I recently tried out a ceiling fan and was blown away (pun intended) by how quiet it is and the nice gentle breeze it creates. I've noticed that bigger blades can make for a quieter experience. In contrast, box fans tend to be pretty noisy. I'm curious if there are any really large box fans that are just as quiet as ceiling fans, or if there's a reason we don't have large ceiling fan designs for ground use?
5 Answers
A lot of the noise from box fans comes from their safety cages. If a fan tips over at ground level without one, it can be dangerous. The blades could shatter or cause serious injuries, so that’s why we keep them caged. You definitely don’t want an uncaged fan at face level!
I’ve got a chicken house fan I keep in my garage, and it seriously moves a ton of air while keeping the mosquitoes away. It's much quieter now after I changed the motor and belt, so we can actually have conversations in front of it!
Believe it or not, there are really large box fans made for industrial purposes that are surprisingly quiet, especially at low speeds. They can be pretty pricey though!
For quiet air movement, a ducted system is your best bet. It channels air from a furnace or an AC unit outside and distributes it silently, which is a much better option for overall airflow in a space. No noisy fans needed!
You might want to check out tower fans or those with a ‘squirrel cage’ design. They tend to be quieter than typical box fans. Unfortunately, I’d say finding a quiet large box-style fan is going to be tough!