise Level
Fans that blow strong can be really noisy. Have you ever walked into Home Depot in the summer and they have those super-sized monsters blowing on you when you walk in?
They feel great but they can be really loud – especially when you take it home and all the background noise of other shoppers has been removed.
That might be okay, depending on where and how you’ll be using your fan.
We have one on our patio that’s a bit loud but that’s perfect for us because it blocks all the neighborhood noise but my husband and I can still hear each other just fine.
One time, though, I was on a conference call in my office and I had a much smaller fan blowing on me because our office gets warmer than the rest of the house and it was summer.
Everyone on the call with me said my fan sounded like an airplane coming in for a landing even though it didn’t sound loud to me.
Where you plan on using your fan will tell you how important sound level is going to be in making your decision. If you will be making phone calls, working, or trying to have any conversations near your fan, then you’ll want one that operates quietly.
Extra Features
There are some handy features that come on some portable fans these days. One I just noticed the other day is a power block that can be used to power your phone.
That could be a great feature for anyone who needs a portable, battery fan for a remote job site.
You might also want to have a light so the fan is visible at night or so that it can double as a flashlight if the fan is one of those smaller, handheld ones.
Don’t skip over fans with extra features if you think those features could be useful to you.
Choosing the Right Size Portable Battery Fan
You can classify battery-operated fans into three overall sizes – small ones you can hold in your hand, medium tabletop sizes, and large ones that sit on the floor.
The small ones are the most compact and easiest to carry around. Their best when you want something you can take with you anywhere you go. They don’t weigh very much and could fit in your purse.
They do not, though, provide a lot of coverage. They’re probably only going to be able to cool down one person.
Medium sized battery fans fit on a table without being obnoxious and could even be strong enough to cool a room. They’ll run longer than the small ones yet are still portable enough to move around the house.
There have been times we’ve needed to go up in our attic in the spring or summer and the temperatures can be unbearable. There is one outlet up there but we’d need such a long cord to reach the far ends and we wouldn’t want to drag that through all of our insulation. Instead, I’ve often thought a battery-operated tabletop fan would be great for bringing up there with us.
There are also now larger floor fans that run entirely on batteries and some put out a really powerful flow. They can be used outside or to cool a larger interior space like a garage. These weigh the most, though, so you don’t want to have to move them as often.
Where you’re going to use the fan and how often you’ll have to move it will tell you what size you should consider.
Other Factors
I mentioned that size may be the most important but after that comes a few other things that become more important the larger the fan you’re going to buy.
Those things include budget, brand reputation, customer reviews/ratings, any included warranty, and customer support.
Budget
If you’re spending a $100 or more for one of the larger battery-operated fans then these things should play a big role in which model you choose.
If you’re buying one to tuck into your purse or pocket and spending less than $20 then maybe those things don’t matter as much.
Budget these days should be top of mind, though. I don’t know about you but I’ve been comparing our monthly expenses to what they were just a couple of years ago during the pandemic and, crap, EVERYTHING has gone up. Even our HOA went up this year and that’s the first time it’s done so in the 17 years we’ve lived in our house.
Everyone wants an extra piece of your wallet so I fully understand if you’re looking for every dollar you can save even when it comes to buying a small, handheld fan.
Brand
I swear it’s harder to find brands that I recognize. Either their changing as I’ve gotten older or there are a lot more small-name brands out there thanks to it being easier to sell stuff online.
If you go to Amazon or Walmart you will find brands you don’t know and the fans may work just fine. When you’re not familiar with the brand you’ll need to pay more attention to any reviews from other consumers.
Customer Reviews & Ratings
Reading what other consumers have to say about a battery-operated fan before you buy it yourself can be both incredibly useful and very misleading.
I’ve been analyzing customer reviews for YEARS. In fact,I consider myself an expert in writing solid, informative, thorough reviews.
As a result, I’ve seen my fair share of fake reviews and I know that no matter how hard online retailers fight to keep them from their website, small sellers fight just as hard to find a way to sneak them onto various platforms.
When you’re reading through online reviews on a retail site pay attention to those that say they’re from a verified purchaser (although that’s still not a guarantee that the review is real).
You might give some extra weight to lengthier reviews and look for recurring comments about a product’s performance. If multiple people mention that a fan’s battery life is far shorter than the claims made on the sales page then it may mean that’s a significantly true comment about that product.
Conclusion
I’m sure that not all of the above factors apply in every instance where someone is looking to buy a portable battery-operated fan.
Those buying the larger ones may find these tips more useful because they stand to save more money by carefully thinking through their purchase but even those looking for a small fan may benefit.
Ultimately, you want something that will keep you cooler than you’ve been able to manage otherwise and my hope is you find it, love it, and get more than your money’s worth in return.