Fans – Selection Criteria
What are fans?
Fans are electrical appliances that can help you keep cool when indoor temperatures are too warm. Fans are different to air-conditioners, which move air from one place to another, using refrigerant to cool the air. Fans do not technically cool the air around them, instead relying on the wind-chill effect created by moving air already inside the house. The fans in our TopTen page do not bring air from outside indoors.
For a general overview of what these products are, see our Product Guide.
Introduction
This page details the selection criteria applied to fans on toptenuk.org. Fans that appear on this list create air movement around people for personal cooling. Devices that also provide heating or air-conditioned cooling do not appear on this list.
It should be noted that the regulations are principally concerned with the efficiency of air conditioners that are classed under the more general ‘fan’ definition. Fans that simply blow air (with no heating or cooling) are classed as ‘comfort fans’. Only comfort fans are listed in our energy efficient Topten list. Since comfort fans is not a widely used term in the UK, these are defined as fans for the rest of this document.
Selection Criteria
The minimum criteria to be shown on toptenuk.org is shown in Table 1 which covers energy performance metrics for the various fan types.
Table 1: Current selection criteria for water heaters.
Criteria
|
Eligibility
|
Product Type
|
Units which provide heating or air conditioning are NOT included
|
Energy Measurement
|
Must be declared according to Regulation (EU) No. 206/2012 and tested using IEC 60879
|
Energy Efficiency Index (m3/min)/W
|
Tower fan
|
≥ 0.45
|
Table fan
|
≥ 0.80
|
Floor fan
|
≥ 0.80
|
Standing fan
|
≥ 1.00
|
Ceiling fan
|
≥ 2.75
|
Relevant Regulations
The following regulations were the basis for the above selection criteria for fans.
EU 206/2012
This regulation covers Ecodesign requirements for air conditioners and comfort fans. Table 2 gives the requirements relevant to fans.
Table 2: Ecodesign Requirements for comfort fans defined in EU 206/2012
Criteria
| Requirements
|
Sound Level
| ≤ 65 dB
|
Off/Standby Mode Power Consumption
| Off Mode
| ≤ 0.5 W
|
Standby (no display)
| ≤ 0.5 W
|
Standby (with display)
| ≤ 1.0 W
|
Order of presentation
The products are ranked according to their electricity costs over 15 years.
Glossary/Calculations
Electricity costs over 15 year product lifetime assumptions
Efficiency Index
The efficiency index or Service Value is measured in (m3/min)/W and means the ratio of the maximum fan flow rate [m3 /min] to the fan power input [W]. The higher the index, the more efficient the comfort fan.
Maximum fan flow rate (m3/min)
The flow rate in m3 per minute or hour shows how much air the appliance can move maximally.
Power (W)
The power of the fan is defined as the electric power input in Watts operating at the declared maximum fan flow rate, measured with the oscillating mechanism active (if/when applicable).
Type
There are five different fan types included in Topten: table, floor, standing, tower and ceiling fans.
Levels
Indicates the number of different speed settings available.
Noise (dB(A))
A-weighted sound power level of the fan while providing the maximum fan flow rate, measured at the outlet side.
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