If you've found yourself tossing and turning while trying to drift off to sleep, you're not alone.
Humidity has well and truly set in in the past week with the top of the North Island getting the brunt of the muggy conditions.
So to our loyal fans we turn, for some solace on those sticky evenings. But finding the right fan is harder than you may think and ample research is often required to ensure you are investing in the right one.
If you've got kids, a 7pm bedtime, when humidity peaks, might mean you need a fan that's both child-safe and also packs a powerful punch.
And what about noise? If you are anything like me, you can't sleep with a fan that sounds like a jet engine about to take off, so a whisper-quiet fan is key but often lacklustre.
So I took it to the people - the newsroom and social media - to discover the three most popular types of fans and tested which style really reigns supreme.
Three most popular fans - The pedestal, the tower and the bladeless
So let's first break down these three fans and what to expect with each.
First, there is the pedestal fan which is the standard blade fan that has been around forever - think back to those hot kiwi summers making your voice sound like a robot when you spoke into it.
Next up is the tower fan, which is slim, modern, tall and often a quieter option than the traditional pedestal fan. These ones usually come with a few more bells and whistles.
And finally, we have bladeless fans, which are super safe and powerful, but often come with a heftier price tag due to the bonus tech specs these models carry.
I took all three fan types and put them to the test in my family home. Here's where each model shined and which might be best for you.
Pedestal fan
The best for the budget conscious
These fans can be picked up for as cheap as $15 from Kmart and in general, they do the job. They keep air circulating in a room, and their cooling factor is fine.
The basic models usually have 3-speed settings and no lights or digital components, meaning they are super easy to use.
While these fans are cheap, they are also not great on their feet. My toddler managed to bring this fan to the ground on the first introduction and immediately tried to stick his fingers into the blades moments later.
These fans also are loud and they make no apology for being so, with the blades often making a tapping sound with other plastic components of the machine.
Overall it's a perfectly fine fan for the price, but lacks anything that would take it to the great category.
Tower fan
The best for small spaces and noise conscious
I purchased a Crane tower fan for my toddler's room when he was a baby and have been singing its praises ever since. They take virtually no space up and are much harder to topple over than a pedestal fan. They are super popular with parents, with stores like The Sleep Store selling out practically overnight when the summer heat set in.
They've also got a relatively low noise level for the amount of fan power they put out and night mode turns all lights out completely - a must for a kid's room and those who are light sensitive.
Most models also come with a remote control, meaning you can change it from another room and don't have to get out of bed. But what it brings to the table in terms of low fan noise, it makes up for in button noise. My Crane fan harnesses some of the loudest buttons I have ever pushed. Meaning that if you are trying to keep a baby asleep and want to ramp up the fan speed, you might well wake the baby.
All-in-all this fan is great value at $169 and I have very few complaints, though I wish its buttons were less aggressive.
Bladeless fan
The best all-rounder and best for allergy and asthma sufferers
This style of fan varies in price, but the model most coveted in our newsroom and on social media was the Dyson Purifier Hot+Cool Formaldehyde, which does everything but also costs around $1100.
It's a fan, heater and air purifier and is the closest thing to feeling like a heat pump I have found - without being one. So if you compare it to heat pump prices, then the price isn't so eye-watering.
Taking away everything else and only comparing the fan power to the other models, yes it was more impressive and made the room feel less humid than the other two options. Significantly more so than the pedestal fan and slightly more than the tower fan.
But was it quieter than the tower fan when on full blast? Not really. But it does have a night mode option which dims the light and quietens the machine - and there are no annoying button sounds.
My son gave this machine an absolute run for its money, attempting to push it over, and putting his hands and fingers all over it. As there was no blade and the machine stops running if toppled over, I genuinely felt fine with him doing so - though I obviously discouraged toddler fingers manhandling a borrowed $1100 gold fan.
Aside from the fan features alone, there was also something incredibly satisfying in knowing exactly what was in the air in the room, which I was able to view on the app and watching the air get cleaner. As someone with asthma - like 1 in 8 Kiwis also do - bonus features like this are worth their weight in gold.
The verdict
While I thought there would be one clear winner and one fan would be crowned the king or queen, the truth is that the best fan genuinely depends on what you need it for.
If you want a fan for the entire family that does a lot more than just cool a room, or suffer from asthma and allergies, the bladeless fan might be a good investment for you. But if you are just wanting to cut through a bit of the hot air weighing you down, the pedestal might do you just fine. It's fine. It's just fine. If you have an apartment or small space then the tower fan might be perfect for you.
For me and my family a pedestal fan isn't compatible for long term use - if I want my son to retain all 10 fingers - but the Crane tower fan and the Dyson bladeless fan would be happy additions for years to come.
