Tower fans are growing in popularity as they quickly surpass AC units in their functionality, energy efficiency, features, and style. Long gone are the days when a fan was considered the cheap way to cool down or a nuisance that loudly whirred on the ceiling. Today’s fans are tower-like, sleek, modern, and offer all manner of smart features — from voice activation via Alexa to air purifying capabilities. However, as this industry grows, a multitude of tower fans are on offer, so it is important to stock the right tower fans for your customers.
Table of Contents
What is a tower fan?
What to look for when buying the best tower fans?
Is it worth stocking a tower fan?
What is a tower fan?
A tower fan is a standing fan in the shape of a tower. These fans oscillate to circulate the air around an entire space, thereby reducing the overall room temperature. They usually have various speed and power settings to distribute more or less air around the space, making them ideal for a range of room sizes and climates — the highest settings are best for larger areas.
Good tower fans are often designed with aesthetics in mind, offering traditional blade designs as well as bladeless models. As technology has advanced, some of the best tower fans now offer additional functionalities, including cooling and heating features or even air purifying capabilities.
What to look for when buying the best tower fans?
Tower fans vary enormously, depending on their size, capability, design, functionality, power usage, and more. As such, picking the best tower fan for your clients will depend on their requirements, and their understanding of what to look for will make all the difference to sales. The following tower fan aspects are some of the most important to consider when stocking the best tower fans for your business:
Size and oscillation
Tower fans come in many sizes, usually 12 inches (0.3 meters) to 40 inches (1.07 meters), and can oscillate between 60 degrees to 350 degrees, depending on the model. The size and oscillation of the standing tower fan will determine the buyer.
If the tower fan will be used in the corner of a room, then it is best to choose a tall tower fan with an oscillation of at least 80-90 degrees. If the tower fan is being used in the center of a room (ideal in a large space where the occupants congregate in a small area), then choosing a tower fan with a higher oscillation capability will be the best option.
In terms of size, it will again depend on where the fan will be placed. If being used on a kitchen sideboard or a bookshelf, then small tower fans will be best. If being used for the whole room or in a sitting area, then tall tower fans are best. Thanks to their surface area, taller tower fans usually circulate more air, making them the best outdoor tower fans.
Speed settings
The faster a tower fan’s blades spin, the more air is circulated and the faster the air is moved around the space to create a cooler temperature. This is why choosing a tower fan with multiple speed settings is a great choice for anyone living in a hot environment or who will be moving the tower fan through different-sized rooms. A powerful tower fan will usually have three speed settings, although some have more.
Power usage
Even the most powerful tower fans are energy-efficient, not usually using more than 650 watts an hour. Compare this with the average home AC unit, which uses about 3000 watts an hour, and the energy cost savings begin to become apparent.
As additional features and functionality are added to tower fans, however, power usage can begin to increase. So, when selling tower fans to budget-conscious clients it is important to consider the wattage requirements of each tower fan.
Noise output
Some of the strongest tower fans on the market are also some of the quietest tower fans. To choose the best tower fan for quiet air distribution, choose those with the following options:
- Bladeless technology, whereby the blades are at the bottom instead of the top of the fan.
- Multiple airflow settings and streamlined air channels to create near-noiseless air circulation.
- Offering noise options, such as white noise to create an ambient sound that combines all audible frequencies to drown out the surrounding noise.
- Tower fans with multiple speed settings, allowing the choice to set a minimal and quieter blade rotation.
- Timers for sleep mode to switch off the tower fan at hours when a low noise level is required and then switch on the fan after a certain period to stop the temperature from rising.
Design and aesthetics
Tower fans are large and as such can be seen when placed in a room. To counter this, tower fan manufacturers have created a huge range of tower fan styles and designs. These allow them to seamlessly blend into many different environments and color schemes.
Tower fans can be simple oscillating towers in white to be camouflaged against a wall, black for sleekness and simplicity’s sake, or a range of colors from canary to chrome for the bolder tower fan buyers. Other options that are proving ever more popular include tower fans with contemporary shapes, such as the tall, oval shapes promoted by the likes of Dyson, or concept designs, such as cone-shaped tower fans.
Remote control and smart features
Unlike other standing fans, many tower fans can be controlled with a remote control, making them incredibly convenient for use when sitting away from the fan or lying in bed. However, this is one of the more simple features that a tower fan can offer.
Some of the best tower fans also boast a series of smart features. Connection to WiFi and Bluetooth is a big plus as it makes connectivity to the likes of Amazon’s Alexa or phone applications a possibility. With this smart function, the user can easily turn the fan on or off, as well as set speeds, timers, and other settings with voice activation or using the phone app from a distance.
LCD screens are also a prominent feature in smart tower fans. These not only show fan speeds and ambient temperature but in the case of fans that offer air purifying as an extra, will also display the room’s air quality metrics.
Additional functionalities
Modern tower fans can be sleek, smart, quiet, energy-efficient, and aesthetically pleasing, but technological advancements are still pushing further. Today’s best tower fans can now come with additional features that are revolutionizing tower fan sales.
Air purifying technology is being coupled with some of the top tower fans, offering cooler and better quality air in a time of increased air pollution. The best tower fan air purifiers used to come with a higher price tag but as more of these hybrid fans have entered the market the price has decreased. For example, tower air fan purifiers with humidifiers and mist elements can now be found for under 20.00 USD when bought in bulk.
Another feature becoming increasingly prominent among tower fans is the capacity to cool or heat the air as it is circulated. This makes the tower fan function more as an AC unit, but with better power efficiency and a sleeker design.
Is it worth stocking a tower fan?
The market for tower fans is predicted to reach over 450 million USD by 2030, with a CAGR of 7.8% from 2024 to 2030. Buying tower fans therefore places resellers in a growing market that will only increase as new features are added. Cheap tower fans are also becoming more common, which will increase the market as they become more affordable.
In addition to offering heating, cooling, and air purifying features, the most powerful tower fans can be used both indoors and outdoors, with the best outdoor tower fans having great commercial potential in the restaurant industry as well as among homeowners with gardens. If you’re looking to buy tower fans for your customers, this industry is not only growing but expanding its potential clientele very quickly.
