We tested this fan and didn’t love the noise

The Honeywell QuietSet claims to provide high-quality air circulation with whisper-quiet operation at low fan speeds. It also offers some extra features, such as an eight-hour timer and remote control, to help justify its mid-to-high price tag. But is it worth it? 

To find out, the BestReviews Testing Lab ran the Honeywell QuietSet through a battery of tests to measure its performance and received mixed results. While we found that its airflow and cooling abilities were strong, it doesn’t offer as many features as other similarly priced tower fans — though the ones it does have work well. 

The more concerning issue is the loud, unpleasant grinding noise that it makes when it oscillates. In fact, the noise is so distracting that we can’t recommend purchasing this fan. A better option would be a fan like our Best of the Best pick, the Dreo Nomad One. It costs about the same but performs superbly and offers more features. But if you don’t mind a noisy fan, you can check it out further with the link at the top of this review.  

What is the Honeywell QuietSet Tower Fan?

Product Specifications

Speed settings: 8 | Height: 32” | Weight: 9.2 lb | Oscillation: 90 degrees

Honeywell positions the QuietSet as a mid-range tower fan with matching performance. And during testing we did find it had plenty of cooling power. At its highest speed, we recorded an excellent 5.1-mile-per-hour wind speed at 3 feet away from the fan. We also recorded 3.3 miles per hour at 6 feet away and about 1 mile per hour at 9 feet. We could even still feel a tickle of it at 15 feet away.

While the airflow and cooling performance were solid during testing, we found the fan lacking in other areas. The biggest issue is a loud gear-grinding sound when the oscillation is on, which makes the advertised quiet, low fan speeds pretty pointless. At high speed, the fan noise somewhat drowns out the oscillation noise, but unfortunately, it doesn’t sound much better. 

Though it features an intuitive control panel with which you can easily adjust its eight speed settings and timer, it comes with no extra cooling modes, while even the Better Homes and Garden Tower Fan, our more affordable Best Bang for the Buck pick, offers two. All in all, the Honeywell QuietSet is a serviceable but misnamed tower fan.

Price and where to buy

The Honeywell QuietSet retails for $129.95, but we think the Dreo Nomad One is a superior tower fan and a better value — it costs only $70 on Amazon. 

Why we like it

Airflow

The Honeywell QuietSet succeeds where it must, with a strong airflow performance that could be felt up to 15 feet away and had our testing room feeling cooler quickly.

Extra features

This fan doesn’t offer much in the way of extra features, but those it does offer work well. These include a timer to switch off the fan after one, two, four or eight hours and the ability to dim the display or turn it off.

What we don’t like

Lacks cooling modes

Unlike the other five fans we tested, including fans that cost less, the Honeywell QuietSet offers no extra wind modes. For the price, we think this is an oversight.

Grinding noise while oscillating

The grinding noise mentioned above occurs when you turn on the oscillation. This renders the “quiet” wind settings moot since the grinding is all you can hear, though higher speed settings can drown it out. We weren’t able to test another QuietSet to confirm that it’s a common issue, but we did find numerous user reviews reporting it.

This also led to erratic decibel readings for each fan speed when the other fans we tested showed a stable increase for each speed. Below are the QuietSet’s decibel readings at each speed.

Baseline: 38.2 dB  

• 1: 52.8 dB
• 2: 51.8 dB 
• 3: 49.3 dB 
• 4: 50.2 dB 
• 5: 51.8 dB
• 6: 51.8 dB 
• 7: 54 dB 
• 8: 53.4 dB

For comparison, here are the decibel readings at each speed for our “Best of the Best” tower fan, the Dreo Nomad One.

Baseline: 38.2 dB

• 1: 39.8 dB
• 2: 42.3 dB
• 3: 46.2 dB 
• 4: 50 dB 

Honeywell QuietSet Tower Fan setup

Setting up the Honeywell takes no time at all. Start by pulling the two halves of the base out of the box and snapping them together. Then, run the power cable through the center of the base and attach the base to the tower by twisting it until it locks.

Airflow and cooling efficiency

We enjoyed the Honeywell’s airflow, finding that it sufficiently, if subjectively, made our testing room feel cooler quickly. We could also still feel its airflow up to 15 feet from the tower on its highest setting. We also liked that it has eight fan speeds, making it easier to fine-tune the degree of cooling experienced.

Design and construction

We like the looks of this fan with its hollow space at the base and the silver accents on the tower’s face and control panel. However, the noise issue brings into question the quality of its construction, not to mention the cheap feel of the remote and the fact that the remote doesn’t have controls for every feature.

Features and functionality

The remote doesn’t come with batteries, so add some AAA batteries to your cart if you buy this fan.

The Honeywell QuietSet has the fewest features of the six fans we tested: only three.

• Display brightness can be adjusted or switched off entirely using the tower’s onboard controls.
• The timer can be set at one, two, four or eight hours, switching the fan off at the end of the set time.
• Oscillation is a standard 90 degrees, but switching it on caused the noise issue.

Controls

The Honeywell QuietSet can be controlled with the included remote or by using the tower’s display buttons. We thought the remote felt low quality, and it can’t be used to change the display’s brightness or timer. It also didn’t come with batteries. Otherwise, we had no issues controlling the fan.

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

The Honeywell QuietSet compares closest to the Dreo Nomad One, our Best of the Best pick, and the Dreo Cruiser Pro T1. All three fans are similar in price, yet the two Dreos offer more modes, features and overall quality. The Honeywell does offer more speed options than the Dreos, but we found the Dreos had better airflow.

Testing the Honeywell QuietSet Tower Fan

This fan doesn’t have extra wind modes, only eight wind speeds with names that match each speed’s intended use.

We used four tests to assess the Honeywell QuietSet’s quality.

• Airflow efficiency included checking how far the maximum air speed could reach, plus recording wind speeds in miles per hour at 3, 6 and 9 feet away from the fan.
• Noise level included recording a baseline decibel reading for the testing room followed by decibel readings at all eight wind speeds.
• Features and modes included assessing the quality of the Honeywell’s features and modes, limited as they are.
• Design and build quality included considering the quality and materials and noting any design issues, such as the grinding sound when oscillating.

Should you get the Honeywell QuietSet Tower Fan?

The Honeywell’s airflow reaches about 15 feet at most, so it’s best for rooms that are 10 by 10 feet or smaller.

While the Honeywell does perform admirably for cooling a room, the noise issues it had while oscillating at low speeds were very disappointing. Instead, we’d recommend our top pick, the Dreo Nomad One, which costs about the same, or the Better Homes and Gardens Tower Fan, which performed solidly and quietly when we tested it and costs even less.