A budget-friendly tower fan with surprising performance

The Better Homes & Gardens Tower Fan is one of the least expensive on the market. Better Homes & Gardens claims its fan offers above-average cooling, some modes not usually found on low-cost fans and a stylish appearance that’s superior to other fans.

The BestReviews Testing Lab rigorously reviewed these claims and more. While we have some quibbles with it, overall, we thought the cooling performance and extra modes were better than expected. We also loved its looks the most of all the fans we tested. We were so impressed by its combination of value and performance that we awarded it our “Best Bang for the Buck” designation. If you want to cool your home for less, look no further.

What is the Better Homes & Gardens Tower Fan?

The Better Homes & Gardens Tower Fan has a unique white-on-black design.

Product Specifications

Speed settings: 3 | Height: 40” | Weight: 6.55 lb | Oscillation: 90 degrees

The Better Homes & Gardens Tower Fan is a low-cost yet surprisingly capable fan that’s perfect for cooling homes in moderately warm climates. It only offers three fan speeds, but we found each one more than enough to make our testing area feel colder, even though our thermometer recorded a one-degree increase in temperature. Its two nonstandard modes, Natural and Sleep, also offer unique benefits, such as the Sleep mode switching off the beeps and lights.

The fan is on the loud side, though. Its quietest speed generates 49.3 decibels, which is about as loud as moderate rainfall, while better fans at their quietest generate 45 decibels or less. It peaks at 51.6 decibels, which is average for peak readings. This fan’s best aspects are its design and construction. Its white-on-black color scheme looks beautiful, and the materials are obviously of high quality and durable.

Price and where to buy

The cost of this fan varies based on its color. White retails for $47.99, black for $53.83 and gray for $56. It’s available at Walmart.

Why we like it

Airflow performance

Even though this fan costs about half that of the other fans we tested, we found its cooling performance satisfactory. We felt cooler after a few minutes, though the temperature reading actually went up one degree, and the airflow was still noticeable up to 15 feet from the tower.

Style

Style is in the eye of the beholder, but this tower fan looks gorgeous. The white-on-black color scheme gives it a lovely two-tone look that’s right at home in contemporary decor.

Construction

The plastic feels nice and durable, and it has a good weight that keeps it steady on its base. We also like that the rotating fan is held inside the tower rather than the entire unit turning the way most tower fans operate. This makes the fan easy to position for optimal oscillation.

What we don’t like

Noise

Most tower fans generate a medium-to-high decibel range between each mode and speed setting. This fan only produced a 2.3 difference between its lowest and highest settings, with an average of about 50. Other fans were in the low-to-mid 40s at their quietest.

Display

The display on the Better Homes & Gardens fan is a little small, which makes it hard to read when controlling it from a distance with the remote. It could also be harder to read for anyone with vision issues.

Remote control

The remote included with the Better Homes & Gardens Tower Fan is finicky, taking several pushes of any given button for the fan to respond to the command. We also had to point it directly at the tower when using it. Pointing the remote even slightly away from the fan prevented the commands from working at all.

Better Homes & Gardens Tower Fan setup

Assembling this fan can be a bit of a hassle. Try placing the tower on a bed with the bottom just over the edge of the bed to put on the base plate.

Setting up this fan was a minor irritation for us. The general setup process is the same as with other fans: take it out of the box, attach the base plate and plug it in. However, this fan’s base plate attaches with four screws that take some time to get in place. Once the base plate is on, however, it’s smooth sailing.

Airflow and cooling efficiency

The front and sides of the fan feature black grillwork while the back of the fan has a white grill.

Because the Better Homes & Gardens Tower Fan is a budget selection, its airflow and cooling aren’t quite as good as those of most of the other fans we tested. We still thought its three speeds and three modes were adequate, though, with a good breeze and a subjective feeling of being cooler after it ran for a few minutes.

Design and construction

The tower is somewhat heavy. If you need to move it, grip it firmly using the cutout handle on the back.

Design and construction are this tower fan’s best aspects. The design is attractive and sleek, with a contemporary yet neutral flair that makes it a perfect fit for almost any home. Measuring 40 inches high and about 12 inches wide, its build is strong, with tough, durable plastic. It also has unique touches, such as the oscillating fan is nested inside the tower, so the entire unit doesn’t move.

Features and functionality

The display is a little small. You might have trouble reading it if the fan is positioned some distance away.

The Better Homes & Gardens Tower Fan’s features and functionality come down to three modes, a timer and an oscillation setting.

• Normal mode blows air straight out at a steady speed with no changes. We had no issues with this mode.
• Natural mode alternates between the high and low speeds to create a faux “natural” breeze. We thought it was interesting but distracting.
• Sleep mode turns off the beeps and display and uses the timer to switch off the fan at your set time. It worked perfectly.
• The timer can be set for up to 7.5 hours before the fan turns off.
• Oscillation is a standard 90 degrees.

Controls and display

The remote needs to be pointed directly at the tower for it to work, and the buttons need to be pressed firmly.

The onboard controls are responsive and easy to read, but we had several issues with the included remote control. It had to be pointed squarely at the tower, and the buttons needed to be pushed forcefully to get the fan to respond to commands. Its display is a little small, which is an issue if you want to place the tower some distance from you.

How does it compare to other tower fans we’ve tested?

The Better Homes & Gardens Tower Fan compares most closely to the Honeywell QuietSet and the Dreo Nomad One. Both of these cost about $25 more than the Better Homes & Gardens fan and come with more speeds and modes. We’d say this fan is better than the Honeywell because of an issue with the latter’s construction. It isn’t as good as the Dreo, though, which we designated the “Best of the Best.”

Testing the Better Homes & Gardens Tower Fan

The testing team evaluated the fan on cooling effectiveness, noise level, design and more.

We examined this fan’s claims using five tests.

• Cooling effectiveness included a subjective assessment of the fan’s cooling power combined with a temperature reading 30 minutes after starting the fan.
• Noise level included decibel readings taken at each fan speed on Normal mode.
• Oscillation and airflow distribution included noting the maximum distance away from the tower that airflow could be felt, plus noting what areas of the testing room weren’t covered when the fan oscillated in a corner.
• Design and portability included recording the tower’s weight and considering its portability features, such as the handle in the back.
• Sleep-friendly included running the Sleep mode and examining how it impacted sleep quality.

Should you get the Better Homes & Gardens Tower Fan?

The Better Homes & Gardens Tower Fan is an attractive tower fan at a fair price.

The Better Homes & Gardens Tower Fan is best for providing moderate cooling in homes that don’t typically experience temperatures much higher than 100 degrees. If that’s your home, and you want good cooling for an excellent price, we happily recommend this fan.