Just how does a bladeless fan move air? The answer is simple, it’s the same as any other fan. Inside the body of the fan, there is a turbine that has blades that spin and push air around.
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How do traditional fans move air?
So, you’re sitting in your chair, looking at the ceiling, wondering how does the fan could possibly move the air in the room around, when all of a sudden you think, “There has to be a simpler way to do this. Surely there’s a way to make this less power-hungry…”
A traditional fan moves air by spinning a whirling object. Air is pulled from the area in front of the fan and the pressure difference causes the air to move outwards, or blow outwards.
As a result, it is more efficient for a person to use a traditional fan outside of their window on a breezy day. As opposed to an air conditioning unit inside of their home.
Simply put, the blades push the air towards you.
So how do bladeless fans move air?
I have a complete article on the working of a bladeless fan.
Bladeless fans use a principle called the Bernoulli principle to move air. When you blow into a straw or throw a stone into a stream, you can see that as the air moves over an object, pressure builds up on one side and drops on the other side. This principle is used to create a “cushion of air” around blades in bladed fans, so they can move more air than traditional bladed fans without having to spin as fast.
To put it more simply, the best way I understand it. Air is pulled into the base of the fan and pulled through a turbine (fan). The air makes its way through the unit and comes out through slits around the hoop of the fan.
There are some other special, magic parts that because of air pressure, the air is pulled from the back of the hoop also. There are many sources out there that go into more detail on this process.
There are some good videos on YouTube also on this process which give great examples.
So what is the difference between a traditional and bladeless fan?
The main difference between a bladeless fan and a traditional fan is… where the blades are. In a traditional fan, the blades are attached to the perimeter of the wheel or turbine. This keeps the blades close to the area where the pressure difference exists. In a bladeless fan, they are on a turbine inside the base of the fan unit.
Which feels better – traditional or bladeless fan
To be honest, this really depends on your own taste. I myself prefer a bladeless fan as it feels more like a natural breeze whereas a bladed fan feels like blasts of air.
Conversely, some people like a bladed fan as it gives them more control over the direction the air is coming from as generally, they are move movable when it comes to the fan hoop. A bladeless fan is more of a fixed unit.
In conclusion
It’s wrong to say that a bladeless fan does not use blades when moving air. It does. However, the turbine is not visible and is safer because small hands can not touch it. It also gives more of a natural feeling breeze.
However, this doesn’t run out a traditional fan. These still give great cooling and many of the newer models have far more control over speed and oscillation than older fans. They also, for the moment, tend to be cheaper than bladeless fans.
It’s really down to personal taste.