Tower Fan Vs Pedestal Fan (Pros & Cons) Which is better?

It is getting hot and it’s time to get a fan.

I know the feeling.

But which is the better fan between a tower fan vs pedestal fan?

There are pros and cons to each fan and below I answer the important questions you need to know so you can decide which suits your situation better.

Are tower fans good or are pedestal fans better?

Read on to find out more.

What’s the difference between a tower fan vs pedestal fan?

The difference between a tower fan vs pedestal fan is that tower fans are more practical to place, tend to have more available features and offer more stylish options. In contrast, pedestal fans are more powerful, better for larger spaces and offer more control over air direction with control over height..

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Table of Contents:

• How much does it cost to run a tower fan?
  
• How much does it cost to run a Pedestal fan?
  
• Tower Fan Pros
  
• Pedestal Fan Pros
  
• Pedestal Fan Cons
  
• Tower Fan Cons
  
• Tower Fan vs Pedestal Fan Noise
  
• Which is easier to clean? Tower or pedestal fan?
  
• Conclusion – Which is better tower or pedestal fan
  
• Infographic

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Tower Fan vs Pedestal Fan

How much does it cost to use a tower fan?

Running a tower fan for 24 hours a day would cost you approximately $0.3288 dollars a day, $9.864 dollars a month, $120.012 dollars a year. (depending on the model)

The first thing you need to know to work this out is the wattage of the tower fan you are buying.

I tested the Lasko 4443 and it produced the following wattage.

The Lasko 4443 is also a “high velocity” tower fan so is likely to use more power than the average tower fan.

This is also around what Lasko suggest the wattage is for this fan.

I also tested the Vornado 143

Vornado 1443 wattage

Honeywell HYF103.

For the purpose of this article let’s assume the highest wattage plus a little buffer and take 100 watts as our data point.

Next we need to know what the cost of electricity is.

According to chooseenergy.com the average price of electricity in the US is 13.17 cents.

This varies a lot from state to state, but I will run with the average.

So running a tower fan for 24 hours a day would cost you $0.3288 dollars a day.

$9.864 dollars a month.

$10.012 dollars a year.

(Check out this great energy calculator)

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How much does it cost to run a pedestal fan?

Running a pedestal fan for 24 hours a day would cost you approximately the same as a tower fan. $0.3288 dollars a day, $9.864 dollars a month, $120.012 dollars a year. (depending on the model)
So let’s run through the same process of above.

Quora says that pedestal fans use around 50-55 watts.

A popular pedestal fan, the Rowenta is said to use around 70 watts.

And a Vornado pedestal fan is said to use around 63 watts on high.

So if we round up as we did previously to 100 watts, then you will get the same results as a tower fan.

So running a pedestal fan for 24 hours a day would cost you $0.3288 dollars a day.

$9.864 dollars a month.

$10.012 dollars a year.

Ultimately, we can come to the conclusion that tower fans and pedestal fans will cost relatively the same. It might vary slightly from model to model, but the difference between them is negligible.

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What are the advantages of a Tower Fan?

Some of the benefits of a tower fan are a wide range or pricing options, they fit in small spaces, they often have more features, some have air purification, they are a little safer, they subjectively look nicer, are easier to clean, are a little safe, some have a thermostat and some have a filter.

Tower fans have a few advantages over pedestal fans. Read on below to find out what the are.

Wide Range of Pricing Options

Other fans do not provide the customer with the same freedom of choice as the tower fan.

They come in a number of varieties with a plethora of pricing options, which is what the modern consumer has come to expect in these instances.

Even the most basic and inexpensive models come with a multitude of features that allow you to personalize your settings.

Easy To Fit In a Variety of Spaces

The pedestal fan tends to only work best in one type of space or enclosure and for those who are seeking a fan for their small to medium spaces, they can fit a tower fan into the corner of any room and still enjoy the same air circulation that a more cumbersome fan would provide.

There are also a number of settings and speeds that give the fan owner a chance to settle into a mode that is most comfortable to them.

Freeing Up Space

If you are in search of a fan that can fit in limited spaces, the tower fan is your best choice.

The base is generally not as wide so they take up less space and they are much shorter than their counterparts.

Features

Tower fans are a bit more versatile in terms of features and there are a lot of features you can get on tower fans that you won’t find on pedestal fans.

For example, if you are wanting a nightlight or an Ioniser on your fan then you will likely only find those on a tower fan. Also on a number of tower fans, there are a variety of different speed settings and most have a remote control.

Also on a number of tower fans, there can be a variety of different speed settings. For example a breeze mode, or sleep mode which changes the amount of air coming out of the fan automatically.

Air purification

If you suffer from asthma or allergies, some believe that an air Ionizer can help.

Along with the above, there are said to be many other benefits of ionizing the air.

There are a number of tower fans available that have an ionizing feature built into them so you can enjoy the benefits.

Safety

All the moving parts/fan blades are well encased in the units so there is very little chance of injury. This is great if you have pets and animals running around the house as you won’t need to be concerned.

Also, tower fans, most of the time, have more steady bases, so are much harder to knock over.

Aesthetics

For the most part, pedestal fans all look like a pedestal fan.

Tower fans, however, come in many shapes and forms and have more chance of slotting into your decor (more) seamlessly than a pedestal fan will.

Easier to clean than a pedestal fan

Tower fans do not require you to get inside and clean out the blades in order to continue working well.

To clean a tower fan all you need is either some compressed air of a brush to wipe down the grill of the fan.

Unlike a pedestal fan of which you would need to take off the grill to clean.

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What are the Advantages of a Pedestal fan?

Some of the advantages of a pedestal fan are that you have more control over the airflow, there is a larger area of airflow, they are more powerful, you can adjust their height, and they are better for larger rooms and office spaces. 

Below are the pros a pedestal fan has over a tower fan.

Control of airflow

The good thing about pedestal fans is that you are able to control the direction of the airflow much better than you can with tower fans.

You can adjust up and down, left and right and often you can control the tilt of a pedestal fan.

This gives you a lot of control in terms of where you want the airflow to be directed.

With stand fans this is important as the purpose of these fans is not to cool down your room but to blow air on the people in the room.

So in terms of control, a pedestal fan has more options as the height of the tower fan cannot change, and very rarely do tower fans have a built-in tilt feature.

Airflow Area

Another tick in the pedestal pro box is the actual airflow area. More often than not the actual area where the air is coming from is much larger.

What you see is what you get with pedestal fans. You know exactly where the airflow is coming from.

However, with a lot of tower fans, the actual space where the air is coming out is quite limited and often quite deceptive on the first look of the fan.

More powerful

Because of the larger blades and aforementioned fan area, pedestal fans are much more powerful generally than tower fans which makes them far more useful in larger spaces.

This fairly generic pedestal fan is listed at 1854 CFM oh high setting while this popular tower fan is listed as 720CFM on high.

Obviously different models may vary but that should give you a rough idea of airflow.

Better for using in offices

In an office, you are likely not so worried about decor as you would be at home so pedestal fans are a better choice.

Offices generally are larger than your rooms at home so therefore you will want a fan with more power and more control over airflow.

Ability To Reach Larger Spaces

Given the above points, pedestal fans are the better choice than most tower fans for larger spaces as they have a more powerful airflow.

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What are the Disadvantages of a Pedestal fan?

The disadvantages of a pedestal fan compared to a tower fan is that they are harder to clean, often do not fit with your decor as nicely, often have fewer features, take up more space and are much easier to knock over.

Below is the list of disadvantages of a pedestal fan vs a tower fan.

Often Aesthetically Displeasing

Pedestal fans are not always used by business owners or homeowners who truly value the motif of the space, as pedestal fans can become a bit of an eyesore.

They are usually only deployed by those who do not care about appearances and are looking to save a few dollars on their ventilation needs.

The pedestal fan tends to draw attention wherever it is used but in a more negative way.

Can’t Fit In Tight Spaces

While the pedestal fan can be perched in a number of spots, this only serves to disguise the fact that they cannot be used in tight spaces, because of their inability to power down.

Those who utilize pedestal fans are left to aim and point the device in the directions that they wish to cool, without having a great deal of control over the process.

Lack of Improvement In Air Quality

A pedestal fan allows for far more air to circulate in a certain area, but the pedestal fan also does precious little to improve the quality of the air that it is responsible for circulating.

If one of your primary objectives when purchasing a fan is to improve air quality, the pedestal fan is not going to be your best choice, instead, you will want to look at a tower fan with an ionizer.

Safety

If you have kids and/or animals around the house, pedestal fans are much more susceptible to being knocked over given their tall and not so steady base.

Along with that, the blades of a pedestal fan, although encased by a grill usually, still leave room for fingers or small items to get entangled with the blades through the grills.

Dyson offers bladeless pedestal and tower fans which alleviate this problem, but they are expensive.

Cords

If you don’t want to deal with a long dangly cord that has the potential for people to trip over, then a pedestal fan may not be your best bet.

Often, pedestal fans have the power cord running right up to the middle/top of the fan which leaves the cord dangling down to the floor as in the picture to the right.

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What are the Disadvantages of a tower fan?

The disadvantages of a tower fan vs a pedestal fan are that they are not as powerful, you have less control over the airflow direction and some of the “high-velocity”  models can be a little noisier.

Below are a list of cons for tower fans vs pedestal fans.

Cannot Serve As an Air Conditioning Replacement

Should you find that you have too large of a space to cool, then you will need to invest in a portable air conditioner or an evaporative cooler that allows for more raw power that is actually controllable or an air circulator.

Otherwise, you are left with poor air circulation and a fan that does not get the job done.

A tower fan or pedestal fan are not air conditioners.

Noise Levels

Most tower fan models are quiet and easy to keep in a house with small children, while others are not.

This is why it is important for consumers to pay close attention and ask plenty of questions before making a decision on which model to purchase so that they are not forced to make an exchange at a later date.

Some of the more powerful tower fans are quite noisy however as mentioned in the positives, there are often features on these tower fans that tip the balance in favor of these tower fans, depending on what you are looking for.

Durability

Some models may not possess the proper durability and when you make the wrong purchase, you could end up spending more money over the long haul. Be sure to choose the correct tower fan, so that you can save yourself the time and hassle.

Airflow direction

Unlike pedestal fans, you don’t have a huge range of control over where the airflow direction is going.

Yes, they oscillate, however, there is generally no side to side or up and down adjustment of the airflow direction.

You would have to move the fan unit itself.

There are one or two tower fans that offer a minimal amount of control over the vertical airflow direction, however, it does not have close to the control pedestal fans do.

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Tower Fan vs Pedestal fan noise?

Ultimately the difference in sound between a pedestal fan and a tower fan is not much different. It will differ from model to model, but ultimately they produce sound in a similar dB range.

Obviously, each tower fan and pedestal fan will differ in terms of how loud they are, but below I will give you a general idea of how loud they are.

Below I tested 3 tower fans. (Models mentioned above)

They are what I would consider a low, medium and high powered fan.

They ranged from 51db on low settings to 62db on high.

Honeywell HYF013 Tower Fan Review noise

Vornado 143 Noise

Lasko 4443 Noise

Below are a couple of pedestal fans.

The Rowenta is probably one of the most popular pedestal fans and it is rated at between 40 and 57 decibels.

The following is a Honeywell fan that was tested by a customer and said to be 60 decibels on a low setting.

Ultimately the difference in sound between a pedestal fan and a tower fan is not much different.

It will differ from model to model, but ultimately they produce sound in a similar dB range.

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Which is easier to clean: tower fans vs pedestal fans?

The suggested method of cleaning by manufacturers makes a tower fan easier to clean than a pedestal fan.

BUT.

In a way, the answer to this question depends on how you want to clean your tower fan.

Most manufacturers do not suggest you take the fan to pieces in order to clean the inside.

In-fact, in many cases you will void the warranty if you do.

Generally the process involves wiping down the grill with a duster or compressed air.

Pedestal fans however have open grills and it is easy for dust to get in amongst the blades.

This means you need to take the grill off and get inside to clean the blades.

So there is a lot more work involved than just a duster and compressed air.

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Which is better a tower fan vs pedestal fan?

Tower fans are more practical to place and tend to have more available features, offer more stylish options. Pedestal fans tend to be more powerful, are better for larger spaces and you have more control over air direction as you can control the height and direction of the fan.

Like many things, there are pros and cons to each decision in regards to a tower fan vs a normal fan, but you can come to a more informed decision by thinking more specifically about what you want the fan to do.

Hopefully, this guide has given you a bit more of an idea of where to start, or you can also check out our comparison between standing fans and box fans along with our window fan and box fan and air circulator or regular fan guide.

And to add to that, both tower fans and pedestal fans have wifi enabled options for extra convenience.

Are you looking for the best tower fan? Be sure to check out our in-depth guide.

Feel free to leave ask a question or leave a comment below.

Now you know the difference between tower fans and pedestal fans, click the links below to find the best choices on Amazon.com

⇨ Best Tower Fans ⇦
⇨ Best Pedestal Fans ⇦