Better than best: Why we decided to redesign an award-winning fan

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Last Updated On 15 July 2026
Written By Chris Michael
8 minutes Read Time

At Meaco, we spend a lot of time talking about airflow, noise levels and energy efficiency.

Every fan we design is guided by three simple goals:

Move more air
Move it more quietly
Use less energy

They’re straightforward objectives to describe, but much harder to achieve in practice. Improving one area can often mean compromising another, so striking the right balance takes time, testing and a lot of attention to detail.

Over the years, that approach has helped our fans earn recognition from both customers and independent reviewers.

One of the most significant endorsements came from Stiftung Warentest, Germany’s leading consumer testing organisation. Known for conducting some of the most rigorous product tests in Europe, Stiftung Warentest names a single overall winner in each category rather than awarding multiple “Best Buys” or recommendations.

In two separate fan tests over the past five years, 37 fans from leading brands across Europe were put through their paces. Only two Meaco fans achieved the top ranking: the MeacoFan 1056 Desk Fan and the MeacoFan 1056P Pedestal Fan.

Alongside this recognition, the 1056 range has received multiple awards in the UK and earned thousands of five-star customer reviews.

We’re incredibly proud of that feedback. But it also raised an important question.

If customers already love a product, how do you make it better?

The answer wasn’t to start again from scratch. Instead, we started by listening.

Designed for better nights

One of the biggest things we learned from customers was just how often Meaco fans are used in bedrooms.

Because they’re so quiet, many people rely on them throughout the summer to create a comfortable sleeping environment. But while customers loved the cooling performance, some of them also shared stories about the small frustrations that can arise at 3am.

Imagine waking up feeling a little too warm. You reach for the remote control, trying to remember which way up it goes and which button adjusts the fan speed. After a bit of fumbling in the dark, you finally press a button… and nothing happens.

The problem wasn’t the remote itself. The receiver was located lower down on the fan, meaning you often needed the perfect angle for it to register. More than one customer told us about sitting up in bed or even shuffling down the mattress to get a clearer line of sight.

And when the fan finally responded, it would beep. Not ideal when someone else is asleep beside you.

It might sound like a small thing, but these are exactly the kinds of experiences that helped shape Sefte®.

The display and receiver were moved higher up the fan, making adjustments easier from bed. The display can be switched off at night and button sounds can be muted completely. We even developed Night Mode, which gradually reduces the fan speed through the night to help prevent you waking up feeling too cool in the early hours.

Combined with whisper-quiet performance, the result is a fan that’s designed to help you sleep, not disturb it.

Improving the night-time experience wasn’t just about controls and displays. We also learned that where the airflow goes can be just as important as how much airflow the fan produces.

Another conversation that stayed with us came from a customer in South Africa, who described her nightly experience using a MeacoFan 1056P at the foot of the bed.

Like many people, she and her husband would switch on the oscillation to share the airflow. The challenge was that the oscillation angle was wider than they really needed. The fan would sweep across the room, passing over wardrobe mirrors before eventually reaching them. Just as they began to enjoy the cooling airflow, it would move on again, across the bed, towards the window and into the blinds, causing them to rattle before the whole cycle started over.

The fan was doing exactly what it had been designed to do, but her story highlighted something important: sometimes people don’t want to cool an entire room. Sometimes they simply want the airflow focused exactly where they are.

That conversation helped inspire one of the key features of the Sefte® range: Air Beam Precision.

Air Beam Precision allows you to choose how widely the fan oscillates, giving you far greater control over where the airflow is directed. Position the fan at the end of your bed and select a narrow oscillation angle to keep the cooling focused on you rather than the furniture, walls or window blinds around you.

Sefte® offers three oscillation settings, making it easy to tailor the airflow to different situations throughout the home:

Narrow oscillation for personal cooling in the bedroom
Medium oscillation for sharing airflow across a sofa or seating area
Wide oscillation for circulating air around the whole room

It’s a relatively small change, but one that can make a noticeable difference to comfort, particularly when you’re trying to create a calm and relaxing environment.

Continuing to improve the Sefte® range

The lessons we learned while developing the original Sefte® range didn’t stop with the first models. In fact, they helped shape the next generation of Sefte® fans, each designed around a specific customer need while staying true to the same principles that have always guided our products: powerful airflow, quiet operation and energy efficiency.

Portable cooling for life on the go

One thing we noticed was that many customers didn’t just use their fan in one room. It might start the day in a home office, move to the kitchen in the afternoon and finish beside the bed at night.

That’s the thinking behind the Sefte® 6″ Portable Battery Air Circulator.

Lightweight, compact and cordless, it’s designed to deliver personal cooling wherever you need it. Whether you’re relaxing in the garden, working from home, spending time in a caravan or trying to stay cool on a warm summer evening, Sefte® 6″ provides cooling that moves with you.

Its rechargeable, replaceable battery is one of the features we’re most proud of. Not only does it free you from the nearest plug socket, but it also helps extend the lifespan of the product. When the battery eventually reaches the end of its life, you can replace it rather than replacing the entire fan – reducing waste and helping keep products out of landfill.

Like the larger Sefte® models, it also features Night Mode, turning off the display, muting beeps and creating a calm, distraction-free environment for sleep.

Smarter cooling, wherever you need it

For those looking for even greater control, we’ve since introduced the Sefte® 10″ Pro range.

The Pro models include all of the features that made the original Sefte® fans so popular, whilst adding app connectivity for an even more convenient user experience. Whether you’re adjusting fan speeds, changing oscillation settings or preparing your bedroom before you head upstairs for the night, the app makes it easy to manage your cooling from anywhere in the home.

Like the Sefte 6” and 8”, the Pro models also feature a rechargeable, replaceable battery, giving you the freedom to use them wherever cooling is needed most. Whether you’re moving between rooms, working from home or simply repositioning the fan throughout the day, you’re no longer limited by the nearest plug socket.

Just as importantly, the replaceable battery helps extend the lifespan of the product. Rather than replacing the entire fan when the battery eventually reaches the end of its life, you can simply replace the battery and continue enjoying the same fan for years to come.

It’s another example of how the Sefte® range continues to evolve – not through dramatic changes, but through thoughtful improvements that make everyday cooling a little easier.

Always evolving

Looking back, the development of the Sefte® range wasn’t really about redesigning an award-winning fan. It was about listening to the people who use our products every day and finding ways to make those experiences a little better.

Sometimes that meant solving a 3am remote-control frustration. Sometimes it meant creating more precise airflow for the bedroom. And sometimes it meant introducing portable battery-powered cooling or adding app control for greater convenience.

Individually, they’re small improvements. Together, they’ve helped shape a range of fans designed around the way people actually live.

The MeacoFan 1056 range set an incredibly high standard, but good product design is never finished. We’ll continue listening, learning and looking for ways to make cooling quieter, smarter and more comfortable for years to come.

We hope you enjoy the peace and quiet of Sefte® this summer.