$89 Kmart fan beats $800 Dyson
New data suggests you may want to pinch your pennies when choosing a fan, as you’re likely to get the same effect regardless of how much cash you splash.
Turns out forking out the big bucks isn’t necessarily going to guarantee a superior cool down if you’re air conditioning-free and relying on the humble fan to keep you fresh in the predicted scorching summer ahead.
A Choice testing of Dyson fans compared with budget options found that despite an astronomical price difference, they all perform more or less the same function at more or less the same level.
Give or take a few hundred dollars.
"Although the Dyson models don't perform badly in our tests overall, when it comes to the strength of airflow and their ability to create a nice cooling breeze, you can buy a product that does the job for less than a tenth of the price,” Choice home expert Rebecca Ciaramidaro wrote.
Dyson fans retail for as much as $800 if you’re after a deluxe tower fan, though a more simple tower fan sits at $500 and $600.
A pedestal fan, against which the Dyson models were tested, can be picked up for as little as $15 from Big W, or Kmart style shops.
The most similar in style to the Dyson fans, a Kmart 40cm Wi-Fi Pedestal Fan, will set you back just $90, and deliver more or less the same experience as it’s $800 counterpart - although with a very different aesthetic.
In fact, this particular fan, according to the site’s testing, actually beats out Dyson’s $550 tower fan when it comes to noise and airflow.
"There's nothing in particular wrong with the Dyson Cool Tower Fan, and it admittedly comes with added features you don't get with the cheaper models, such as a timer and remote control," Choice fan tester Matthew Tung wrote.
"But, it's more than six times the price for something that essentially does the same job."
It’s sure to be welcome news to households in dire need of cooling down as the mercury begins to creep up.
According to the experts, your extra dollars are likely going towards features you may not even need such as air-purifying technology, easy cleaning and a timing option.
Given a simple fan will cost the average household around $30 in electricity if it was to run non-stop over the summer, a timer for a few extra hundred is unlikely to be a major drawcard.
With that said, air-purifying technology could be a priority for inner-city houses, but as it’s only included in the $800 option, it doesn’t come cheap.
One of the fans also doubles as a heater, an obvious advantage come winter if you can think that far ahead through the coming heatwaves.
Looks like less is more when it comes to keeping this year’s scorching weather at bay.
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