Help Me Find a White Noise Generator to Replace Our Electric Fan.
October 30, 2011 11:07 AM Subscribe
The sound of an electric box fan helps my girlfriend sleep. Help us save electricity and stay warmer by recommending a white noise generator we can use instead.
So a small white noise generator uses less electricity than a box fan set to low speed (right?), and it seems counterproductive to run a fan in a room we're trying to keep warm this winter.
But my girlfriend swears by her fan noise at night, so I'm trying to find a WNG for her nightstand that best approximates that sound. Trouble is, I don't know where to start. I've found some reviews online, and now I turn to the hive for your advice.
Something small (the WNG just has to match the perceived volume of the fan, which we keep about 8 feet from our bed) that will last a while would be ideal, and the less expensive and less energy-consuming the better. We don't need extras like various sounds, etc., if they drive the price up. Recommendations?
So a small white noise generator uses less electricity than a box fan set to low speed (right?), and it seems counterproductive to run a fan in a room we're trying to keep warm this winter.
But my girlfriend swears by her fan noise at night, so I'm trying to find a WNG for her nightstand that best approximates that sound. Trouble is, I don't know where to start. I've found some reviews online, and now I turn to the hive for your advice.
Something small (the WNG just has to match the perceived volume of the fan, which we keep about 8 feet from our bed) that will last a while would be ideal, and the less expensive and less energy-consuming the better. We don't need extras like various sounds, etc., if they drive the price up. Recommendations?
I have a SleepMate. I chose it because it's very adjustable - it has a low and a high setting, and you can turn the case, adjusting the apertures through which the air escapes, changing it from a low, rumbling pitch to a high, breezy one. It could probably be easily tweaked to provide a similar sound as the fan she's already using.
posted by jocelmeow at 11:14 AM on October 30, 2011
posted by jocelmeow at 11:14 AM on October 30, 2011
Yep, seconding a white noise phone app. I use (and recommend) Sleep Machine.
posted by Defying Gravity at 11:15 AM on October 30, 2011
posted by Defying Gravity at 11:15 AM on October 30, 2011
Response by poster: Alas, her phone is best described as a "dumb phone" that cannot download any apps. But thanks for the suggestions!
posted by Rykey at 11:17 AM on October 30, 2011
posted by Rykey at 11:17 AM on October 30, 2011
I should also note I have tried a lot of those 'sleep therapy' noise machines that have various sounds programmed in; they are generally too expensive and if you are lucky, one or two sounds will be ones you can stand, the rest are awful. For the best white noise sleep sounds, I use Atmosphere Deluxe on my computer, but that requires the computer run all night which isn't eco-friendly. So the phone app is it for me.
My Mom likes her Sleep-Mate, but you should hear one first, since again they're not cheap and if the sound isn't good for you, then it's not much use.
posted by The otter lady at 11:18 AM on October 30, 2011
My Mom likes her Sleep-Mate, but you should hear one first, since again they're not cheap and if the sound isn't good for you, then it's not much use.
posted by The otter lady at 11:18 AM on October 30, 2011
Aw, no phone... Maybe an ipod with a long long loop of fan sounds?
posted by The otter lady at 11:19 AM on October 30, 2011
posted by The otter lady at 11:19 AM on October 30, 2011
Do you have a clock radio? You might experiment with turning it to a dead space between stations. It's not a fan noise as such, but it is white noise.
posted by Gilbert at 11:21 AM on October 30, 2011 [1 favorite]
posted by Gilbert at 11:21 AM on October 30, 2011 [1 favorite]
We were given this as a baby gift, my son never really needed it, but I started turning it on when he was sleeping in our room and I found it knocked me out after late night feeding sessions. It shuts off automatically after an hour, has a volume control and is battery operated. We've had it 6 months and are still using the batteries it came with:
http://www.amazon.com/Cloud-Gentle-Giraffe-Machine-Soothing/dp/B001S5E0RU/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1319998851&sr=8-1
posted by snowymorninblues at 11:22 AM on October 30, 2011
http://www.amazon.com/Cloud-Gentle-Giraffe-Machine-Soothing/dp/B001S5E0RU/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1319998851&sr=8-1
posted by snowymorninblues at 11:22 AM on October 30, 2011
Can you put the fan on a timer?
posted by trogdole at 11:25 AM on October 30, 2011 [2 favorites]
posted by trogdole at 11:25 AM on October 30, 2011 [2 favorites]
Yes, the Marpac SleepMate white noise machines are what you want. They are fans. So they sound just like a fan.
posted by kindall at 11:25 AM on October 30, 2011 [1 favorite]
posted by kindall at 11:25 AM on October 30, 2011 [1 favorite]
We have the dual speed Marpac, and it's great. We are also big fans of SimplyNoise.com (which is free, hurray!).
posted by ThePinkSuperhero at 11:35 AM on October 30, 2011
posted by ThePinkSuperhero at 11:35 AM on October 30, 2011
Seconding the clock radio. Tune it to the edge of the dial. Probably the lowest power use.
posted by jockc at 11:39 AM on October 30, 2011
posted by jockc at 11:39 AM on October 30, 2011
If she's used to fan noise, she's probably going to find pure white noise annoying for a while. Try SimplyNoise if your computer is or can be in the bedroom. It has an option for white, pink, or brown noise. Brown noise sounds closer to fan noise to me.
SimplyNoise worked like a champ for me when I was on the back shift and staying in a hotel near a construction zone.
posted by ctmf at 11:40 AM on October 30, 2011
SimplyNoise worked like a champ for me when I was on the back shift and staying in a hotel near a construction zone.
posted by ctmf at 11:40 AM on October 30, 2011
Turn the fan around. Problem solved. I did this in a drafty, unheated attic room of a frat house in college. Fan blowing on me in warm weather, blowing off into a corner in the winter. A typical box fan running 8-10 hours a night and rated at 200 W is costing you less than $5 a month to run, depending on electricity prices in your locale.
posted by COD at 11:42 AM on October 30, 2011
posted by COD at 11:42 AM on October 30, 2011
If there's a heater in the room, aim the fan at the heater to circulate hot air.
posted by sninctown at 11:51 AM on October 30, 2011
posted by sninctown at 11:51 AM on October 30, 2011
We bought a small, powered external speaker and recorded one hour of oscillating pink noise to an MP3 file from SimplyNoise (will finish uploading in 15 minutes) which we put on loop every night using an old player. Works well and the speaker doubles for watching movies on our laptops.
posted by migurski at 12:08 PM on October 30, 2011
posted by migurski at 12:08 PM on October 30, 2011
I have used the Marpac for years and have been very happy with it. It's also what we use at our therapy offices, FWIW.
posted by quiet coyote at 1:07 PM on October 30, 2011
posted by quiet coyote at 1:07 PM on October 30, 2011
Canton Becker has a very nice set of mp3s that are layered, musical white noise with a heart beat sound. Download them here.
posted by Sebmojo at 1:13 PM on October 30, 2011
posted by Sebmojo at 1:13 PM on October 30, 2011
An air cleaner can produce white noise, and has the added benefit of cleaning irritants out of the air. Just another idea to think about.
posted by annsunny at 2:24 PM on October 30, 2011 [1 favorite]
posted by annsunny at 2:24 PM on October 30, 2011 [1 favorite]
We used the Graco Sweet Slumber Machine for Baby J. I slept in his room for the first four months and found it very conducive to sleep.
Of course, exhaustion helps.
posted by sillymama at 9:09 PM on October 30, 2011
Of course, exhaustion helps.
posted by sillymama at 9:09 PM on October 30, 2011
We always switch from fan to humidifier this time of year, as the temp and humidity drop precipitously. The humidifier is quieter, but still a decent white noise, and we don't wake up with sore throats like we used to in the winter.
posted by vytae at 11:22 PM on October 30, 2011
posted by vytae at 11:22 PM on October 30, 2011
Can you just make a recording of the fan she's got?
Record it for ten or fifteen minutes, convert it to an mp3, and use migurski's powered speaker trick to play it as a loop on an old ipod or whatever. Hey presto, exactly the right kind of noise!
posted by nebulawindphone at 8:20 AM on October 31, 2011
Record it for ten or fifteen minutes, convert it to an mp3, and use migurski's powered speaker trick to play it as a loop on an old ipod or whatever. Hey presto, exactly the right kind of noise!
posted by nebulawindphone at 8:20 AM on October 31, 2011
Rykey - did you end up going with the SleepMate? I'm interested in accomplishing the same goal to replace the fan-noise and get rid of the draft and wondered if it has been successful for you and your girlfriend.
posted by moshimosh at 5:25 PM on November 13, 2011
posted by moshimosh at 5:25 PM on November 13, 2011
This thread is closed to new comments.
posted by The otter lady at 11:11 AM on October 30, 2011