Basically, fans are distinguished according to two criteria. The first one is very technical and rather negligible for the household. However, a brief mention is indispensable.
Axial fan
This category is automatically found by private individuals. The axial fan consists of a simple propeller or paddle wheel. It attracts air from behind and distributes it forward again. This air movement is parallel, i.e. axial, to the drive axle. This results in the designation. The majority of commercially available devices use this design. The advantages include an extremely compact end result. However, these models only slightly increase the pressure. The modified form of the diagonal fan provides some relief. Due to the conical housing, the outlet opening is larger than the inlet. This improves air distribution.
Centrifugal fan
The radial fan sucks in the air parallel to the wind direction. The outlet lies behind a 90° angle. In this way, the system accelerates the wind and creates a higher pressure. Such units ventilate mainly in industry.
Tangential fan
With the tower fans explained in more detail below, the tangential principle has applications in the private sector. The decisive component is the fan wheel. It does not consist of different rotor blades, but of cylindrically arranged blades. These have a particularly effective blade effect. This means that lower speeds are sufficient for tangential fans than for other designs. This results in reduced power consumption and a quieter operating noise. The dispersion is therefore slightly limited.
Design types of commercially available fans
Floor-mounted fan/floor fan
There is only a tiny difference between these two types: The stand fan is equipped with a foot and a hip-high housing. Thus the air flow is at head height while sitting and provides optimum cooling. Numerous free-standing fans have an adjustable height, several output levels and an oscillating head. The angle of inclination is often configurable. Like the floor model, the floor fan uses a conventional propeller, which is generally surrounded by a protective metal grid. However, it is placed on the ground and is often inclined upwards. This reduces flexibility, but improves circulation in high spaces. For a targeted breeze, the stand variants make more sense.
Table fan
In principle, the significantly smaller table fans hardly differ from the stand-alone version. They should stand at the workplace without any problems, without swirling documents or making annoying noises. This is primarily due to the compact design with low speed. Manufacturers use inexpensive plastic for protective grilles and housings. The result is a manageable weight and versatile application possibilities. They are usually flexible when it comes to the angle of inclination, oscillation rarely exists. Companies are optimizing this product range with practical USB power supply or simple table clips instead of feet.
Tower fan
The tower ventilator became established worldwide, especially in the 21st century. Modern manufacturing processes and materials facilitate the use of the tangential principle. This results in the space-saving design, which you also discover under the name of column fan. Despite the narrow housing, the impellers create an efficient air circulation. This is primarily due to the larger intake area. At first glance, models of this type do not show any oscillation. In fact, column units use barely visible lamellas inside for the dispersion. This further reduces space requirements, as you don't have to plan for space for rotation. A final advantage is the comparatively quiet operation of this version. In modern series, these models usually have the best values.
In order for the air currents to distribute well, oscillation should be switched on, especially for tower fans.
Ceiling ventilator
With a fixed installation, you place a ceiling fan in a room. These generally score with large rotor blades, as the space on the ceiling is unrestricted. Thus, low speeds allow the same result. Among other things, this results in a barely perceptible noise. Cleverly positioned, ceiling fans create absolutely complete circulation. However, they rarely produce noticeable wind.
Setting up tower fans is usually easier than setting up floor standing fans.
For on the go you can also purchase a USB fan.
With their USB port you can simply plug them into your laptop and they will run. You can find out which models are the best in our large USB-Fan Test.
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