How many watts does an electric fan use?
By Tom Calder · Figures checked 4 November 2026 · Costs at 26.32p per kWh (Ofgem cap, 1 October to 31 December 2026)
A desk or pedestal fan draws about 30W to 35W on its top speed: Honeywell’s HT900E is rated at 30W and its QuietSet HT354E1 at 35W. An hour costs about 0.8p to 0.9p at 26.32p per kWh, so running one all night costs a few pence.
The numbers
- Running watts
- 30W to 35W
- Honeywell HT900E 30W, HTF337BE1 34W, HT354E1 35W.
- Amps at 230V (most)
- 0.15A
- Energy an hour
- 0.03 to 0.035 kWh
- Rated watts at top speed for an hour; lower speeds draw less.
- Cost an hour
- 0.8p to 0.9p
- On a 1kWh power station
- 17 to 19 hours
- On a 2kWh power station
- 34 to 38 hours
Costs use 26.32p per kWh, the Ofgem price cap's average Direct Debit electricity unit rate for 1 October to 31 December 2026. Your own rate is on your bill; on a fixed or time-of-use tariff it will differ.
How it’s used, and what that costs
A fan moves air rather than cooling it, which is why it draws so little. Lower speeds draw less than the rated figure.
A fan cools people, not rooms, so turning it off when you leave the room is the saving. See our portable cooling comparison.
In a power cut: how long a power station would run it
A 1kWh power station: 17 to 19 hours. A 2kWh power station: 34 to 38 hours. These use the same planning method as our power station pages: capacity × 90% usable depth × 85% inverter efficiency, divided by the load plus about 10W the unit uses itself (BLUETTI’s UK formula).
Output matters as much as capacity. The 7 units around 1kWh we list supply 1,500W to 2,000W continuously, and the 6 around 2kWh supply 2,200W to 3,000W, so check a unit’s rated output covers 35W before you rely on it.
A fan is one of the easiest loads for a power station; a USB fan from a power bank is easier still.
To size one for everything you’d want to keep running, use the sizer on our power stations comparison.
Common questions
How many amps does a desk fan draw?
At the UK’s 230 volts, amps are watts divided by 230. At 30W to 35W, that is 0.13 to 0.15 amps while it runs at full power.
Compare: Ceiling fan · Dehumidifier
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Start free →Sources (8)
- Air Concentre: Honeywell Turbo Force HT900E, 30W
- Air Concentre: Honeywell QuietSet HT354E1, 35W
- Air Concentre: Honeywell QuietSet HTF337BE1, 34W
- Ofgem: Energy price cap unit rates and standing charges, 1 October to 31 December 2026electricity 26.32p per kWh, Direct Debit; no VAT on electricity from 1 October 2026 to 31 March 2027
- BLUETTI UK — Elite 200 V2 (runtime formula: DoD 90%, η 85%, self-consumption about 10W)
- BLUETTI UK — Elite 100 V2 (self-consumption about 10W)
- Jackery UK — runtime formula (capacity × 0.85 ÷ watts)
- EcoFlow — test runtime before an emergency0.80–0.90 for AC; DC ports for routers and phones
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