Bathroom fans provide more comfort and enhance air quality by quickly venting most air to the outside. A number of models do so without any noise. They take away issues related with high humidity such as mildew and mold growth, peeling wallpaper and paint as well as steamy mirrors. Stores have a broad selection of fans for bathrooms, from models that have lights, heaters and nightlights, to fan-only units to very quiet models and those with decorative. The guide below is helpful for you to have an understanding of what you need to look for in a bathroom fan.
Performance
The ability of a bathroom fan to move air is measured CFM or cubic feet per minute. The majority of fans are rated between 50 CFM and 110 CFM. A bigger bathroom requires higher CFM rating. Experts recommend a bathroom fan to have a CFM rating that is high enough for replacing the bathroom air eight times every hour.
Fan Size
The bigger the CFM the more quickly the fan can remove humidity. The minimum number of CFMs required by bathrooms can be estimated through the following formula.
Length x width x height x 0.13 = minimum CFM rating.
Sound
How much noise a bathroom fan can make is a significant consideration in picking the right fan. The standard for measuring the sound amount when it operates is known as sones. A sone is equivalent to a quiet refrigerator’s sound. A lower sone rating means quieter fan. A bathroom fan that is quiet is rated at around 1.5 sones or less.
Ducting
To ensure the effectiveness of a fan, proper ducting is an essential consideration. Fans in bathrooms located on top storeys are ducted through a home’s attic to the outside through the wall, roof or soffits. Bathroom fans in the ground floor of multi-storey houses are vented through the house’s side. No matter where the location is, the moist air must be exhausted outside. A fan must not be vented directly into an attic.
If you wish to upgrade the bathroom fan to a higher performance model, the duct connector’s diameter on the new housing is likely to be bigger than your present duct’s size. In order to maximize performance, consider upgrading the duct diameter in order to match your new fan.
Light
If you want to install a bathroom fan for the first time, think about putting it where your light fixtures is located and having a model that comes with a light installed. This lets you make use of the present switching and wiring, depending on the features of the fan and how much control you like over its functions. A number of light or fan combination models come with decorative finishes and designs which look stylish as light fixtures. Select a model which makes use of a bulb or two depending on the amount of light needed. Keep in mind that you will have to wire the fan and light separately to be able to control them independently. Ensure to have a combination switch which has two or three controls on its so this will take place.
