A heat wave has hit New England and it doesn't seem to be going anywhere! Here in Connecticut, we are officially melting. Unlike homes in other parts of the country, where high temperatures for days (weeks over here!) are common, most houses in New England do not have central air. And, believe it or not, there are more than a few New Englanders who don't use air conditioning at all. Our house has one air conditioner (not made in the USA, as we can't find any that are), and it does its job. However, it's our made in the USA fans that we love and use the most.
Save energy using American made fans
Ceiling fans, table fans, and window fans all use less energy than air conditioning. If you are a number person (which I am NOT) then check out the article “Window Fan vs. Air Conditioner: How Much Energy Do They Use” and do some math to find out how much energy you are using with your air conditioning. If you are not a number person, skip to the end of the article (like I did) and you can see that in the example given, one air conditioner uses more energy than four fans running simultaneously!
Here is a list of fans that are made in the USA in whole or in part and how to use them to lower your electric bill and save money while staying cool. Most of the fans listed below are assembled in the USA from foreign and domestic parts. We share these because at USA Love List we believe that any effort to keep manufacturing jobs in the USA deserves our attention!
Types of fans and how to use them
Window Fans
Window fans work best in places where it is hot during the day and cool during the night. The Air King 9166 window fan is reversible, meaning it can be switched from exhaust to intake. Exhaust would be used during the day, to suck the hot air out. Intake would be used at night, to let the cool air in. The Air King 9166 window fan comes with a storm guard which makes it possible to close the window behind the fan.
Box Fans
Box fans save energy and work best when used in front of a window. Instead of turning a dial to switch the fan from exhaust to intake (as described above), the fan is simply turned around. Lasko assembles fans, like the Galaxy box fan, with domestic and imported parts in Tennessee and Texas.
Air Circulators
Air circulators move air around the air around a room evenly distributing the temperature, as opposed to just blowing cool air to one spot. Some styles of Vornado air circulators are assembled in Andover, Kansas with domestic and imported parts. We have two Vornado air circulators in our house and we love the fact that they are quieter than other fans, making them great for the kiddos' bedrooms. Please note: I have noticed this year that a lot more Vornado fans have been manufactured overseas. Read labels carefully!
Ceiling fans
Ceiling fans move air throughout the room, similar to the air circulator. Make sure your ceiling fan is moving in the counter-clockwise position in the summer to create a cooling breeze in the room.
Matthews Fan Company ceiling fans are assembled in the USA from motors made in the USA and parts made in South America. They have a unique, modern design. More styles of Matthews Fans can be found at bellacor.com.
Big Ass Fans are, um, very large ceiling fans made in Kentucky. Sarah wrote about them in the USA Love List post, “Made in the USA, Big Ass Fans: Can You Guess What They Make?”
Attic fans and whole house fans
Attic fans and whole house fans are both fans that are installed in attics. Attic fans are intended to keep attics cool by drawing in cool outside air and pushing out hot attic air. We don't have an attic fan, so my attic fan experience is non-existent. Of course, I did research, but to explain what I read would take up its own post, so you can read it here yourself. Just remember, attic fans cool the attic, while whole house fans are in the attic but are intended to cool the whole house. I found several attic fans and one whole house fan that is manufactured in the USA.
Attic Breeze solar attic fans are manufactured in Texas using 100% solar power.
Sunrise Solar attic fans and roof vent fans are made in Warsaw, Indiana using raw materials and components made in the USA whenever possible -they even manufacture some of their own parts!
Quite Cool whole house fans are made in California.
Have you found an American made fan that you love? Do you have tips on using fans to save energy and keep cool?
A huge THANK YOU goes out to my hubby for helping me with this post! 🙂
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Just found your usalovelist and wanted to drop a note about our American made ceiling fans. We design and hand make many of our fans in New Mexico and they are very reasonably priced. Here is a link to one of our pages of fans: http://www.rusticlightingandfans.com/rustic_ceiling_fansA.htm. As far as I know, we are the only fan company offering custom US made decorative fans for under $400.
Best Regards
David
I love outdoor ceiling fans for patios and porches. The lazy days of summer!
i love these- fans are a must here in southern ca. the air king window fan looks awesome, will have to look into it!
Love the modern design of the Matthews’ fans.
The Vornado Air Circulators are NOT all made in the US. In fact, only a few are. I think YOU need to be more careful when making posts like this as they are misleading (and here, inaccurate). And I think WE (consumers) need to be more aware and take a few moments to investigate claims made on these websites.
Thanks for your comment Tim! Actually, NONE of Vornado’s fans are MADE in the USA. Some, like the air circulator brand mentioned above are ASSEMBLED in the USA. Which is clearly stated. We value any effort a company makes to bring jobs to the USA and we make it clear which products are fully made and which are assembled. I see where the post can be misleading in making one think all of their products are assembled in the USA, and not just that particular fan, so I will edit it to clarify. We know that other websites are misleading, which is why at USA Love List why strive to be correct in our information. Sometimes a company will stop making/assembling products in the USA after we have listed them, and we always go back to the post and update it when we find out. Thanks again for your comment!
I went to two stores today to find a simple box fan and no one carried them. I am glad to see they still exist. I am headed to check out the box fan from your post, but the Air King is also pretty cool.
The solar fans are really interesting. Have to look into them!
Just ordered a vornado fan and it says “designed” in Kansas but its manufactured in China .
It seems that the Air King window fan listed above is no longer made in USA – Amazon has country of origin as China and the comments on their page are not very flattering of the Chinese made fan.
Hi Bill, Do you mind sharing me the link you are getting your info from? The Amazon link to the model 9166 fan that is listed shows that is meets the Made in America requirements, as does the Air King website http://www.airkinglimited.com/page/window-fan.html. The Amazon rating for that model fan is a 4/5, which we consider a listable rating.
Great resource thank you! The more amazon links the better!
Many , if not most, Matthews fans are manufactured and assembled in China. Some are manufactured /assembled in Brazil/USA but certainly not all. Also Even the Big Ass Fan company makes their cheaper “L” series Haiku fan in China.
I’m glad to see window fans mentioned. I don’t think a lot of people even know about them or understand how they work. I have two window fans that I’ve had for years and they work wonderfully at night to bring in the cool air. It’s surprising how cool they will get a room during the night in the middle of summer. You just have to make sure you have the correct side facing outside, so it works to bring in the cool air versus as an exhaust fan. My window fans are small and lightweight, but they really work well. I don’t remember where they were made or the brand, however. The ones I own have two small fans inside the plastic housing instead of one big fan like what is pictured in the above article. They’ve gotten tons of use over the years and they’ve worked perfectly all these years.
Hi,
Just wanted to say thank you for taking the time to create this list for the American public. As an avid ‘Made in America’ shopper, I do appreciate your efforts. Each of us must continue to do our own diligence in research, because as you stated, a product can be made here in the US one month and then shipped off to an overseas manufacturer the next. But again, thank you for the research and keep up the hard work.
Just looked for a Lasko fan and Amazon says that every model in made in China. Sooooo frustrating.
Hmmm…. they might be mislabeled on Amazon. Look for this brand in big box stores. I have even seen them at the Family Dollar, always prominently marked Made in USA. Good luck! Thanks for looking carefully at the details!
Lasko’s Shenzhen office is paying more than triple pay to their sourcing, shipping and even accounting staff as they made great profits from sourcing in China. Tons of fans are shipped to the US from Shenzhen every year. Assembled and ready-to-use fans are displayed in the exhibitions they joined in the Asia region with shipment directly from Shenzhen. How come their products are made in USA?
I have a Lasko fan. I am happy to see this list as we need new ceiling fans.
I have had a Lasso fan for some time now and love it and of course its made well since its made in the US no worries about possible fires like with the last China fan we had.
Vornado is Manufactured in China according to the fans I found in brick and mortar stores. They market as “Designed in Kansas” or something to that affect. Bottom line – Vornado is made in China.