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Levoit CirculAir Oscillating Fan: two-minute review
Product info
For this review, I tested the UK version of the Levoit CirculAir. A version with the same product code is available in the US, but there are minor differences compared to the UK model, including fewer fan speeds and slightly different onboard controls.
The Levoit CirculAir Oscillating Fan, also known as the Levoit Pedestal Air Circulator Fan in the UK, might be the best fan I’ve tested. I’ve been seriously impressed with the strong performance, convenience, and quiet operation.
This fan can be configured in two ways: either at full height or shorter, by simply unscrewing a section of the stand. This lower height is a little bit tall for use on a tabletop, but perfect for circulating air from heaters or floor-standing air conditioners.
It offers automatic horizontal and vertical oscillation, which makes for great air circulation, and also makes it really easy to fine-tune the position of the airflow just using the remote. The only thing it’s missing here is the option to select different oscillation ranges; instead, it’s limited to 90 degrees horizontally and 120 degrees vertically.
On the front of the stand there’s a well-lit LED screen that displays the selected mode, and either the fan speed or the ambient temperature. Below this are the onboard touch controls (which vary slightly depending on region), and the CirculAir can also be controlled with the easy-to-use circular remote, which is magnetic for convenient storage on the back of the air circulator.
The airflow proved impressively strong during testing, and I was very grateful for it during a recent heatwave. Even at its lowest speed, I could feel a good breeze from 8ft / 2.4m, and I ran out of space to back up any further at 18ft / 5.5m away when the fan was at its top speed of 12, so it’s clear it has super-strong airflow when running full blast.
Despite its strength, the CirculAir runs satisfyingly quietly. I measured a volume of just 29dB from around 2ft away on fan speed one, 37dB at speed five, and 51dB at speed 12. This means it can operate with whisper-quiet volume at its lowest speed, and only gets as loud as moderate rainfall.
All this for a not-too-painful price tag: this fan is available to purchase at Amazon at a list price of $89.99 / £119.99, but I’ve already spotted a few discounts, so you might be able to avoid full whack. That’s the short version; read on for my full Levoit CirculAir Oscillating Fan review.
Levoit CirculAir Oscillating Fan review: price & availability
- List price: $89.99 / £119.99
- Availability: US and UK
The Levoit CirculAir Oscillating Fan, AKA the Levoit Pedestal Air Circulator Fan in the UK, has a list price of $89.99 / £119.99, and is available at VeSync in the US, and at Amazon in both regions.
This is a good price considering the impressive performance the Levoit CirculAir delivered during testing, but I recommend keeping an eye out for offers, too, as there appear to be fairly regular deals available at Amazon. For example, at the time of writing, there’s a 10% limited-time deal knocking the price down to $80.99 in the US, and the price was regularly dropping to below £95 in the UK a couple of months ago.
I’ve tested the UK model, and while the model number is the same in the US, there are some slight differences, which I make note of in the following sections.
- Value for money score: 5 out of 5
Levoit CirculAir Oscillating Fan review: specs
|
Type: |
Pedestal air circulator |
|
Speeds: |
9 (US) / 12 (UK) |
|
Oscillation: |
Automatic: 90 degrees horizontal, 120 degrees vertical |
|
Dimensions: |
43.7 x 12.5 x 14.5 in / 36.5 x 110.8 x 32 cm |
|
Weight: |
12.7lb / 5.8kg |
|
Control: |
Onboard buttons and remote control |
|
Timer: |
Yes |
|
Additional modes: |
Eco, Turbo, Sleep |
Levoit CirculAir Oscillating Fan review: design & features
- Automatic vertical and horizontal oscillation
- 2 height options and 4 fan modes to choose between
- Onboard touch controls and remote control
The Levoit CirculAir is a pedestal air circulator with two height options, so it can be placed on the floor or a tabletop. I personally found its shorter height to be a little taller than I’d prefer for a desktop fan, but this is a good option to have if you happen to be short on floor space. This shortened height could also prove useful if you wanted to, for example, position the fan in front of a heater or floor-standing AC unit, as it would be more efficient at circulating the heated or cooled air from that position.
I found it satisfyingly easy to get the Levoit CirculAir setup in either configuration – it was a simple case of screwing the poles together and into the base. The base is just the right weight: heavy enough that the fan felt sturdy on my medium-pile living room carpet, but not too heavy to move it around when required.
There are two ways to control the Levoit CirculAir: by using the circular remote or the large touch panel on the front of the stand. The remote was just the right size; small enough to be easy for me to hold and reach all the buttons, but large enough that the buttons were well-spaced and the icons were easy to read.
The large LED panel has a generous screen that displays either the fan speed or ambient temperature, as well as which mode the CirculAir is currently set to. The controls vary slightly on the UK model from the one in the US, but all controls are accessible on the remote in both regions.
The number of fan speeds also varies slightly between regions, curiously, with 12 fan speeds on offer on the UK model I tested, but only nine in the US. There are a few different modes that can be cycled through: Normal mode (where I could choose the fan speed), Turbo mode (which amps up the fan), Sleep mode (which silences the responsive beeps and dims the display), and Eco mode (which makes use of the CirculAir’s internal temperature sensor and adjusts the fan speed to suit).
Unlike most desktop fans, the Levoit CirculAir boasts automatic vertical oscillation, along with the standard horizontal oscillation. There isn’t the option to choose the degree of oscillation, sadly, so it’s either 90-degree horizontal oscillation and 120-degree vertical oscillation, or nothing. I did have the choice to use just one or the other, or both, though. Not only does this range of oscillation equal better air circulation, but it also means that it could be set to just the right angle from the comfort of my couch using the remote, which I loved.
- Design score: 4.5 out of 5
Levoit CirculAir Oscillating Fan review: performance
- Easy to use, responsive controls
- Super strong airflow
- Satisfyingly quiet operation
Controlling the CirculAir was straightforward, as the touch buttons on the well-lit display were simple to understand and responsive, as were the controls on the remote. I really liked that the remote control could be magnetically clipped onto the back of the air circulator, as this made it really easy to store and retrieve.
The Levoit CirculAir has delightfully strong airflow, and I found it to be a real help cooling me down during a recent heatwave here in the UK. In fact, it has the strongest airflow out of the fans I’ve tested to date, to the point where I wasn’t able to confirm how far the air travelled when it was running at its top speed, as I ran out of room at 18ft / 5.5 meters.
The airflow strength was great at lower speeds, too, as I could still feel a pleasantly cooling breeze from an impressive 8ft / 2.4m away at speed 1, and 15ft / 4.5m at speed 6, which means it reaches further at half power than the Dyson Purifier Cool Formaldehyde TP09 does at full blast.
I love it when a fan has an automatic mode, and ‘Eco mode’ (as it’s called in the CirculAir’s case) came in particularly handy during the recent heatwave. The CirculAir adjusted the fan speed in response to the rising ambient temperature throughout the day, though I found it to be much more conservative in terms of the fan speeds it applied compared to my current favorite air circulator, the MeacoFan Sefte 8in. This is good news for energy saving, though, and doesn’t make it any less efficient, really, considering the concentration of air kicked out even at the lower fan speeds.
The volume levels were pleasingly quiet, especially when taking into account the CirculAir’s punchy airflow. I got a reading of just 29dB from about 2ft away on fan speed 1, 37dB at speed 5, and 51dB at speed 12, so it was whisper quiet at its lowest, and only as loud as moderate rainfall when running at top speed.
Its low volume meant I had no problem at all sleeping with it toward the foot of my bed. I really appreciated the automatic vertical and horizontal oscillation at nighttime, too, as being able to control both with the remote meant I could get the angle of the airflow exactly where I wanted it without needing to get up and manually adjust it.
After testing, I have no complaints about the Levoit CirculAir. It was easy to use and responsive, and it operated at low volumes while delivering impressively strong airflow.
- Performance score: 5 out of 5
Should I buy the Levoit CirculAir Oscillating Fan?
|
Section |
Notes |
Score |
|---|---|---|
|
Value for money |
This air circulator’s fantastic performance and versatility make it great value for money, but it’s always worth keeping an eye out for discounts. |
5/5 |
|
Design |
With 2 height options, automatic horizontal and vertical testing, plus responsive controls with clever remote storage, there’s plenty of versatility. |
4.5/5 |
|
Performance |
The airflow is seriously strong, and yet the CirculAir runs pleasingly quietly. The automatic oscillation proved particularly convenient. |
5/5 |
Buy it if…
Don’t buy it if…
Levoit CirculAir Oscillating Fan review: Also consider
| Header Cell – Column 0 |
Levoit CirculAir Oscillating Fan |
Shark FlexBreeze |
Meaco MeacoFan 1056P |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Price |
$89.99 / £119.99 |
$199.99 / £199.99 |
$189.99 / £149.99 |
|
Speed settings |
9 US / 12 UK |
5 |
12 |
|
Oscillation |
Automatic: 90 degrees horizontal, 120 degrees vertical |
Automatic:180 degrees horizontal Manual: 55 degrees vertical |
Automatic: 60 degrees horizontal, 80 degrees vertical |
|
Timer |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
|
Controls |
Touch buttons, remote control |
Buttons, remote control |
Buttons, remote control |
|
Power |
Corded |
Corded or cordless |
Corded |
|
Additional modes |
Eco, Turbo, Sleep |
Boost, Mist |
Sleep, Natural, Eco |
|
Height adjustable |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
|
Dimensions |
43.7 x 12.5 x 14.5 in / 36.5 x 110.8 x 32 cm |
37 x 13.8 x 13.8in / 94 x 36 x 36cm |
32.3-37.6 x 12.6 x 13.4 in / 82-95.5 x 32 x 33.9cm |
|
Weight |
12.7lb / 5.8kg |
12.2 lb / 5.7kg |
12lb / 5.4kg |
How I tested the Levoit CirculAir Oscillating Fan
- I tested the Levoit CirculAir Oscillating Fan for a week
- I tried out the different modes and features
- I tested its volume and how strong the airflow was
I used the Levoit CirculAir Oscillating Fan in our photo studio, my home office, and my bedroom over the course of a week. I evaluated the assembly process and build quality closely before using it passively and in specific tests that allowed me to assess the available features.
I tried the CirculAir at both heights, oscillating, and static. I tested out the different modes, particularly Eco mode, to see how the CirculAir would respond to fluctuating temperatures.
I assessed the airflow by checking the distance I could still feel a cooling breeze on the top, middle, and lowest settings. I used a decibel meter on my iPhone to check the noise levels, taking the readings from around 2ft / 600mm away, ensuring the fan wasn’t blowing directly into the microphone.
Read the full article here
