People assume that fans and blowers are similar, so they use these terms interchangeably. However, both devices are different in appearance, function, and how they work.
Both the fan and blower are efficient devices for cooling and circulating the air inside the house, HVAC systems, and electronic equipment.
However, the main question is, what is the difference between a blower and a fan? The main difference between the fan and the blower is that a fan circulates the air in an open space while the blower moves the air in a specific direction in a straight line. Because fans are more subtle, the air they circulate creates a gentle breeze and this in turn adds to comfort in a home. Air blowers are more forceful and have a greater ability to direct a larger volume of air in a specific direction.
The term fan is more common, and people use it more widely when talking about industrial blowers. Therefore, it is essential to find out the difference between a fan and a blower by determining their structure, functions, and working process.
Before moving forward, let’s look at the general overview of a fan and blower first.
How a Fan Works
A mechanical fan works typically by using electricity, and its primary purpose is to circulate the air in the room. The fan structure is simple as it has one rotor and several blades on the sides of the rotor. The number of blades might differ in the fan, but the most common fan you might come across is a fan with three blades.
Most fans have electrical motors, but you might also find some fans with other power sources in the market. These fans might have an internal combustion engine, hydraulic motor, and solar power.
How an Air Blower Works
A blower is a machine that helps increase the velocity of air when it passes through the impellers. The primary purpose is to flow the air for exhaustion, aspiration, ventilation, cooling, etc. You might notice that most blowers on the market are marketed as centrifugal fans.
Inside the blower, the outlet pressure is higher while the inlet pressure is low. The blades of the blower help produce kinetic energy, which helps in increasing the air pressure at the outlet. The blowers are popular in the industry as they moderate the pressure requirements as their pressure is more than the fans and less than the compressors.
Another important use of air blower machines that you might have seen is blowing away the dust from every corner of the house and the industry.
Air blowers are efficient tools for gadgets and electronics with delicate parts. You can use the blower to remove the dust instead of a cloth that can damage the device. Moreover, using a Blower saves a lot of time and effort that you might have to invest while cleaning and dusting through a cloth.
What Is the Difference Between a Fan and an Air Blower?
ASME (The American Society of Mechanical Engineers) defines fans and blowers using something called the pressure ratio. According to them, a blower has a pressure ratio between 1.11 and 1.2, while a fan has a pressure ratio of 1.11.
In plain terms, this just means how well the fan or blower are at moving the air compared to the air pressure in the ambient environment. In other words, it’s the ability of the device to compress the surrounding air.
Fans Vs. Air Blowers – Which Is Better?
Since fans and blowers are different things, there is no such thing as one being better than the other. They simply perform different functions.
For example, if you simply care about having a powerful airflow and need a quick way to dry or clean a room (for example, after a renovation or water leak incident), then an air blower will be relatively better.
On the other hand, if you want something for everyday living that isn’t too loud and won’t blow away all the pencils and papers on your desk, then a fan is the better choice.
So, if you want to buy a cooling and ventilation device for your home and cannot decide, you’ll need compare both these devices in more detail as they have very different uses and functions.
Fans Maintain a Cool Room
It might be a hot day, and you want to stay on your couch so that you can avoid the scorching sun and hot temperature. In this case, a fan can help circulate the cool air that’s coming from the air conditioner more evenly across your home.
Another benefit of using the fan is that it consumes less electricity, far less than an air conditioner does. A fan can help alleviate some of the workload off your air conditioner and help you save on electricity costs.
This fan can be placed on the floor, but can also be easily be converted to a wall mount unit. It’s rated at 3,450 CFM (cubic feet per minute). Find it here.
Air Blowers Are Ideal for Drying
Air blowers are your better solution if you want to dry things. Their airflow is powerful, and they can quickly move more air around the wet objects. Their higher air pressure helps them make the drying process faster.
In fact, it isn’t unusual to find powerful industrial air blowers in flooded homes as a method of remediation.
You might want to know how the drying process of an air blower works. The air blower dries things efficiently as its fast-drying process absorbs moisture. Therefore, drying becomes much more efficient when moisture is blown away and replaced with fresh air.
You might not know about the blowers because blowers are made only for carpet drying. Such air blowers are popular in the carpet cleaning industry, and you can also use them yourself if you want to dry your carpet at home.
This air blower is quite powerful and has 1 horsepower. It’s rated at 4,050 CFM (cubic feet per minute). Find it here.
Air Blowers Are Ideal for a Workshop or Gym
Air bowers were initially made for workshops. Using them in a large workshop might be a more efficient choice than having to strew about an endless number of fans that aren’t powerful enough. As you know, blowers can be a quick way to clean up dust and dirt while working in a woodshop.
However, you should know that if you want to reduce the temperature of your workshop, you should also consider installing a fan and air conditioner. A fan will keep the air in your workshop fresh, cool, and breathable. You can buy an inexpensive garage fan for your workshop as it will cover a large area and help you stay comfortable.
Conclusion
From this article, we conclude that both air blowers and fans are different in many ways.
However, both devices are efficient if you use them for their specific purposes.
For example, if you want to quickly dust off dirt or dry a room with moist air, you can use the air blower. Similarly, if you’re interested in simply maintaining comfort and the temperature of a room, you can use a fan.
Related Questions
Can I make the air of my room cool without using my air conditioning?
Most people ask an excellent question to reduce their energy bills. There are numerous ways to help you cool your room without using the AC. For example, you can use the dehumidifier to reduce the moisture level in the air. Moreover, you can invest in proper maintenance of HVAC that will help you reduce your energy bills for sure.
Are air blowers and fans the same?
No, air blowers and fans are not the same or similar as they have different functions, structures, and working processes. A fan has bladed airflow in the room by revolving, while an air blower puts air pressure in a specific, straight-line direction. This difference allows the air blower to work more directly and powerfully, especially if you want to dry things.
What is CFM?
CFM stands for cubic feet per minute. It’s a way to tell how much volume of air a fan or blower is able to move each minute. For example, if you have a room that’s 10 ft wide by 10 ft long by 10 ft high (1,000 cubic ft), it means that a fan or blower that’s rated at 1,000 CFM is rated to be able to cycle all the volume of air in the room every minute.
