The Classic Box Fan: Important for Every Home

In the world of portable electric fans, box fans are a reliable constant. They are powerful, durable, and energy-efficient. Box fans have had the same basic design for generations of consumers who have needed a quick breeze to refresh a room or feel cooler on a hot summer’s day. Today’s box fans are more than nostalgic reliability and a familiar shape – they have been modernized to save more energy and offer increased safety. Some even withstand rainy weather and come in bright colors that earlier fans of the fan could only dream about. But box fans and other window fans have an even more important function in recent times.

Ventilate Stale Indoor Air

Sure, larger room fans have always helped people feel cooler by creating a wind chill effect in the home. But did you know that box fans and window fans can play a role in keeping air in the home cleaner and healthier? According to the EPA, the concentrations of some pollutants can be 2 to 5 times worse indoors than typical outdoor concentrations. Additionally, modern energy-efficient building construction and increased use of synthetic materials in home furnishings, personal care products, and household cleaners have led to a notable increase in indoor pollutants in recent decades.

In addition to general air quality, many homeowners and renters today are concerned with disease transmission due to inadequate ventilation. The EPA explains in an article about Ventilation and Coronavirus, “In addition to helping reduce risk from airborne transmission of viruses, improving ventilation also benefits indoor air quality by reducing exposure to products used for cleaning and disinfecting potentially contaminated surfaces.”

Box fans are versatile in their use due to their ability to operate in windows. When weather and safety permit, using a box fan facing outward in a window and opening another window in the room (or nearby room) can be effective at increasing fresh air indoors and exhausting polluted indoor air. Several Lasko box fans, like the 20” Weather Shield® Performance Box Fan and the 20″ Power Plus Box Fan, come equipped with a patented, isolated motor to protect internal parts from surprise rain showers for worry-free window use.

Plus, this fresh airflow can also help the room feel more comfortable. By strategically placing your box fan in a window, you can make the most of cooling cross-breezes from outside. That cooling breeze of fresh air also might allow you to turn off the air conditioning, saving both money and energy.

Works with Your Air Conditioner

Not only are box fans great at helping to freshen air in rooms, they can also help to boost the air flow from your air conditioner. When you use your box fan along with your AC unit, you can save money and energy. Using fans to increase airflow means you won’t run your AC as much, because air circulation throughout the home goes further with fans. (Some fans can increase airflow 20%.) With such a wide range of circulation, box fans can bring cool breezes to more than one room at a time. There are even more savings when you shut off or sporadically use the AC and keep your box fan or other air circulator fan running. Many Lasko fans cost less than two cents per hour to operate! This makes for super savings when compared to the much higher cost of continuously running the air conditioner.

Versatile and Portable Box Fans

Unlike tower fans, which are stylish enough to display as part of your decor, box fans have a more functional look. One of the box fan’s best attributes is compact design; the narrow-depth casing sits directly on a surface without a cumbersome stand. Box fans can be placed and operated on just about any indoor flat surface.

Portable electric fans are made to be moved. Utility fans come with rugged handles and even window fans and tower fans, which are usually stationary, can be moved when needed. Box fans are lightweight (most are around 7 to 10 pounds) and have an easy-grip handle at the top of the unit to pick up and go from room to room. They are easy fans to use as well. There’s no assembly required, other than clipping on the stabilizing “feet” that prevent the fan from accidentally tipping over when on top speed.

Safe and Easy

Box fans have several speeds from quieter low speeds to powerful high speeds, easy-to-access top-mounted controls, and safety features that provide peace of mind. All Lasko box fans come with The Blue Plug™ Patented Safety Fuse Technology that automatically turns off the fan to prevent accidents. The plug cuts off the electric current to the fan if it detects a potentially hazardous electrical fault, which makes them both easy to use, and easy on the mind. The versatile box fan is an excellent choice in keeping people in all communities feeling safer, cooler and more comfortable when summer months are at their hottest — all while assuring convenience and peace of mind.