A corded fan can travel in checked or carry on baggage. A rechargeable fan has a lithium battery, and Australian rules require lithium batteries to be carried in the cabin, not in checked luggage. Most portable fan batteries sit well under the 100Wh limit airline apply without prior approval. Check with your airline before you fly, since carriers set their own conditions.
Most portable fans draw between 25 and 75 watts. Running a 50 watt fan for eight hours uses about 0.4 kilowatt hours, which comes to roughly 15 cents at typical Australian rates. A split system air conditioners uses somewhere between 20 and 40 times that. The low speed setting costs less again.
Unplug it first, or remove the battery. Take off the front grille if the models allows, then wipe the blades with a damp cloth and mild detergent. Use a soft brush in the motor housing. Let everything dry fully before you reassemble it. Dust on the blades makes a fan louder and less effective, so a clean every few months over summer is worth doing.
For most people no. Moving air can dry out your eyes, nose and throat overnight which may bother you if you have allergies or sinus trouble. Point the fan across the room rather than straight at the bed, and use a timer if the model has one. A quieter fan on a low setting suits a bedroom better than a small fan running flat out.
No. A fan does not lower the air temperature. It moves air across your skin, which speeds up evaporation and makes you feel cooler. Running one in an empty room uses power for no benefit. On hot nights you will get more out of it by opening a window and using the fan to pull cooler air through the house.
A portable fan moves air. A
portable air conditioner removes the heat from the room and vents it outside through a window hose, so it actually lowers the temperature. A fan costs far less to buy and run, and suits most days. On a genuinely hot day in a closed room, only an air conditioner will make a real difference.
