I tested fans to keep you cool in a heatwave the winner costs 1p an hour to run
SUMMER is finally here with temperatures all over the UK set to hit 30 degrees this week, if not hotter.
Whilst we all love the sun, it can make us feel a little sticky and sweaty especially when trying to sleep at night.
A good fan is a must if you want to keep cool.
Electric fans are a good option as they are cheaper, smaller, lighter and more energy efficient than air conditioning.
But prices of fans vary and some don't do much to keep you cool at all, which can make buying one a challenge.
Pedestal fans are a great option and tend to be more powerful than tower or table top fans.
We've tested top brands including Meaco, Morphy Richards and Daewoo. Here's how they compare:
Morphy Richards Air Flex 9inch Circulating Pedestal Fan
£149.99, morphyrichards.co.uk
Speed settings: 8
It's expensive, but this has a DC motor which enables the fan to use less energy whilst still giving an outstanding performance.
In fact, DC motors are meant to be up to 70% more efficient than air conditioning units.
So, with this, you'll get maximum cooling without the worry of soaring electric bills.
It's reasonably quiet and offers eight speed settings as well as advanced oscillation, which means it can direct airflow both horizontally and vertically.
The fan made the entire room feel fresher, cooler and more comfortable - even when it hit 30 degrees outside.
Performance: 5/5
Value: 4/5
Total score: 9/10
Status 16inch Oscillating Stand Fan
£19.99, currys.co.uk
Speed settings: 3
For the price, I can't really grumble.
It's not the most aesthetically pleasing, but given this cost less than £20, this was surprisingly powerful.
It blew enough air around to keep a reasonably-sized room cool and it wasn't overly intrusive, though the noise measures around 40 decibels, which was higher than most.
The oscillating function was very effective.
The frame was a bit flimsy and it wouldn't withstand much - a child or a pet bumping into it could easily knock it over.
Performance: 3/5
Value: 3/5
Total score: 6/10
Daewoo Pedestal Air Circulator Fan
£79.99, daewooelectricals.com
Speed settings: 3
This fan was easy to put together and at 5kg, it's not too heavy, so it was easy to move from room to room too if you needed to.
For nearly £80, it looked pretty flimsy and it only had three speed settings - most of the pricier ones had more to choose from.
It does have a built-in oil diffuser, which did make the cool air smell lovely and created a lovely relaxing vibe around the room.
It also had dual oscillation - up and down and side to side - which was effective at keeping the entire room airy and cool.
Performance: 3/5
Value: 3/5
Total score: 6/10
Vonhaus Air Circulator Pedestal Fan - 16 inch
£74.99, vonhaus.co.uk
Speed settings: 12
This fan is hard to beat. Not only was it one of the best at cooling me down, it's a real design feature too.
The innovative blade design is engineered to evenly push the air in a way that bounces off walls and surfaces.
It's sleek and stylish yet easily cooled my kitchen diner, which is the largest room in my house.
At night, a soft ambient backlight kicks in which was so calming and perfect for winding down.
It has 12 speed settings to choose from and is energy efficient. Even though it's reasonably powerful at 35 watts, it only costs around 1p an hour to run.
It also has an aromatherapy function which allows you to add a few drops of your own essential oils and the fan will spray cool air, that also smells amazing.
Performance: 5/5
Value: 5/5
Total score: 10/10
Zanussi 16inch Pedestal Fan
£24.99, amazon.co.uk
Speed settings: 3
For less than £25, you are getting a reasonably powerful fan. However, the legs were not very sturdy.
They are hollow plastic and lack weight making the entire product a bit top heavy. I worried about it being knocked over.
It's not the quietest but at the same time, the noise wasn't overly intrusive.
It also has 90-degree oscillation and it gives out a decent breeze even on the lowest setting. For a budget option, it's alright.
Performance: 3/5
Value: 4/5
Total score: 7/10
Meaco Sefte 10inch Pedestal Air Circulator with Storage Bag
£179.99, meaco.com
Speed settings: 12
A super low energy fan that costs from just 0.1p an hour to run.
It was easy to assemble, sleek and so quiet you'll forget it's even there - hence it's name 'Sefte' which is an old English word meaning 'quite, gentle and undisturbed'.
It was very quiet and unobtrusive yet has a powerful airflow of 1,140m3ph, allowing it to cool a room quickly.
Previously, fans I've used in the bedroom keep me awake at night with their flashy displays but this has a night mode, which switches off the display light, mutes the buttons and gradually reduces the fan's speed overnight.
The handy remote means you can control it without getting out of bed.
I'm not surprised it's proving very popular this summer. The only downside is the price. At nearly £180, it's a pricey purchase.
Performance: 5/5
Value: 3/5
Total score: 8/10
Duux Whisper Pedestal Fan
£179.99, duux.co.uk
Speed settings: 26
This Duux fan has some incredible features including 26 speed settings, horizontal and vertical oscillation and a 12-hour programmable timer.
The 26 settings certainly give you plenty of options to choose from but I loved the natural wind mode which is designed to replicate outdoor cooling by varying the fan speed.
It also has a night mode where the speed will decrease to the lowest setting over 2.5 hours.
The breeze this creates is pleasant and it lived up to its "whisper" name as it was one of the quietest I tested.
Even on the highest settings, the noise was not overly intrusive.
The touchscreen panel was a little difficult to operate, it was easier to use the remote control.
It's very energy efficient, only costing around 0.8p to run on the highest speeds.
Performance: 5/5
Value: 3/5
Total score: 8/10
Air Craft LUME Quiet 2-in-1 Pedestal Fan
£119 ao.com
Speed settings: 12
Say goodbye to hot stuffy days with this cutting-edge fan, which did a brilliant job of cooling larger rooms.
It's quiet. In fact, the manufacturers claim it's never louder than an electric toothbrush.
You pretty much forget it's there though on its highest it does go up to 60 decibels.
What I loved most was that it came with an illuminated backlight which was very calming and could be used even with the fan switched off.
It's easily controlled with a remote control and has front and back guards for fan blades.
It has three modes - normal, natural and sleep.
Natural runs at alternating speeds to simulate a natural breeze with occasional gusts and in sleep mode, it gradually reduces speed every 30 minutes until it reaches the lowest level.
Perfect for hot, restless nights.
Performance: 4/5
Value: 3/5
Total score: 7/10
EcoAir Equinox 16inch DC Low Power Consumption Fan
£49.99, ecoair.org
Speed settings: 12
This product is easy to assemble, efficient and economical.
I thought it had an impressive power output for less than £50 and just like the Morphy Richards' fan, it has an energy efficient DC motor.
It has 12 settings but it did get a bit noisy once you get to level five and I wouldn't have wanted to keep this on through the night.
The fan isn't as sleek and stylish as others but it's reasonable value for money and once you've paid for it, it will cost pennies to run.
It also has an energy saver function and will turn off automatically within 12 hours of the last adjustment on the control panel.
Performance: 4/5
Value: 4/5
Total score: 8/10
How to keep cool in hot weather
Most of us welcome hot weather, but when it's too hot, there are health risks. Here are three ways to keep cool according to the NHS...
Keep out of the heat if you can.
If you have to go outside, stay in the shade especially between 11am and 3pm, wear sunscreen, a hat and light clothes, and avoid exercise or activity that makes you hotter.
Cool yourself down.
Have cold food and drinks, avoid alcohol, caffeine and hot drinks, and have a cool shower or put cool water on your skin or clothes.
Keep your living space cool.
Close windows during the day and open them at night when the temperature outside has gone down. Electric fans can help if the temperature is below 35 degrees. Check the temperature of rooms, especially where people at higher risk live and sleep.
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- BreakingNews.ie
How grandparents can set boundaries with summer childcare
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The Sun
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My jealous husband always assumed I was cheating… so I eventually slept with my boss
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The Guardian
3 hours ago
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At 21, Madison Griffiths dated her university tutor. It was legal, consensual – and a messy grey area
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Griffiths spent a year speaking to her four case studies, women now in their 30s and 40s who had 'lived lives well and truly outside of these relationships' and were now able to reflect on what had been. She readily admits that she was probably subconsciously 'looking for women that reminded me somewhat of myself, or could help me make sense of my own [experience]'. In her quest to understand these dynamics, Griffiths also spoke to male professors and tutors who had slept with a student – but not the ones who'd had relationships with her four subjects, to protect their anonymity. (Her subjects are also given pseudonyms and minor elements of their stories, like placenames, were fictionalised to obscure them.) Sweet Nothings is being published into a cultural moment that feels perhaps ready to begin reckoning with professor-student relationships. It arrives just ahead of A24's Sundance winner Sorry, Baby, about one woman's residual trauma from such a relationship, and not long after both New Yorker fiction and Diana Reid's bestselling novel Love & Virtue on the same topic. Perhaps most importantly, it comes in the long shadow of the #MeToo movement, as the conversation has expanded, sometimes uncertainly, to consensual relationships that feel not-quite-right – and what, exactly, in the arena of sex deserves our condemnation. Griffiths focused specifically on relationships that happened at university, where both parties were adults, and no abuse involving minors or high school students. What makes these relationships interesting to Griffiths is the grey area they operate in. Sex between a student and a professor is not against the law and, in many cases, not even expressly against university policy – yet these relationships can leave a lifelong mark on the women who enter them. 'I was particularly interested in sex that was 'problematic' but not necessarily 'bad',' Griffiths says. 'Every woman I spoke to was of the age of consent – [but] well and truly nursing a unique harm. The women that I was in conversation with didn't necessarily feel as if something completely, egregiously untoward took place within the framework of consent. It was something else entirely.' What unfurls in Sweet Nothings is an examination of the way men in positions of authority can appeal to women when they are younger, at a moment in their lives when they perhaps feel that youth and beauty afford them a power of its own. Instead of flat condemnations, Griffiths wanted to highlight the agency a lot of these women had in procuring these relationships and explore their own desires. But she found that some men appeared over time, as one character notes, 'vile, dull and obvious' for using their sway in the classroom to get with women, sometimes many years their junior, who wouldn't look twice at them in a pub. A complicated shame and anger often bloomed as women looked back on these relationships in the rear-view mirror, their memories of university forever soured. Sign up for the fun stuff with our rundown of must-reads, pop culture and tips for the weekend, every Saturday morning Two of her subjects had seen their former professor or tutor go on to date other students after their own breakup. The revelation that they may have been part of a kink, 'as opposed to necessarily someone who met the love of their life in the wrong outfit, in the wrong place, in the wrong time, did quite severe harm to these individuals' sense of self,' Griffiths says. So too did realising that a man they once idolised, who has a mastery of the field they aspire to work in, had made their relationship about sex when perhaps what they were really craving was to be told they could 'be him one day'. It perhaps won't surprise you to hear that Lisa Taddeo's Three Women, the 2019 bestseller about the sex lives of three real American women (including one who, at age 17, had a sexual relationship with her high school teacher), was an inspiration for Griffiths. Sign up to Saved for Later Catch up on the fun stuff with Guardian Australia's culture and lifestyle rundown of pop culture, trends and tips after newsletter promotion But another book looms much larger: Helen Garner's The First Stone, mentioned directly in Sweet Nothings as a book Griffiths finds both compelling and aggravating. Garner's 1995 account of two University of Melbourne students who accused a residential college master of sexual assault has been critically re-evaluated in recent years for its often-scathing cynicism towards its female subjects. Garner herself had an affair with an older tutor while at university, she revealed in The First Stone – but didn't view it as an abuse of power, and regarded the young women's decision to lodge a complaint with police over being groped as a 'heartbreaking' overreaction and affront to feminist ideals. Griffiths read Garner's book twice while writing her manuscript, determined to do her own differently. Garner didn't interview the women involved in the case for The First Stone – they had declined her interview requests – and Griffiths found the absence of their voices distracting. She very deliberately made her female subjects the centre of her story and is happy to be writing in an era when 'we can speak in less sweeping terms' about gender and consent. 'I think older generations have a very cartoonish view of an assailant and his prey,' she laughs. But even 30 years on from The First Stone, Griffiths found she and her subjects still brushed up against an attitude of, as she puts it, 'Well, what did she get out of it?' Despite typically being in only their late teens or early 20s, Griffiths found that uni students are seen as capable and headstrong, and therefore unable to be victimised like a high school student who is just a couple years younger than them. That disregard for uni students, paired with the innate respect professors enjoy, has muddied understandings of power and allowed men at universities to do what they like. 'There is certainly a class dimension to all of this,' Griffiths says. 'I think professors are held to high esteem and are able to operate in [this] way throughout a cultural understanding of them as quite esoteric, niche, unconventional genius. Genius men throughout history have gotten away with a lot.' Sure enough, while two of the four women featured in Sweet Nothings filed complaints against the men they had relationships with, there have been no repercussions for any of the men. There are rules around student-teacher relationships at most Australian universities, Griffiths says, but 'they are open to interpretation'. At many universities, guidelines only apply to relationships between teaching staff and their current students; for Griffiths and two of her subjects, the relationship began after they were in the same classroom. The order of events didn't change the power dynamic. 'One thing that I found was the origin story of all of these relationships, having once met in the classroom, pervaded the relationships at their core. It never went away,' Griffiths says. The women she spoke to remained eager to impress or prove themselves to their former teachers, forever affording them the upper hand. For Griffiths, now aged 31, that has proven true. 'I guess at the core of my almost childish want with him was to be taken seriously,' she says. 'I'd be lying if I said there wasn't a shadow of that in my relationship to my work more broadly.' She hopes that if her former tutor reads her book, he will see that she is able to look at their relationship academically now – 'with the fine-tooth comb that perhaps he didn't teach me'. Sweet Nothings is out now ($36.99)
