I’ve tried both a £180 and £50 fan — this is how they really compare and whether the more expensive one is really better

If the heatwave the UK experienced at the end of May this year is anything to go by, we are in for a toasty summer.

And if the temperature hitting 30°C and above has highlighted that you need to upgrade to one of the best fans around, then it's important to understand what you get for your money. After all, many fans now have price tags well over £100.

But is it worth spending more on a fan or are you just paying more for the sake of it? I've been testing a whole host of fans with a range of different price tags for the last three months, and this is how a more affordable fan compares to a more expensive one.

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How does a £180 fan compare to a £50 one?

While there are some products where you might pay more for a certain brand but when it comes down to it, you can't really tell the difference between the expensive one and the budget version. But in my experience, that is not the case when it comes to fans and there are definitely features that are worth investing in.

And that's not to say more budget friendly fans aren't good and won't get the job done, just that after testing a range of fans myself, I do notice a difference in how they get the job done in direct relation to their purchase price.

To illustrate my point, let's look at the most expensive and the most affordable that I have tried. Both are pedestal fans and come with a remote control and neither have smart features that alone would be enough to warrant a higher price tag.

On the face of it, these fans pretty much do the same thing, but yet they have wildly different price points.

But dig a little deeper and you'll see there's more difference than you might think, which can be really important when it comes to choosing the right fan for your home. So how do these fans actually compare?

I've tried both of these fans in my own home for at least three weeks so I have a really good understanding of what they offer and how they perform. This is how they differ on key factors like wind speed, noise and design features.

Wind speed, air flow and reach

Wind speed is an important consideration when buying a fan. But not all fans are capable of reaching the same top speeds.

For example, using an anemometer (a device designed to measure wind speed) I recorded a speed of 5.2 metres per second when I was testing the Meaco Sefte pedestal air circulator (which feels like a strong breeze at the top of a hill).

However, on the more budget-friendly Vonhaus, I measured a speed 3.7 metres/second, which is still breezy, but not as strong as the Meaco version.

For the strongest wind speeds possible, you'll easily need to pay over £100. However, as time goes on, and technology advances, higher wind speeds may be available on a tighter budget.

Beyond wind speeds, the more expensive Meaco fan shouts about its powerful air flow, and the fact that it 'moves air that can be felt 32m away - that’s the same distance as the length of a Boeing 737!'. That advanced technology is likely a key factor in the higher price tag.

Not everyone wants a strong fan though, and if you are after something more gentle, you may prefer on that offers lower wind speeds, and you may be more likely to get that on a budget.

Noise

There's also a clear correlation between the price of a fan and how quiet it is. In general, fans at the more budget end of the scale tend to have AC (alternating current) motors, which are typically louder and less energy efficient. DC (direct current) motors tend to be quieter and more energy efficient, but are more expensive and therefore tend to be seen in fans with a premium price tag.

Both the Meaco Sefte and Vonhaus pedestal fans have a DC motor, and are very quiet in their lower speed modes getting louder as the wind speed increases. However, there is a marked difference in the the wind speed in those lower settings. So if we compare the noise each fan makes when running at a similar speed, we'll get a more accurate impression of their noise levels.

In it's lowest power setting, the Meaco Sefte offers a wind speed of 2.4 metres per second, while the Vonhaus pedestal fan reaches 2.4m/s in speed setting 9. In this speed setting, I recorded the Vonhaus fan at 59dB, while the Meaco produced a sound of 39dB running at the same speed. So if quietness is the most important factor for you when choosing a fan, it is definitely worth paying a little more if you can afford to. (If these speeds differ from the manufacturer's claims, it's likely that they measured sound levels in a lab setting that can remove a lot more background noise than I can in my home. However, I record the noise levels for every fan I test in exactly the same way so that they are still comparable.)

A quieter fan may not be a deal-breaker if you plan on using it in your living room, but it may become a more important consideration if you want a fan for the bedroom or if you have any kind of noise sensitivity.

Design features

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Design features will also vary depending on the price tag of a fan. At the budget-end of the spectrum, you will likely find a traditional looking fan that oscillates from side to side only, with a simple control panel and possibly a remote control.

On more premium-priced fans, you tend to find more sophisticated features, such as app control, ambient temperature sensors and night-friendly features like dimmable lights and beep silencing. You're also more likely to see thoughtful design touches like glow in the dark or magnetic remote controls, as well as improved adaptability where you can use the fan as both a pedestal and desk fan. Generally, more expensive fans will use less electricity than budget versions (the Meaco Sefte uses 8-26W while the Vonhaus uses 30W) which means they are cheaper to run.

How the fan moves may also be more noticeable depending on how much the fan costs. Budget-friendly fans tend to move side to side only, with a narrow amount of tilt achieved through manual adjustment of the fan head.

At higher price points, you tend to move into the world of air circulators which offer multidirectional oscillation to reach all the corners of the room, bouncing air off walls and ceilings as well as it blowing it forwards which can supercharge the affect it has on the room.

How much should you really spend on a fan?

How much you should spend on a fan will depend on your budget, but it's worth paying as much as you can afford for the best results possible.

'Investing in a more premium fan can be worth it, but only if the specifications warrant it,' says air treatment expert Katie Lillywhite at AO.com. 'Higher-end fans tend to be quieter, making them ideal for bedrooms or home offices. They are also typically designed to circulate air more effectively throughout an entire room as opposed to just blowing in one direction.

'More expensive fans may also offer better energy efficiency or useful features like sleep modes, timers or other smart controls which are ideal when you’re using it for longer periods of time.'