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The weather is unseasonably warm, so you're probably ready to head to Kmart for a new pedestal fan. Even though the Australian climate feels impossible to predict, Kmart seems to have it down because the retailer just released a handful of fans, and coolers.
In this guide we'll compare the range and let you know which ones are actually worth your money.
Fan | Type | Size | Airflow | Speed | Price | Rating | Retailers |
| Pedestal | 34cm | Unknown | Unknown |
$17
| 
| Find it at Kmart | |
| Pedestal | 42cm | Unknown | Unknown |
$39
| 
| Find it at Kmart |
Price is always a consideration, and if you're especially keen on Kmart's fan range we know that it is top of mind. Cheaper prices generally mean that we get less transparency around specs, and therefore we know less about the product without testing it. Regardless, a cheaper price is still better for the consumer, so we scale accordingly in our ratings.
Fan airflow is generally measured in cubic feet per minute (CFM) but you'll sometimes see it in cubic metres per minute or hour. Either way, the airflow indicates exactly how much are the fan can circulate in a certain period of time. The bigger the number, the more efficient the fan.
You'll need to look at your room size to balance this properly however. Too much airflow and you'll feel like you're in a wind tunnel. To simply circulate air once per hour, you'll want the CFM to equal your room volume divided by 60. For more efficient cooling however, you'll want to pump those numbers.
Airflow and speed go hand-in-hand. The quicker a fan can spun around, the quicker it can circulate and cool the air. When it comes to standing fans, anything above 2000RPM is a "high speed" fan while for ceiling fans that is more like 200PM.
High speed fans are usually found in industrial spaces and gyms - they can be loud and will probably be too powerful for your home. RPMs of 1200-1400 are your usual house fan, so if you want something with more oomph that isn't made for a warehouse look for something between 1400-1800RPM.
There are a bunch of different size related specs we can assess, but the main one you want to take into account is the blade sweep. This is the diameter of the fan blades - the bigger it is the more air it can take in and ciculate. Bigger isn't neccessarily better however. If a fan is too large for a room it can be uncomfortable and loud - still without other specs like airflow and speed, the size of a fan is a good indicator for how efficiently it will cool a space. Naturally this is only relevant for pedestal fans with blades, bladeless fans only really have to worry about airflow.
If I say "fan" then you picture a pedestal fan. It generally has three blades, a cage that is impossible to clean, and it rotates slowly with a small clicking sound. You know the one!
Pedestal fans are popular because they are free standing, portable, and generally have an adjustable height. You can aim them directly at your face when you need them, and make yourself sound like a robot while you're at it.
Naturally Kmart has a handful of these floor fans, with middling specs. Thats okay though, we'll break down which ones are your best bet.
Kmart hasn't given us much to work with here, but if you're looking for your stereotypical pedestal fan, here it is. For just $17 you'll get both fixed and oscillating functions, three speed settings, and adjustable tilt. It isn't fancy, but it is cheap.
Unsurprisingly the other Kmart fan is also light on the cooling specs. This one is however larger, and somewhat fancier than the bareboned $17 option.
It also has three speed settings, and an oscillating function, but this one has an adjustable height and a remote control. The 50cm pedestal fan can vary from 100-125cm tall, and you have to admit that it does look nicer than the total cheapy.
Fitted out with five blades instead of three, this fan should provide better performance although it may run a bit louder than a three-bladed alternative. The blades have a 42cm diameter, which is a touch larger than the 40cm fan and should be able to cool more efficiently.
It is available in both white and black.
Although portable air conditioners are expensive, other cooling devices are relatively cheap to run. Pedestal fans will cost you almost nothing to run per hour, so even if you end up pumping them 24/7 it shouldn't affect your electricity bills too much.
Both of Kmart's pedestal fans fit this pattern. The $17 oscillating fan uses just 45 watts of power, while the $39 pedestal fan uses 50 watts. Considering that Australia's average kilowatt per hour charge is around $0.14, you're looking at around $0.01 per hour to run a Kmart fan.
If you were to run these standing gans for 8 hours a day across all of Summer, it will only set you back an extra $4. That is a hell of a lot cheaper than heaters cost to run.
Fan diameter and airflow capacity aren't directly linked in the way that wattage and heating is, so finding the right size fan can be tricky. You're better off looking at airflow capacity in comparison to your room size in order to find the best fan size for your space.
To do this you'll need to calculate the colume of your room, and it will probably have to be in cubic feet. CFM is the standard airflow measurement, so alas we have to comply with the imperial system.
Look for fans that have a CFM that is at least equal to your room volume divided by 60. This will allow the fan to circulate all the air in the room once per hour. If you want greater cooling then look for fans that match the cubic feet of your room instead.
Using the average ceiling height of 2.4m, we've done some quick calculations to help you find the minimum CFM for your space.
If the fan you're looking at doesn't give you an airflow figure (which is highly likely), you can use the fan diameter and speed as some kind of indication. The longer the fan blades the more air they can pass through them, and the faster they can spin the more efficiently that air can be distributed. Factors like wattage, blade quantity and shape also play into this, but size and speed are the easiest to look out for.
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