Average Reviews:
(More customer reviews)SUMMARY: 5/5 stars - glad I bought it, would enthusiastically recommend it to friends, and would not hesitate to buy one again
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This Lasko model 2155A window fan - also sold as the Air King model 9155 - is a real blessing for me. I live in the deep South (Georgia) where the oppressive summer heat index (high heat + near-100%-humidity) often reaches into the 130s and above - and I don't have air conditioning. For me, a large whole-house window fan like this one makes all the difference between comfort and living hell when July and August roll around (it's July 27th as I write this, and I'm sitting right next to the window with the fan in it).
This is truly a WHOLE-HOUSE window fan, and it costs so much less to operate than an air conditioner. Compared with central A/C, I'm saving over a hundred dollars a month, which is over $600 a year EVERY YEAR. That's money better spent elsewhere! With this high-volume fan, I get my whole house cooled, without the $150+ monthly electricity usage of central A/C. This fan paid for itself in the first month.
Also, I've found that as I've gotten used to not having A/C, I enjoy the summers more and I'm not nearly as lethargic and short-tempered when I'm in a place without air conditioning, anywhere from the supermarket parking lot to a cookout. It all makes me wonder, WHY would I pay $150+ per month and end up so dependent on air conditioning that I can't be happy enjoying the great outdoors in the summer?! It's all a question of what your body gets acclimated to.
For the hottest summer nights, you can run a little window A/C unit in your bedroom, and still save a bundle because you can use this fan for the rest of the house instead of having to pay the skyrocketing electrical cost of central A/C.
PROS:
* Cost-efficient to operate - this fan moves 2470 CFM (cubic feet of air per minute) on only 90 watts - compare that with the larger 20" model (Air King model #9166) which moves 3560 CFM on 170 watts - an 89% power increase for just a 44% airflow increase...makes sense to just buy two of these 16" Lasko 2155A/Air King 9155 units instead...you get twice the airflow, not 44% more - and you get it for only ten watts more
* Moves a LOT of air - more than a 20" box fan, more than anything sold at Wal-Mart, Target, Home Depot, Lowe's, Ace Hardware, True Value, the drugstore, or anywhere else I looked
* Fused 3-prong grounded safety plug
* Versatile installation options
* 3 speeds instead of 2 or just on/off
* Electrically reversible for intake and exhaust - a big plus, since I want to be able to exhaust hot air during the day and then reverse it to bring in cool air at night...without having to de-install it and manually flip the whole unit around like you do with some other' brands fans (AHEM!)
* Quieter compared to the old metal-bladed fans from years past, which sounded like airplane propellers
* Made in the USA by our friends and neighbors and fellow countrymen, not in some Chinese sweatshop
NEUTRALS:
* Construction feels a bit flimsy...everything is plastic, except the interior side's safety grille - BUT, this is basically irrelevant, because after it's in the window, it just sits there, and plastic does just as good a job of sitting in a window as metal. And, on the bright side, it's more lightweight than a metal fan would be, making it easier to install and to store in the attic or basement at the end of the season
* Don't expect it to be silent on the highest speed, there is some wind noise...but that's not the fault of the fan, and there's nothing anyone can do about it...moving large volumes of air at a high rate of speed DOES entail noise, no matter what, so you can't fault the fan or the manufacturer for that
* Pricey - for nearly-all-plastic construction, and only a 50% (maximum) airflow improvement over an $18 Wal-Mart box fan, I felt that the cost of $50-$100 was a bit high...would rather see it around $35-$40 - BUT, in the end, it DOES move more air than the $18 box fan, and has some features that make it worth the cost (electrically reversible intake/exhaust, less noise, expanding side panels to give it a perfect fit with any size window, fused safety plug, Storm Guard feature, etc.) - and given that there's basically no competition in the field any more due to the prevalence of air conditioning, I can't expect pricing to be at super-low highly-competitive rates
CONS:
* Switch knob kept popping off...had to tighten up the screws under it and then put a dab of Krazy Glue on it (but that solved it)
* Not widely available in stores - because air conditioners' prices have come down so much in the last 15-20 years, the demand for genuine whole-house window fans has gone way down, meaning that this fan is usually a special-order or online-only item, either of which generally entail waiting times and shipping costs (though your local Grainger branch may have one of the ones relabeled Air King in stock)
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All in all, I am being really unfairly picky here, and I think this is a fabulous product that I sincerely hope doesn't get discontinued. It's the right unit for the job, it looks good, and it does a better (and quieter) job that the all-metal models from years past. It's also very energy-efficient. Of what's available on the market in 2009, it is the best of the best, hands down, nothing else even comes close. I have ZERO "buyer's remorse" about this purchase, and would champion its virtues to anyone considering buying one. A great product!
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Air King 9155 Storm Guard Window Fan, 16-Inch
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