Lasko 3-Speed Wide Curve Electric Fan, 42-Inch

It’s amazing what a little breeze can do. Homeowners can spend thousands each year to cool off their homes in the summer months, but a simple set of spinning blades can allow you to feel up to 4 degrees cooler in a given room. Electric fans don’t actually reduce the temperature, but they do make it feel that way by helping your body to cool itself off.

So what kind of fan is best for your home? Ceiling fans are a big commitment in terms of cash, but a simple electric floor fan can be a great alternative for smaller rooms.

Up until a few decades ago, electric fans were mostly limited to one boxy shape, and they tended to be quite loud. Nowadays, you can pick from a variety of configurations. For general use, pedestal fans or tower fans are the best options. Pedestal fans sit on a stand that allows the fan to blow at roughly torso level so that you can place it in a corner and get effective cooling throughout the room. That becomes even more effective if you go with a fan that can oscillate, meaning the fan moves back and forth to distribute the breeze.

Tower fans are a sleeker and increasingly popular option if you have a little more to spend. These fans circulate air throughout the entire unit instead of within a small circle of fan blades. In fact, companies like Dyson have begun to advertise their high-end tower fans as “bladeless,” though that’s not strictly true. If you open up the unit, you’ll find that blades are used. They’re just not visible or accessible from the outside, which can be a big selling point for parents who worry that little fingers might get caught in a more traditional kind of fan.

The most affordable option is a simple desk or table fan. These fans can come in compact sizes as small as a few inches, perfect for keeping around your workspace. They may not be powerful enough to cool off an entire room, but they’re ideal if you just need a little air circulation near you while you work.

Basic fans might come with a simple on and off switch or a dial that allows you to cycle through several different speeds. For larger or more sophisticated fans, you might want controls to fine-tune the amount of breeze or have a remote control that allows you to operate it from across the room. Some fans offer timers. LED displays and other features as well.

If you plan on leaving your fan on for extended periods of time, you may also want to look into energy efficiency. Tower fans are usually the best for this, with the best models running at no more than 100 watts.

Make sure that you can clean the fan easily. The more basic your fan is, the easier this is to do, and it’s a task you won’t want to neglect. Dirty fan blades might still run, but they’ll be blowing increasingly more dust and allergens around.