The History of Fans:  from Ancient Times to the Present, Fans have Remained a Favorite In Cooling Needs, and are now Better than Ever!

At Electric Fan we are dedicated to relieving you from the heat with high-end cooling units that work quickly and efficiently without disturbing your life with loud noise.  From small, personal desk fans, to powerful swamp coolers and portable air conditioners, we have what you are looking for at a price you can afford.

Browse our Full Selection of Ceiling Fans Here!

Throughout history, fans have been used as status symbols, decorative pieces, and cooling devices.  As time has progressed, fans have increased in technological advancements and are now are used less as decorative pieces, and judged predominantly by their cooling power, energy efficiency, and noise level. 

Materials have also changed over time.  In the past fans were made from palm leaves and feathers, with bases of wood, paper, and even chicken skin!  Handheld fans were used as communicating tools; certain waves of a fan indicated specific emotions or messages in social circles.  As status symbols, fans displayed costly materials and precious materials, displaying an individual's wealth.  Gold, mother of pearl, tortoiseshell, and ivory were used in some fan designs, creating pieces of art in the process. 

Museums around the world today are dedicated to displaying some of these historic fans and this unique form of art, and handheld fans are still popular in the contemporary world of fashion. 

With the discovery of electricity the fan became an automatic motor-powered cooling device, without the tiring of human arms.  Large spaces can now be cooled in a very short amount of time.  Industrial fans can cool at an extraordinary rate, bringing much needed relief without draining your energy bills.   

The first electric fan was invented in the late 1800's by Philip Diehl, who used a sewing machine's motor for an electric ceiling fan.  It was known as the Diehl Electric Fan.  He added his own light kit later on and continued to work on advancements.

From the Great Depression to the sixties, electric fans became less and less popular and less available in America, but by the seventies they were back with a bang for a while.

However, with more cooling advancements, air conditioners reduced fan popularity once again, and with the reduction in popularity came a reduction in research and features.  The standard of high class fan motors, blades, and housing were somewhat lost from the nineties through recent years with mass production and the flourishment of modern chainstores. 

Yet, today companies such as Electric Fan, have worked hard to make fans a guaranteed, high-tech appliance where quality comes above quantity.  While an air conditioner is an excellent cooling tool, electric fans are the only appliances that perform cooling duties with the by using a considerable low amount of energy and work to actually move and circulate the air while in operation. Our fans come with all of the latest technology, placing high CAM and RPM, long fan life, and low noise level at the top of our list of products.  With the Underwriter's Laboratory and Energy Star ratings available today, we can guarantee your fan in the categories of energy savings and effective output, so you don't have to just take our word for it. 

These electric fans are proven and tested to be high quality and the head of the electric fan industry; products that we can stand behind, and continue to advance as time progresses.  The fan motors are often permanently lubricated with three speed selections and settings.  In blade design we offer soft cloth, wood, metal, and more!  Some of the advancements that we make available are remote controls (Soleus FSH-40G), adjustable heights (Air King 9126), downrods for lowering (Air King 9800L), LCD screens (Sunpentown SF-1520), oscillating movements (Air King 9016), misting features (Windchaser WC-163), and even ionizers (Fujitronic FF-606) so air purification can come with an electric fan, making these electric fans of today truly multi functional units that will keep the electric fan moving forward and bringing people anywhere comfort!

From beautiful handheld objects to highly rated electric fans that can cover as much as 1500 square feet the fan has come a long way and is preferred in most homes and buildings as not only a desirable apparatus, but as a necessity!     

Browse our Full Selection of Ceiling Fans Here!!