Most Canadians are very familiar with super cold winters and ultra-hot summers. And while some of us may fare well in hot weather, many of us don’t. At all. Whether your office doesn’t take AC seriously enough, you’re watching your spending, or you need some extra heat relief in non-insulated areas like a garage, we have just the thing to make those summer days more bearable.
We’re talking about fans, of course. They come in all shapes and sizes and can fit into any space that needs them. They’re usually portable so they can follow you around the house, and many of them have timers so you can set them and forget them. Pretty sweet, right?
If you’re ready to beat the heat with a new fan, we’re here to help you. There’s a lot of variety out there, and it can be tough to know which one is best for you. They’ll differ in things like price, type, speed settings, oscillation/pivot range, size, range, and so much more. And you should think about every feature if you want the perfect match for your house. And you do, right?
This comprehensive guide will investigate the best fans in Canada right now and outline the criteria you should consider while making your purchase decision. Let’s dive right into our top five products.
There are so many things we’re excited to tell you about with the Vornado 630 Mid-Size Whole Room Air Circulator. It’s awesome. It’s a compact and lightweight little fan, but it’s also super powerful. You can feel the air as far as 70 feet away! And with its unique Vortex Action airflow design (thanks to its deep-pitched blades, enclosed air duct, spiral grille, and inlet guide cone), it circulates the entire room without oscillating.
And even though it doesn’t oscillate, it does have a pivoting head so you can direct more air where you need it most. This fan can sit on the floor or on a tabletop (easier to reach the manual controls this way), and it has three speed settings to suit your needs. Its 5-year warranty really speaks to its quality and longevity, too. This one is a winner, folks.
We don’t have many complaints to share with you about this one. Actually, there’s only one thing we’d add to this one if we could, and that’s a timer with an automatic shutoff. It has great controls, so we aren’t overly concerned, but it would be a nice addition for convenience.
Reviewers are really happy with the Vornado 630 Mid-Size Whole Room Air Circulator. No matter where they are in the room, they are treated to a gentle cooling breeze—they like this much better than the no air to lots of air phenomenon that happens with oscillating fans. They also love how compact it is, and that they can use it on the floor or a table.
Pros:
Unique Vortex Action airflow pattern cools an entire room no matter where the fan is placed
Head pivots vertically to direct the air where you need it most
Manual speed adjustment controls are very easy to access
Deep-pitched blades, spiral grille, enclosed air duct, and inlet guide cone provide tons of power
Cons:
Performance: 5/5
Usability: 4.5/5
Price: 4/5
Quality: 5/5
Overall, the Vornado 630 Mid-Size Whole Room Air Circulator is one of our all-time favourite fans. It was a no-brainer choice for our top pick this year. Its unique Vortex action airflow, user-friendly design, and exceptional power just blow us away.
There are so many things to admire about the Rowenta Turbo Silence Extreme+ Stand Fan. Our favourite thing about it is the two airflow modes it offers. The natural mode will vary the air strength to mimic a natural breeze, and the eco-friendly mode will automatically reduce the airflow after 15 minutes to reduce the energy demand. Pretty cool, huh?
This fan is also pretty special since it has a 120-degree oscillation range. Most fans are limited to less than 90 degrees! Your room coverage will be impeccable. The fan height is adjustable to suit different desk/bed/couch heights, and since it comes with a remote control, you won’t ever have to get up to adjust the settings.
There are a handful of low points that we need to mention before we wrap this up. This fan is a bit pricier than a lot of others out there, so make sure you’re aware of your budget before you settle on this one. This fan is also quite heavy, so you’ll be better off finding a permanent home for it somewhere. It also shuts off automatically after 12 hours, no matter what, so not a great option if you want it running 24/7.
Reviewers really like the Rowenta Turbo Silence Extreme+ Stand Fan. It’s pretty heavy, so they prefer to leave it in one spot in their house, but it performs really well. They love how quiet it is even at the highest speed setting, and the two air modes are a really nice addition. Most of them don’t love that it shuts off after 12 hours no matter what—some of them need it to run longer than that.
Pros:
Has two airflow modes—natural and energy-saving
Fan height is adjustable to reach over every desk, bed, and other furniture
120-degree oscillation provides exceptional room coverage
Has easy-to-use touch controls and a remote
Cons:
Performance: 5/5
Usability: 4.5/5
Price: 3/5
Quality: 5/5
Overall, the Rowenta Turbo Silence Extreme+ Stand Fan is a very well-rounded option that will fit right into any house needing a pedestal fan. It’s height-adjustable, quiet, easy to use, and has some pretty unique features that make it a true standout in its field. What’s not to love?
We like a lot of things about the Honeywell HYF260BC QuietSet Tower Fan. Since it has five speed settings and a 75-degree oscillation, you’ll be able to use it anywhere in the house without worrying about lacklustre performance. Its extra-wide base makes it stable on any type of hard floor and carpeting it might need to rest on.
One of our favourite features is the auto-dim light. It keeps the control panel at 50% brightness unless you change a setting, and then it only needs 15 seconds to go back to that—perfect for sleeping, right? We’re happy to tell you that this option has a recessed carry handle and onboard remote storage, so it’s easy to move around the house, too.
There are a couple of features that don’t quite meet our standards. First of all, the timer settings are pretty limited—we like that it has a timer, but we’d prefer more than four options. Our other concern is the remote—it’s awkwardly shaped and doesn’t have the best response time…two no-nos when it comes to remotes, right?
Reviewers are big fans of the Honeywell HYF260BC QuietSet Tower Fan. It’s got a great oscillation and speed range that makes it useful for crowded living rooms and quiet bedrooms alike, and the light dimming is a great feature for nighttime. They don’t love the remote (it’s weirdly shaped and not super responsive), but that’s really their only issue with this fan.
Dimensions: 10” x 10” x 40”
Weight: 9.3 lbs
Colour: Black
Type: Tower
Speeds: 5
Timer: 1, 2, 4, or 8 hours
Warranty: 1 year
Pros:
75-degree oscillation provides excellent room coverage
Auto-dim light will reduce the brightness by 50% after 15 seconds, and will return to 100% brightness when settings are changed
Has a recessed carry handle and remote storage in the back
Has a wide base for extra stability
Cons:
Performance: 5/5
Usability: 4.5/5
Price: 5/5
Quality: 4.5/5
Overall, the Honeywell HYF260BC QuietSet Tower Fan is a really great choice for people who love the performance and style of a tower fan. It’s fairly quiet at all speeds, stable on all surfaces, and has an auto-dim light that makes it perfect for bedrooms.
The Dyson AM07 Fan is an amazing choice for everybody who can afford a higher-end option. Its performance is unbeatable. Why? Air Multiplier technology. Instead of just pushing out the same amount of air that’s in the room already, this fan can amplify it to provide a smoother and stronger airflow than any other fan. How cool is that?
This fan is great in other ways too. It’s incredibly quiet, so it’s a good choice for offices or quiet chill spaces. It oscillates 70 degrees to cover the entire space effectively. And it comes with a magnetized remote that can be stored on the top of the fan. No other fan can beat that. It’s also got 10 airflow settings and a timer that can be set to 15 minutes, 9 hours, and anywhere in between.
We have exactly zero negative things to say about this option. It performs flawlessly in every environment. Small rooms or large, noisy or quiet, this fan does its job perfectly. The only thing we would change is the price, because it’s expensive, and we believe that everyone deserves a fan like this one.
Reviewers have a very high opinion of the Dyson AM07 Fan. It’s the most powerful fan they’ve ever used, and it’s also one of the quietest—they absolutely love this combination. It’s great for workspaces and hangout spaces, and since it has 10 speeds and a wide timer range, they have no trouble adapting it to every situation. They all believe it’s worth the high price tag.
Pros:
Comes with a magnetized remote control that can be stored on top of the fan
70-degree oscillation can cool an entire room
Air Multiplier technology makes cooling more effective
Very quiet
Cons:
Performance: 5/5
Usability: 5/5
Price: 2/5
Quality: 5/5
Overall, the Dyson AM07 Fan is simply unbeatable when it comes to cooling performance, ease of use, and so much more. When will you ever see a magnetized remote control again? Yup, it’s pretty cool. If you’ve got the money to spare, you won’t do better than this one.
The affordable Honeywell HT900C 7-Inch TurboForce Power+ Desk/Table Fan has a lot to offer in such a small package. With a 30-foot range and a head that can pivot 90 degrees vertically, you’ll be able to use it in a ton of different spaces. You can even mount it to the wall to keep the air circulating from the ceiling down.
One of our favourite features is the recessed carry handle. Combine that with its super lightweight build (it weighs less than two pounds!), and you’ve got the perfect travel companion on your hands. Or hand, rather. You only need one to carry it. Since the front grille is removable, it’ll be easy to keep this thing clean and operating at full capacity. Thank goodness.
There are only a couple of things we would upgrade in this option if we could. This fan is pretty powerful for its size, but it still can’t compete with full-size options out there…it won’t be very effective in larger spaces. Also, it’s a pretty basic fan, technologically speaking, so you don’t get the benefit of a timer or a remote control.
Reviewers have mostly good things to say about the Honeywell HT900C 7-Inch TurboForce Power+ Desk/Table Fan. Although powerful for its size, it’s still only suited to small-medium rooms. Most people are happy with that, though. They’re big fans of how portable this little fan is, and it’s really easy to keep clean, which they appreciate.
Pros:
Has a recessed carry handle for portability
Head pivots 90 degrees vertically
Can be mounted to a wall
Grille is removable for easier cleaning
Cons:
Performance: 4/5
Usability: 4.5/5
Price: 5/5
Quality: 5/5
Overall, the Honeywell HT900C 7-Inch TurboForce Power+ Desk/Table Fan is a really great choice for people shopping on a budget. It’s one of the most affordable fans out there, and it still offers a decent amount of power and a user-friendly design.
Some fans will cost you less than $25, others can cost $500 or more. With a price range that wide, there’s bound to be a lot of variety out there. In general, more expensive fans will be larger, more powerful, and will likely have some pretty unique features that pack a ton of value. Most people won’t need to spend more than $250 to get a fan that works for them, though.
There are a few different types/styles of fans on the market, and they each have their pros and cons. Tower fans and pedestal fans are the most common, but there are also table fans to consider—they’re smaller and don’t oscillate, but they can still do a great job of circulating air and they’re more portable. The larger styles tend to be more powerful and will usually have remote controls and timers.
Every fan should have at least three speed settings, but the majority will have five. A rare few will even have 10 settings. The more settings there are, the better you’ll be able to suit the airflow to your specific needs at a specific moment.
Most tower and pedestal fans will have an oscillation range between 70 and 80 degrees, and for most homes, this will be just fine. However, some can oscillate as far as 120 degrees around, and this is better if the fan is placed in a more open space instead of in a corner. Table fans can’t oscillate, but the heads do pivot vertically so you can direct the air off the ground when needed.
Most tower and pedestal fans will have a timer that triggers an automatic shutoff when it runs out. Some timers are super versatile and will range between 15 minutes and 9 hours, others are pretty limited and will only have a handful of settings. You’ll have to decide what will work better for your space.
Disclaimer: The prices displayed are accurate at the time of publication. We’ll do our best to keep them as up-to-date as possible, but you may see slight changes. The products in this list are ranked by independent third parties. Rankings are based on both reviews and independent testing.
