How Many Watts Does a Box Fan Use?

Box fans use 25 to 100 watts depending on their size and the speed setting you choose. They cost less and are more energy efficient than air conditioning to keep your home more comfortable in the warmer months. Read on to find out how many watts a box fan uses, as well as much more information about box fans and their energy “footprint.”

How Many Watts Does a Box Fan Use?

The number of watts that a box fan uses depends on the size of the fan and what setting you are running the fan on. If the fan is on low, you will use around 50 watts of electricity for a 20 inch fan. On a higher, max speed, setting the wattage used will be up to 100 watts. A smaller, personal box fan will use around 27 watts of power.  

How Many Watts Does a 20 Inch Box Fan Use?

The answer is 50 or less watts on low with box fan watts per hour for a 20-inch fan running on the “high”  or “max” setting is 100 watts for most models.

Do small fans use less watts?

Yes. In comparison to the 20 inch box fan, smaller box fans will use around 27 watts.

The number of watts for any fan goes down if you run your fan on low or medium, as opposed to high or max. The average watts used by box fans is generally between 50 and 100 watts of power. This will cost about $0.01 per hour in electrical costs.

How Much Does It Cost to Run a Box Fan?

Box fans are very cheap to run – a cost-effective way to stay cool. It costs around $0.01 an hour to run a box fan on max power. Compared to air conditioners, box fans are a small fraction of the cost to operate in order to cool your home. 

How Much Does It Cost to Run a Box Fan 24/7?

Most box fans, depending on size, consume between 50 and 100 watts of power, which would cost only about $0.01 per hour. At this rate, you would only expect an electricity cost of $0.24 per day to run a box fan 24/7. This equates to between $7.20 and $8.00 in monthly electric costs.

How Much Power Does a Box Fan Use?

The amount of power or electricity usage that box fans use is between 50 and 100 watts of power, which equates to around 0.45 amps, for a 20 inch box fan. This is a lot less energy than a window or portable air conditioner. Central air conditioners will use substantially more power than a box fan. 

How Many Amps Does a Box Fan Use?

A 20-inch box fan will require 0.45 amps and will run on 120 volts of electricity, which will equate to a total wattage of 55. Box fans are all in the range of less than one amp and are usually in the lower end of between .1 and 1 amps.

Frequently Asked Questions

Do box fans use a lot of electricity?

Compared to other ways to cool your home, box fans do not use much electricity at all. Box fans generally use between 50 and 100 watts of power.

Do box fans use more electricity than a ceiling fan?

Between the two, a ceiling fan will use 0.0311 kWh of electricity when running at max speed for over one hour. Box fans use 0.073 kWh of electricity over the time period of max speed, so box fans do use more electricity than ceiling fans.

What are some popular brands of box fans?

There are a number of different brands of box fan available, but Lasko and Holmes are two of the most popular. When shopping for box fans, you’ll also see good-quality options from these manufacturers – Air King, Comfort Zone, Pelonis, Opolar, Genesis and others. Here’s a few of the best-selling box fans on Amazon.

What sizes are available for box fans?

Box fans come in a variety of sizes, with 20 inch fans being the most popular. You can also get personal box fans that are 8, 9 or 10 inch box fans, which are perfect for small rooms.

What is a frameless box fan?

The term usually refers to a table-top, 8-10 inch box fan with the fan surrounded by a square piece of 2-dimensional plastic rather than a 3-dimensional box. Black & Decker makes a popular, highly rated frameless fan.

Can you run a box fan with a car battery?

This question has a yes and no answer. You cannot run a box fan directly with a car battery since the battery in your car uses direct current (DC) and a box fan requires alternating current (AC).

However, if you purchase an inverter you can use your car battery to run a box fan at any automotive parts store or any big box stores, starting at around $40. The inverter will change the direct current from your car battery to alternating current. However, if your vehicle is not running the inverter will drain your car battery relatively quickly.

How long can you run a box fan by using a car battery?

You can operate a box fan for 18 hours by using a car battery. Here is a mathematical breakdown on how long a box fan can run when using a car battery: A 30 watt fan will pull about 2.5 amps at 12 volts. If the inverter is 90% efficient, the inverter will draw 2.79 amps (2.5/0.9). A 50 Ahr (amps per hour) battery will run a box fan for around 18 hours (50/2.78).

Can you use batteries to run box fans?

Full-size box fans are all plug-in style. Some small box fan models, like 10” models, use batteries.

The battery-powered fans can be powered by AA, C or D cell batteries. In addition to the battery powered box fans, there are also USB, rechargeable box fans available for homeowners. Most of the battery-powered box fans are the smaller, personal fans and not generally called box fans.

Written by

Rene has worked 10 years in the HVAC field and now is the Senior Comfort Specialist for PICKHVAC. He holds an HVAC associate degree and EPA & R-410A Certifications.

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