Air conditioning vs. fan – which is better for cooling my home?

For years there’s been an age-old debate – air conditioning vs. fan – which is better to beat the heat?

With the Australian summer well and truly on its way, it’s time to get a head start on choosing the best cooling solution for your home.

We’re here to guide you in the right direction and keep the cost of cooling comfort low.

Advantages of an Air Conditioner

Now, as air conditioning specialists, we are a little bias to an air conditioning system. However, they do come with a range of benefits!

• A ducted or split system air conditioner has the ability to provide climate control to the whole premises, not just one room.
• If you are conscious of the cost of cooling the entire premises, most systems have ‘zones’, allowing you to only cool the room in use or make one room cooler than the other.
• Ducted or split system air conditioners can rapidly alter the temperature of a room, allowing the cooling effect to be felt much quicker than the standard fan. With the ability to alter room temperature conditions through their reverse cycle air function, air conditioners create more comfortable living conditions – which is vital in an Australian climate!
• Air conditioners can also be set to maintain a specific temperature within your home, if you take care to seal all windows and doors.
• Larger split air systems have the motors positioned outside the home, resulting in less noise inside.

Advantages of a fan

Don’t get us wrong – portable fans and ceiling fans have their benefits. However, they’re not as extensive as an air conditioner.

• Ceiling fans may appear more economic to run in comparison to air conditioning units. The maximum wattage of ceiling fans will vary anywhere between 10W to 100W. The average ceiling fan on ‘high-speed’ will use approximately 60W to 100W per hour. Although they are economic, leaving a ceiling fan running endlessly can end up being costly!
• The cost of installing a fan is cheaper than installing an air conditioning unit.
• Floor fans are portable and usually light enough to transport between rooms

Air conditioning vs.  fan – who is the true winner?

While a fan seems cheaper to purchase and run, it doesn’t have the power an air conditioning has, and in turn won’t cool your room or home properly – therefore it becomes a situation of ‘you get what you pay for’.

Fans simply push existing hot air around a room, while an air conditioning takes the hot air and uses the reverse cycle air functioning to create cool air.

Air conditioning is a longer-term investment which will immensely improve the comfort of your home.

And there are great brands like Daikin and Mitsubishi who have developed new systems which are more cost-effective and energy efficient than those in the past.

Ready to replace your fan with a brand-new air conditioning system?