Have you heard about the Belfans Fly Repellent fan yet? When I first heard about this, I was a bit puzzled about what it is and what problem it tries to solve, so it was great to test this out, thanks to a press sample unit they provided us with.
Many of you might be familiar with how nice it can be to be outside, sit down, enjoy the sun, eat something nice, or get some work done on the phone or laptop while outside. Being outside often means flies, bees, wasps, and all sorts of bugs would try to get their piece of your pie, soft drink, or whatever you are having. This is just the nature of things, and no insect or animal should die for just following these laws of nature and trying to feed a little on what you’re having.
I know that old fly squatter is a simple solution to this problem, but for all those who don’t wish to harm living beings, there might be a new smart solution with the Belfans Fly Repellent fan. It’s a simple yet sophisticated device that you can put on the desk or the blanket if you’re having a picnic, and by turning it on, its objective is to keep flies away. Let’s have a look at how this works.
How do you use the Belfans Fly Repellent Fan?
The Belfans Fly Repellent fan operates on a simple yet smart principle. The holographic dots on the fan blades refract or bend light in a way that appears hazardous to flies. Since bending light isn’t natural and not part of their DNA, flies perceive it as dangerous and decide to buzz off elsewhere. By simulating an effect that does not occur in nature, they will just rather stay away from that particular area to ensure they are not risking anything with this weird new gadget you put there for this purpose.
Setting up is also not very challenging, so even minors or people without a strong tech background can do it. Operating the Belfans Fly Repellent is as easy as pie. All you need is 2 AA batteries to power it up or connect it to a power source via cable. The repellent comes with soft, safe propeller blades that stop spinning when they detect your hand approaching, ensuring easy access to your food. Once you remove your hand, the blades start up again. So, even if you come into contact, it doesn’t hurt you or damage the fan itself.
Why is this nice?
One of the standout features of the Belfans Fly Repellent fan is that it’s 100% chemical-free, as the company advertises. This means you won’t have to worry about harmful substances coming into contact with your food or loved ones. It uses a unique mechanism that involves holographic repel dots. These reflective dots create a movement that flies detest, keeping them at bay.
Also interesting: Forget about Spray, NoBugs Has Insect Repelling Clothes
One might argue that using batteries would also involve chemicals, and they would be correct. Still, I can only say that Belfans would be right to say that no chemicals are emitted into the air using their device. So this is an advantage over the old insect-killing spray cans, which, next to trying to avoid killing living beings myself, would also make for a nasty coating of your food and drinks that I would also avoid if I were you.
Anything that could have been done better?
Not to be too harsh on the gadget, but it’s just fair to explore the pros and cons in detail, hoping that future versions of the product might consider these and improve over any shortcomings. So, for starters, I think that for better usability, an integrated battery that can be recharged would have been nice. That way, you could charge the device like any other gadget you’re carrying and not worry about external power banks or replaceable batteries to put into the device.
Video: Pupu Liang, TechAcute
The master class here would, however, be to consider using solar energy. As this device would be used in the sun most of the time, a small photovoltaic panel would make for a nice feature that could be included in a future product design. With an internal rechargeable battery, the user could leave the device in the sun to charge it up for times when it’s cloudy or if they want to use it at night.
Verdict on the Belfans Fly Repellent
Considering all these facts, the Belfans Fly Repellent fan gadget is something I think could help in many situations where you want to keep flies, bees, wasps, and maybe other insects away from you. On the Belfans website, the device has a regular price of 37.95 EUR and, as of the time of writing this article, a discount leading to a purchasing price of 27.95 EUR for one unit. While I understand that branding, research and development, and many other aspects of a product have to be financed, I feel that the asked price is a bit beyond what people would pay for something like that.
I am unsure who this solution’s patent holder is and who built it first because there are many variants like that on ecommerce marketplaces like Amazon. Some of these vendors offer bundle packages with three or four units included at a similar price point. So, justifying the original Belfans price is a challenging ask, as they don’t claim to be the first to have introduced a solution of this kind, but after testing the product, I can at least say that it works.
YouTube: How To Keep Flies Away From Your Food (promotional clip from Belfans)
Photo credit: The media shown was taken by Pupu Liang for TechAcute.
