Fans: Expert and User Reviews

Our AssessmentFinding product reviews at the Home Depot website is extremely inconvenient. There is no way to sort the list of products according to their user rating, so visitors must click on each individual product page to see the number of reviews and the average rating. (There is a separate "rating and reviews," page that is much easier to navigate, but it is not kept up to date; in fact, the page for fans contains no reviews at all.) Of the 100-plus fans listed for sale, few receive more than a handful of reviews from users. One exception is the Lasko 2155A Electrically Reversible Window Fan, which receives an average of 4.3 stars (out of 5) from more than 75 users. Lasko tower and box fans also get good ratings, though not from as many users.

Our AssessmentWalmart.com carries more than 100 fans, some of which receive numerous reviews (though many others receive no reviews at all). Lasko fans are the most popular here; four models -- the Lasko 3300 Wind Machine, the Lasko 3440 Wind Tunnel Floor Fan, the Lasko 1825 Adjustable Cyclone and the Lasko 4910 Desktop Wind Tower -- receive very high average ratings and more than 100 reviews each. Although reasonably well organized, this site is painfully slow to navigate; it is most useful for checking out specific models once you have narrowed down your choices.

Our AssessmentAlthough a large number of fans are reviewed at Viewpoints.com, most have only a few comments from users, and some of the product pages aren't very clear about which model is being reviewed. Four fans, two from Lasko and two from Honeywell, receive high average ratings from at least 50 users; however, both the Honeywell models are discontinued. We found mixed reviews here for the Dyson AM01 Air Multiplier; about 25 users give it an average rating of 3.6 stars out of 5. The Viewpoints site offers a useful summary of pros and cons for each product reviewed, as well as highlighting the most helpful positive and negative reviews.

Our AssessmentAppliance reviewers L.D. Ray and BC Maven present their top picks in tower fans, window fans and pedestal fans at Bestcovery.com. Thirteen models are ranked and discussed here and there's some useful advice on buying fans. However, there's no indication that the fans were tested, and it's not always clear why specific fans are chosen over others. Moreover, although Bestcovery identifies these reviewers as "appliances experts," one provides no credentials at all and the other says only that she has been "actively involved" with appliances (among many other topics) for more than five years. And although the review of window fans was updated in March 2011, the top-rated window fan was discontinued in 2010.

Our AssessmentApartmentTherapy.com lists several "well designed" fans, providing a photo of each one -- but there's no discussion of performance and no indication that the fans were tested. One fan, the Black and Blum Propello, is included twice, and two other fans are not widely available in the U.S. The comments below the article are more helpful, however. One user warns of problems with the Minka-Aire F300-BN Oscillating Retro Table Fan; others recommend Lasko and Vornado fans.

Our AssessmentSears allows owners to post reviews of products, but few fans are rated and comments are sparse.