The Best Cooling Fans in Australia

It’s 11 pm, the sheet’s kicked off, the room is still holding the afternoon’s heat and you’re lying there working out how many hours until the alarm. A good cool fan won’t fix the weather, but it can be the difference between sleeping and not. For most rooms, our pick is the Philips 5000 Series tower fan. It’s slim enough to fit in the gap next to the bed, it comes with a remote, and 166 owners at The Good Guys have given it 4.7 out of 5.

If you’d rather spend a bit less, or you mostly want quiet at night, the Philips 2000 Series is the best pedestal fan here. And if you just need air moving at your desk for as little money as possible, the Goldair Select is the cheapest fan in this guide.

The short answer

The best cooling fans in Australia

• Best tower fan overall: Philips 5000 Series CX5535/11
• Best pedestal fan for bedrooms: Philips 2000 Series CX2550/00
• Best pedestal fan for shared rooms: De’Longhi 360° Pedestal Cooling Fan DEAPF40WH
• Best tower fan for wide coverage: De’Longhi DETF122WH
• Best air circulator fan: Vornado 660
• Best budget pedestal fan: Goldair Select GSPF110
• Best budget tower fan: AUSELECT KFT2208D

Product		Price
	Philips 5000 Series Tower Fan Charcoal (CX5535/11)	from $129.00 at Amazon · 2 shops	$129.00 at Amazon
	Philips 2000 Series Pedestal Fan White (CX2550/00)	from $122.00 at Amazon · 3 shops	$122.00 at Amazon
	De'Longhi 360° Pedestal Cooling Fan (DEAPF40WH)	from $179.00 at Bing Lee · 3 shops	$179.00 at Bing Lee
	DeLonghi Dual Oscillating Tower Fan White (DETF122WH)	from $189.00 at Amazon · 3 shops	$189.00 at Amazon
	Vornado 660 Large Air Circulator	from $196.95 at Amazon	$196.95 at Amazon
	Goldair 40cm Select Pedestal Fan with 3 Speed Settings (GSPF110)	from $29.00 at Amazon	$29.00 at Amazon
	AUSELECT Bladeless Tower Fan (KFT2208D)	from $79.98 at Amazon	$79.98 at Amazon

1. Best tower fan overall: Philips 5000 Series CX5535/11

Most bedrooms don’t have a spare square metre for a fan with a big round head on a stand. That’s where a tower earns its keep, and the Philips 5000 Series is the one we’d buy. It’s 105 cm tall and slim, so it fits beside a bedside table or in the corner of a home office without anyone tripping over it.

The remote matters more than it sounds. Day to day, it means you can turn the fan down at 2 am without getting out of bed, which is exactly when you’ll want to. Philips states a noise range of 39 dB on the lowest setting to 46 dB at the top.

The owner score is what puts it first. A 4.7 from 166 people is a solid result, and it’s also the top-selling tower fan on Amazon Australia at our last check, so plenty of people have reached the same conclusion.

Philips also says it runs more than 110 tests on its tower fans before release. That’s nice to read and impossible to check, so it isn’t why it’s on this list. The aromatherapy add-on is an optional extra.

Where it falls short is price against the Philips 2000 Series pedestal fan below, which costs a bit less and has the same owner score. Pay the difference only if the tower shape is what makes your room work.

Our verdict: The best tower fan for most people, and the one to buy if floor space is tight. If you have room for a pedestal, the Philips 2000 Series does the job for a little less.

2. Best pedestal fan for bedrooms: Philips 2000 Series CX2550/00

Some people can sleep through anything. Others hear a fan’s motor the moment the room goes quiet. If you’re the second kind, the Philips 2000 Series is the fan to look at. Philips says it runs as low as 19 dB(A), and it pairs that with a sleep mode and a 12-hour timer, so you can set it at bedtime and let it switch itself off before the morning gets cold.

Read that 19 dB figure as what it is: Philips’ number for the quietest setting. Philips also calls it 30 percent quieter but doesn’t say quieter than what, so we ignore it. Still, a stated figure beats a box that just says “quiet”.

The other handy part is the two-in-one design. It works as a full-height pedestal fan or drops down to sit on a table or chest of drawers, so it can do bedroom duty in summer and move to the desk later without you buying a second fan.

Owners give it the same 4.7 as the Philips tower, from 126 reviews. It’s also cheaper than the tower. Philips says you can feel the airflow from up to 30 m away, far more than any bedroom needs.

The catch is that it’s a pedestal, so it needs more floor space than a tower. If your bedroom is already tight, go back to the 5000 Series.

Our verdict: The best pedestal fan for a bedroom, and the value pick among the rated fans. Buy it if quiet nights matter most and you have room for a stand.

3. Best pedestal fan for shared rooms: De’Longhi 360° Pedestal Cooling Fan DEAPF40WH

In a living room, the problem usually isn’t one hot person. It’s three people on two couches and a dining table, and a fan that only cools whoever is sitting straight in front of it. The De’Longhi 360° Pedestal Cooling Fan is built for that. The Good Guys’ listing describes it as a fan for moving air around the whole room, and suggests it for medium to large bedrooms, living rooms and dining areas.

It has the controls you’d expect: three speeds, three modes, a timer, and a remote so whoever has the couch can change it. The owner rating is the reason it’s this high on the list. A 4.6 from 301 owners is a lot of people agreeing.

The listing is also upfront about the catch. It’s made for spreading air around a room, so it can feel less focused when you want the breeze on you. If you want a strong breeze aimed at one spot, such as your desk chair, a fan made for wide circulation isn’t the best match.

Our verdict: Buy this one for a shared living space or a bigger bedroom where everyone wants some of the breeze. For a desk or a small bedroom where you want the breeze on you, one of the Philips fans may suit better.

4. Best tower fan for wide coverage: De’Longhi DETF122WH

Most tower fans are good at cooling the person in front of them and not much else. The De’Longhi DETF122WH is for people who like the narrow tower shape but need the breeze to reach more of the room. De’Longhi says it oscillates a full 360° horizontally. That’s the main reason to choose it over the Philips tower.

The temperature-sensing mode is the other feature you’ll notice. De’Longhi says it picks the fan speed to suit the room, which in practice should mean less fiddling with the remote as the afternoon heats up and the evening cools down.

At 346 reviews, it has more owner reviews behind its score than any other fan in this guide. The 4.5 is a little below the Philips tower, but that’s still a score from a lot of people.

The catch is price. It’s one of the more expensive fans here and costs more than the Philips tower. If the fan will mostly point at your bed or the couch, that wide sweep isn’t worth paying for.

Our verdict: Choose it if you want a tower fan that covers the whole room. If the breeze only needs to reach one bed or one couch, buy the Philips 5000 Series and keep the change.

5. Best air circulator fan: Vornado 660

Some rooms feel stuffy rather than hot: the air just sits there, and the far corner never gets any of it. An air circulator fan is made for that, and the Vornado 660 is the one we’d pick. Australian owners on ProductReview recommend it for powerful whole-room air circulation and sturdy construction.

Vornado says it pushes a column of air across a room of up to 30 m², so you feel it in the far corner and not only in front of it. The tilting head is how you use that. You can aim it level across the room, at the couch, or almost straight up at the ceiling to keep air moving without a breeze in your face. Vornado quotes about 35 dB on low.

We found no owner rating for it at the retailers we check, so the ProductReview recommendation is what supports it. It’s one of the dearer fans here. Amazon Australia is the only retailer in our data that stocks it, so check the warranty and returns terms before you order.

Our verdict: Buy the Vornado if your room feels stuffy and you want the air in it moving. If you just want a breeze on you, a Philips does that for less.

6. Best budget pedestal fan: Goldair Select GSPF110

Not every hot-weather problem needs a big spend. A study nook, a spare room for when guests stay over, a back office that cooks in the afternoon: sometimes you just want air moving and the cheapest fan that does it. That’s the Goldair Select GSPF110. It’s the cheapest fan in this guide by a long way, and it costs a fraction of the Philips fans.

You get the basics: three speeds, oscillation, and a head and post you can adjust to aim the breeze at where you’re sitting. The carry handle helps if it’s going to move between rooms.

It’s here because it sells well: number 1 in Pedestal Fans on Amazon Australia at our last check. None of the retailers we check shows an independent owner score for it, so you’re going on sales rather than ratings. Goldair says it’s designed for small to medium rooms, so skip it for a big open-plan living area. Among the shops we track, only Amazon sells it.

Our verdict: A sensible buy for basic cooling in a smaller room on a tight budget. For a bedroom you’ll sleep in every night, the Philips 2000 Series is worth the extra.

7. Best budget tower fan: AUSELECT KFT2208D

Some people want a tower with a remote and a long timer but don’t want to pay Philips prices for it. The AUSELECT KFT2208D costs well under the Philips 5000 Series and still has a remote, a 12-hour timer and a sleep mode. The LED display shows the speed, mode and timer, which helps when you’re adjusting it half asleep.

Its sweep is 50°, so think of it as a fan for a bedroom or a desk, not a whole living room. AUSELECT calls it energy efficient, but it draws 60 W, more than the Philips tower’s 40 W.

It was ranked number 3 in Pedestal Fans on Amazon Australia at our last check, even though it’s a tower. Owners haven’t scored it at any retailer we check, so sales are all it has going for it on that front. AUSELECT says it’s quiet but gives no sound figure, so if noise is your main worry, a Philips with a stated decibel level is the safer choice. Amazon is the only shop in our data selling it.

Our verdict: The tower to buy if the Philips is over budget and you want a remote and timer anyway. Light sleepers should spend more on one of the Philips fans.

How we chose

These picks are based on owner ratings and review counts, maker specifications, and price and stock checks at Australian retailers. Fans with solid owner ratings or an independent recommendation are ranked ahead of fans chosen on Amazon Australia sales rank alone. Each pick was in stock at one or more Australian retailers when we last checked. Three picks are sold only through Amazon Australia, so check the warranty and returns terms before ordering.

Cooling fan buying guide

If your room stays hot after dark

A fan cools you by moving air over your skin. It doesn’t lower the room’s temperature the way an air conditioner does. On muggy summer nights in Brisbane or Darwin that matters, because a breeze helps but won’t dry the air. If you need the room itself colder, see our guide to portable air conditioners.

If floor space is tight

Get a tower fan. It stands upright in the gap beside the bed or desk where a pedestal fan’s stand and head wouldn’t fit. Measure the base and the gap before you buy, and leave room to walk past it.

If you’re a light sleeper

Look for a stated sound level, a sleep mode and a timer. The timer lets the fan run while you fall asleep and then switch off. Remember that a quoted minimum noise figure applies to the lowest speed, not full power.

If several people share the room

Look for wide oscillation, or a fan made to circulate air around the whole room. A narrow sweep is fine for one person at a desk but leaves people at the far end of the couch with nothing.

If the room feels stuffy rather than hot

An air circulator fan moves all the air in the room, so you don’t need it pointed at you. A tilting head lets you aim it across the room or up at the ceiling.

If you’d hate to waste money

Most people pay for more fan than they need. A cheap pedestal fan is fine for a small room you use now and then. Spend more for the room you sleep in every night, where low noise and a timer are worth the money. Choose a fan with an owner rating over one that only sells well. A sales rank shows that people buy it, but not whether they were happy with it.

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