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Running a fan is significantly cheaper than running the air conditioning, but just how much better is it for your wallet?
We break down how much it costs to operate both a floor and a ceiling fan over the summer, taking into account the average cost of electricity across Australia.
Using this year's average cost per kilowatt across the country, operating a fan over summer can cost as little as $3 in Australia. Not $3 per day, $3 all up.
The average cost of electricity across the country is $0.14 per kilowatt hour, and most fans have incredibly low wattage. We're talking double digits here people. 30-60 watts is the norm. This means for each hour your fan is running you're looking at less than $0.01 added to your bill on average.
How much it costs to operate any electric appliance, fans included, is dictated by it's kilowatt output, and the cost per kw/h charged by your electric company, so every fan and every bill will be different. You'll need to do some math to determine the exact cost for you, but considering how low these rates are it almost isn't worth it. Still, if you'd like to you'll need to know;
When you have these numbers you simply need to multiply your Kw/h cost, by the kilowatt output to determine how much that device will cost per hour. From there you can multiply that number by how many hours per day you’ll likely use your fan, and again by how many days across summer (92). The formula looks like this;
Even though they are larger, and more effective, ceiling fans are generally much cheaper to run than pedestal fans. At their maximum speed, ceiling fans tend to use around 30 watts of power, and cost just a fraction of a cent per hour to operate. For comparison, floor fans range from 45 watts to over 100 watts.
Ceiling fans with lights do however have a higher wattage when the light is in use. Those equipped with LEDs may use an extra 5-15 watts, while traditional light bulbs could go up to 60 watts per bulb. While this does amp up the running costs, unless you've got your floor fan running in the dark it shouldn't hurt the bottom line.
Despite being physically smaller and cheaper to buy, floor fans are the more expensive fan to run. The margins are tiny though.
Pedestal and floor fans vary in wattage from as low as 45 watts through to over 100 watts, and cost between $0.006 - $0.014 per hour to run. Meaning you'll pay somewhere between $4 - $10 to run one of these fans throughout summer in Australia. For comparison ceiling fans will set you back around $3 - $3.50 for the same duration.
Floor fans however, are plug-and-play devices. From as little as $20, you can buy one, plug it in and have cooler air circulating in minutes. Ceiling fans on the other hand have a higher retail price, and need to be installed by a certified professional which can be pricey.
Most ceiling fans have low wattage and end up being stupid cheap to run in the warm season. Fans from Big Ass Fans, and Bunnings alike tend to have wattage as low as 30 watts at their fastest speed. This translates to $0.004 per hour to run, or just $3.02 across summer.
These are however, a more costly cooling device to set up. Ceiling fans can be around $200 to buy, but go up to past $1,500 for the fancier and more efficient models. On top of that there is also the cost of a professional installation that can get up to $500+ depending on your electrician's rates. In saying that, they are also more permanent and powerful solutions that pedestal fans.
For the most part, they also include lighting. The newer models have low wattage LEDs which will also help keep your electricity costs down.
No matter how you slice it, air conditioning is going to be more expensive to run than a fan. Fans have sub-100 watt power usage while air conditioners start from 800 watts. The average price goes from $3.02 for a ceiling fan up to $322.56 for a 3200 watt aircon unit.
Air conditioners are however, better cooling devices. These can bring the temperature of a room down by over 10 degrees celcius, while even the most powerful fan can only accomplish around 6 degrees.
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