Holmes Group Bionaire Thin Window Fan with Comfort Control Thermostat, BWF0522E-BU,Black,3 Baldes

The media could not be loaded. I almost didn't purchase this unit because of the negative reviews. But I'm glad I did! For clarity, I purchased the unit with the digital controls (not manual). I have a couple of very narrow window openings in my home, so this being only about 7.25" wide made it ideal.NOISE LEVEL: I read a couple of reviews that complained about this unit being very loud. Not sure if perhaps those were faulty units, or if I just got lucky - but mine is NOT loud at all. I actually found the sound of the motor to be very faint, and most of the 'noise' from my unit is just the sound of the airflow as the speed increases. I have it on the highest speed right now and while it isn't silent, it's very soft and quiet.REVERSIBLE: There seems to be some confusion on this. The UNIT is reversible. The direction of the BLADES is not. So yes, you can reverse the airflow. But no, you can't reverse the direction of the blades themselves. To clarify - you can't reverse the flow of air with the touch of a button, you must reverse the unit itself in the window (take it out, turn it around, put it back in). Not as simple as flipping a switch, but still fairly easy - and there are controls on both sides of the unit so that you can turn it on or off and select the airflow speed no matter which direction it is facing.OUTPUT: The wind from this thing isn't going to knock anyone over, but it's a nice, relatively strong flow of air - especially considering the small size and low noise of the unit. It has really cooled down the side of the house where I installed it, and the breeze is fairly strong and refreshing.TEMPERATURE CONTROL: They have temperatures noted on the controls... I find this to be pretty silly. This is a fan, after all, not an AC unit. It does not have a thermostat, so the temperatures noted are totally meaningless. Take them with a grain of salt. If you want it cooler, turn up the speed - that's it.Bottom line - I'm glad I decided to order this, and I'm about to order another. It works great, and it fits my windows. I'm very happy with my purchase.

This review is about the manual control version. I like it better than the Holmes Dual Blade Twin Window Fan.I didn't realize this from the pictures, but if you look closely, the Bionaire's three fans are enclosed (so each of the fans is in the middle of its own cylinder). This works better for venting. The Holmes is basically empty space inside - just a plastic box around two fans, the vents are larger than the fans, and there's no separation between them.Pros compared to the Holmes:- much quieter- build quality feels solid. It's heavier, if that matters. Looks nicer in person.- works particularly great to exhaust smoke from an ashtray on the window sill- has rubbery pieces on the left and right ends, which is a little nicer and safer if you're concerned about window frame side damage, I suppose? The Holmes is all-plastic.- extends further width-wise, out to 34.5"Cons:- shorter in height- top and bottom plastic lips are very shallow- airflow doesn't actually feel tremendously strong, but anyhow, it works betterI had the Holmes Dual Blade Twin Window Fan and used it for 3 years, until it unceremoniously quit working (both fans at the same time). It was a cheap, basic window fan, so can't complain too much about that.I would be happy if the Bionaire lasts as long. One more point in favor of this design: because the three fans are "sealed" in their own cylinder (like a horizontal can with open top and bottom), all of the air flows through there. With the Holmes, dust and smoke and pet fuzz eventually accumulate all across the front and back openings - so it gets grimy on the outside and inside (which is still plainly visible), and is difficult to clean.Manually scrubbing dozens or hundreds of little grilles on a simple fan like that is a fool's errand (which I attempted once); and then you'd have to disassemble the Holmes fan and repeat cleaning on the inside. The Bionaire design is better in that regard too.