How Much Power (Watts) Does A Box Fan Use?
During the summer and periods of high heat, a box fan is the best way to ventilate bedrooms, living spaces and provide some comfort in your home. They can cool down any room in your house very quickly and easily. Each box fan is designed differently and mainly comes with multiple modes of operation.
If you already have a box fan in your home, but you don’t know how much power it consumes, you are at the right place to find out. We’re going to explain how much power exactly does a box fan use and how much it will cost you to run it.
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How Much Power (Watts) Does A Box Fan Use?
So How Much Power (Watts) Does A Box Fan Use? Typically, the box fan consumes between 50 to 100 watts of power, at the cost of around $0.01 per hour. To run a box fan for 8 hours/day during the summer, it will cost you $2.4 per month. Smaller box fans use around 27W, while the bigger models (20-inch and more) can consume over 100W per hour.
Box fans are mostly designed extra simply. They tend to have a spinning blade that is located inside a plastic casing. If you go to the shop, you’ll found that box fans typically range from 35 to 100 watts of power. Mostly they are not huge and can be placed in multiple locations inside the house to extract hot air from the room.
Regardless of their size, most box fans use around 75 watts on average when they are running at full speed, while the power consumption at the lowest speed settings is around 43 watts and for the medium speed it’s 61 watts. Typically, the box fans due to their size use more watts.
Popular Box Fan models and their power consumption in different modes:
| Box Fan Model: | Normal Speed | Full Speed | Cost per Month |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lasko Premium Box Fan | 78 Watts | 110 Watts | $0.11 |
| Camair Bx100 Box Fan | 45 Watts | 68 Watts | $0.07 |
| Hurricane Classic Box Fan | 42 Watts | 60 Watts | $0.06 |
| Comfort Zone CZ10B | 25 Watts | 38 Watts | $0.04 |
Note! Box fans come with different speeds which means that power consumption can vary greatly. Most box fans have 3 or more modes that you can choose from.
If you want to know How Much Power Does a Computer Use in Sleep Mode, read the following article.
What Is The Average Power Consumption Of A Box Fan?
The average power consumption of a box fan is around 75 watts when they are running at full speed. Mostly they are used during the night (8h per day), so to run a box fan of 75W during the night it will cost you $0.078 per day or $2.37 for a month. The consumption of a box fan will depend on several criteria, including the power of the latter and its energy efficiency.
How To Calculate How Much it Cost to Run a Box Fan?
There are 2 ways how you can calculate and get the right data on the power consumption of your box fan. The first is to use the data from your box fan and calculate it, and the second way is to use a device Kill A Watt Meter. First, you’ll need to know the following:
- The power of the box fan that is measured in kilowatts per hour (kWh)
- How long the box fan will be running
- The cost of electricity in your area
1. Get the kWh
Just use the number of watts that your box fan has and divide it by thousand. For instance, if your box fan has 150 watts, just divide that number by 1000, and you will get 0.15. Therefore, the power consumption of your box fan is 0.15 kW.
2. Total Working Time
The next thing you need to determine is how much your box fan will be running. If it is used for 8 hours a day for the next 30 days, that’s a total of 240 hours of work.
3. Cost Of Electricity In Your Area
Finally, you need to know how much is the cost of electricity in your area. In the United States, the average price of 1 kWh is around 13 cents. Determine how many hours your box fan has been working, multiply it by kWh and the average price of 0.13 cents and you will know how much it costs to run a box fan.
Example:
Let’s stay that you have a Lasko Premium Box fan that has the power of 110W. During the summer you use it for 8 hours per day to cool down your room. By this data, we’ll get how much it will cost use to run this model for a whole month. Let’s start.
- Lasko Premium Box Fan
- Power: 110W = 110/1000 = 0.11 [kW]
- Speeds: 3
P = 0.11 [kW] x 8 [hours] x 0.13 [electricity] = $0.114
By this we can see that running a box fan will cost us $0.114 for one day or $3.42 for a month.
Another and better way how you can get the real power consumption of your box fan is to use a Kill A Watt meter. Simply put this device into your outlet and connect it with your box fan. All the electricity that goes through this device will be measured and you will get the exact number of how much power you consume.
Ways To Reduce The Box Fan Power Consumption
If your box fan is using too much power, follow these tips to save energy:
- Unplug the fan when you don’t need it. This means that it cannot cause any hidden costs in standby mode.
- Use the lowest possible fan speed. This way your box fan will use less electricity.
- Set up the fan so that it can distribute the air well, i.e. in the middle of the room or next to a window where the air can mix.
- Finally, improving the energy impact of your entire home, by opening the windows at night for example, or by working on the overall insulation, will allow you to limit the use of your fan.
Find Out How Much Power Does Your Box Fan Use
The box fans have a lot of advantages. Some new models come with a tone of new features that are handy such as remote controls, removable grills, front-facing control buttons, etc. The great thing that makes these box fans so great is that they don’t use a lot of power (electricity). However, it’s still good to know how much power it is. It’s pretty simple to find out, and here is how you can know the power consumption of your fan:
1. Find The Box Fan Wattage Label
The only data you need to know how much energy your box fan is consuming is to know wattage power. By knowing the watts you will be able to calculate the cost to run a fan. That information should be listed on the label or on the box fan itself. Typically, most box fans use between 50 and 100 watts, but some stronger models can go up to 200 watts. Therefore, the bigger box fans are, the higher the wattage will be.
2. Wattage Label Isn’t Available
Sometimes, you will not find the wattage label on your box fan, but some other information might be mentioned such as volts [V] and ampers [A]. By using this data you can easily calculate the wattage and know how much power your box fan consumes. The formula is simple: P = V x A [W]. If you can’t find any data on your box fan, then you can look for that model on the internet and see the specifications on the manufacturer’s website.
Consider Electrical Power And Noise
There is no energy label when it comes to choosing a box fan. It is, therefore, better to try it in the store to realize the draft it generates and the noise it produces. To know the electrical power it consumes (watts), look on the packaging box or directly on the device.
The electrical power consumed by a box fan is most often proportional to the air displaced (to the wind it produces). As a result, before buying such a device, we will ask ourselves whether it should cool a single person or a group of people? Should he blow all over the body, or only the upper body?
Consider getting a box fan that uses Brushless motors. They consume about 40% less electricity than traditional motors and they are also quieter. The heat released by a running fan is directly linked to the electrical power that it draws.
The different box fans on the market are distinguished by their design and technology. Some hide their propeller(s) in the foot of the device and diffuse the air through a ring. They also offer various options: variable speed, oscillating airflow, timer for automatic shutdown after a user-defined period of time, remote control, smartphone management, etc.
How Much Electricity Do Different Types of Box Fan Use?
Each box fan has different specifications and therefore consumes a different amount of energy, but the average range of power consumption of a box fan is between 50 watts all the way up to 200 watts. Though the dimensions and the style of the box fan don’t directly impact the power consumption, the wattage is the most important parameter that decides how much electricity your box fan will use.
In most cases the bigger the dimensions of the box fan are, the more power it consumes. Most box fans will have a label on them where you can see exactly how many watts there are.
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Important Parameters When You Are Buying A Box Fan
When you decide to buy a box fan, it will be important to be vigilant on two criteria to reduce the power consumption of a fan.
- The power
Each box fan sold on the market relies on a nominal power which is expressed in watts. This means the maximum energy the device will need to operate at full power. In our example, we took an average operating power of 100 watts. This criterion will have a significant impact on the cost associated with the use of the ventilator.
- Size And Dimensions
The size and dimensions generally indicate the strength and efficiency of the box fan. If it has large blades, it means it will use more power to rotate them. If you’re cooling some medium-sized room, you don’t need a huge box fan, but you can take quite a decent 20-inch one.
What Is The Power Consumption Of A Small Box Fan?
Typically, the small box fans use approximately between 25 watts to 35 watts on average when they run at full speed. When using the lowest and medium speed, it consumes approx 15 to 25 watts. Small box fans are those that are equal to 12 inches (30 centimeters) or less. These small fans are a great choice if you are looking to cool down the room in a short period of time.
Final Thoughts
When temperatures are rising, a box fan is one of the best and most economical ways to cool down your room. It doesn’t consume a lot of electricity and it’s easy to use. Whether you have an air conditioner in your home, a box fan is a great way to cool a room quickly and at a lower cost. The power consumption of these devices is around 100 watts. I hope that this article helped you and that you know how much it will cost you to run this device.
