In one look
Expert rating
Benefits
- Almost silent in lower modes
- Powerful
- Control of vertical and horizontal oscillations
The inconvenients
- Oscillation controls are not intuitive
- No smart features
- Not the cheapest option
Our Verdict
This is one of the best cooling fans you can buy right now and its oscillation controls allow you to target a small area or a large portion of a room. It has a sleep timer and a useful night mode, but most importantly, it’s powerful, quiet, and inexpensive to use.
The Sefte fan, whose name derives from the Old English meaning gentle or calm, is as quiet as its nickname promises – but it is far from gentle. This is an extremely powerful fan.
Keep in mind that an air circulator like this won’t lower the temperature in a room, but it will make it much more comfortable for anyone in the path of its airflow.
The Sefte comes in two forms: a stand (£175.99) and a desktop model (£119.99). We’re testing the latter, and because it’s portable and has a wide, adjustable swing area, it’s useful in almost any location.
It’s perfect for a bedroom or for use while working or watching TV, as it won’t drown out cinematic dialogue or a Zoom phone conversation.
Design and build
- Digital display that shows the temperature
- Remote control for timer functionality
- Vertical and horizontal oscillation
The Sefte has a white frame, body and blades, as well as a contrasting black fan guard. It’s not as pretty as a Dyson but its simple design will complement a modern decor.
On the base is an easy-to-read circular display, which also shows the room temperature in °C, and buttons for controlling fan speed, oscillation and other settings, as well as choosing from three modes ( normal, night and eco). ). There are no multifunction keys, so you won’t need to memorize button press sequences to access functions.
Emma Rowley / Foundry
Emma Rowley / Foundry
Emma Rowley / Foundry
However, if you want to use the timer, which will automatically turn off the fan after a period of use (in one-hour increments, up to 12 hours), you will need to use the included remote control.
Emma Rowley / Foundry
Emma Rowley / Foundry
Emma Rowley / Foundry
It’s nicely designed and disc-shaped, with glow-in-the-dark buttons – handy if you’re fumbling around in the dark to turn off your fan. It also has a nifty storage solution: it’s magnetic and sticks to the center of the fan, so it should be impossible to lose. (However, it blends completely into the background, so if you forget where you hid it, you won’t spot it.)
You can also use the remote control to turn the screen on and off.
Emma Rowley / Foundry
Emma Rowley / Foundry
Emma Rowley / Foundry
There are no smart features, but that doesn’t seem to be a loss when testing the Sefte.
Overall, it is carefully designed.
Performance and Features
- Only 25 dB operating volume at lower settings
- Three operating modes: normal, night and eco
- Maximum power consumption of 26 W
The Sefte is Quiet Mark accredited and we think it’s one of the quietest fans we’ve ever reviewed, although the Dreo’s airflow can beat it – and the Dreo model is cheaper, even more powerful and has intelligent features for granular control.
Emma Rowley / Foundry
Emma Rowley / Foundry
Emma Rowley / Foundry
The Sefte has 12 fan speeds, ranging from gentle to blowing hair back like a dog hanging out the car window. The lower speeds are where it’s almost completely silent – Meaco claims an operating volume of just 25 dB – but these speeds are still powerful enough to keep you cool on a daily basis.
It has three modes. Normal is exactly what it sounds like. In Night mode, the interface turns off and the fan speed decreases by one increment every half hour, until reaching the lowest setting.
The third mode is Eco, in which the fan speed depends on the ambient temperature. At 19°C and below, the Sefte will be at fan speed 1. Its power will increase as the temperature rises, with maximum fan speed being reached when the room reaches 30°C.
The other key parameter is oscillation – and this is where you’ll need to consult the manual. There are three oscillation modes that allow you to target a smaller space or a larger part of the room. Narrow has a vertical oscillation of 20° and a horizontal oscillation of 30°. Medium is 30° and 75° and Wide is 65° and 120°.
Once you know this, it’s very simple to experiment and find the settings you want, which you do using the arrow keys on the fan itself or the remote control – but you’re unlikely to do so. arrived alone.
At any point during its movement, you can use the pause button to lock the fan in place, allowing you to target a specific spot for a blast of cooling.
At lower speeds, the Sefte is almost completely silent – and these speeds are still powerful enough to cool you down.
The fan has a maximum power consumption of 26 W, and when operating it will consume between 8 and 26 W per hour. With my current rate, it will only cost me a penny an hour at most – and that’s at full throttle, which I’m unlikely to use. There are fans that are even cheaper to run, but it’s still a very cost-effective way to stay cool during the summer.
Pricing and availability
Meaco’s Sefte air circulator is widely available. You can buy the 10in tabletop model we tested for £119.99 from John Lewis, Amazon, Currys (which charges a penny more) or direct from Meaco.
It’s far from the cheapest fan on the market and you can see more of our recommended air circulators in our roundup of the best fans we’ve tested. But what we can say is that the Sefte is one of the best and if it is within your budget, you will not regret buying it.
The free-standing model is more expensive at £175.99, but might be a better option if you don’t plan to move it. It’s available at John Lewis and Amazon, among other retailers.
Should you buy the Meaco Sefte fan?
When I unboxed the Sefte, it wasn’t love at first sight. I found it somewhat functional and for the price I thought some smart features might have been an option. But once I turned it on, its quiet power began to change my mind. As I used it more, I began to appreciate its adjustable oscillation and clever design touches, including its hard-to-lose remote control. Now I recommend it wholeheartedly.
Table of Contents
