Ceiling fans help cut cooling costs.(Buyers guide)

Unlike air conditioners, ceiling fans won't lower a room's temperature or remove humidity. Save energy and money by using ceiling fans and turning off the air conditioning or by turning up the A/C's temperature a few degrees and letting the fan do the rest. But remember that ceiling and portable fans cool you, not the room, so don't run them when you aren't there.

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Ceiling fans come in a variety of styles and finishes. We tested models from three of the most popular brands: Hampton Bay, Harbor Breeze, and Hunter. All 19 have three speeds. Most were 52-inch diameter fans, the most popular size, and have warranties that cover most parts for a year and the motor for life. Prices ranged from $45 to $270. We found that spending more didn't guarantee better performance but did get you fancier finishes on the motor cover and blades. We also learned how to predict how noisy a fan would be by just looking at its design.

Because most of the ceiling fans performed similarly on low speed and similarly on high speed in our air movement tests, our advice is not based on brand. That's also why there are no Ratings. Here's what else our tests revealed:

Airflow and blade shape matter. Look at cubic feet per minute (cfm) numbers on the box to get an idea of how well the ceiling fan moves air. A higher number means more air movement, but don't fret over small differences. Our tests showed comparable airspeed from fans rated from 5,000 to 5,600 cfm. Fans with the most airflow also made the most noise, but it was wind noise and fluttering, not motor noise. And be wary of fans with large blades that have ridges, bumps, or other surface texture; those often made more noise on high than fans with smooth blades. The $220 Hunter Caribbean Breeze 21647 and $220 West Indies Collection 23413 had leaf-shaped wicker blades. The $215 Harbor Breeze Paradiso 65388 had banana-leaf shaped blades. All were among the noisiest on high. But most were pretty quiet on the low setting.

Wobble can be fixed. All the fans came with balancing kits, a combination of weights that you attach to the blades to make up for slight differences in blade weight and removable clips that help you determine where to place the weights. Our ...