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Panasonic Whisper Fan light bulb

13 years ago

Is there another light bulb that can be used with the Panasonic Whisper Lite Fan? While the fan is nice and quiet, the light is too dark--I always have to turn on the shower light, too. The Panasonic website says that it comes with a 21 watt CFL. Is there another, brighter light bulb I could replace it with? Can you put incandescent light bulbs in it? If so, what would be the maximum wattage?

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Comments (4)

jacobse
13 years ago
I wonder whether your fan is wired wrong. Many of the Whisper Lite fans have both the main light and a nighlight. The nightlight isn't very bright, but I've always found the regular light to be very bright -- too bright, in my opinion, for a small shower or tub. A 21 watt CFL puts out the amount of light equivalent to between 75 and 100 watt incandescent bulb. I don't think you can put an incandescent bulb in the Panasonic fans; the socket is wrong, and it has an electronic ballast for a fluorescent bulb. And a hot, high-wattage incandescent bulb might melt the plastic light cover. (I wanted a dim-able incandescent bulb for my bathrooms, and there was no way to do that in the Panasonic, which is one of the reasons I bought a different product.)

By the way, are you sure your WhisperLite has a 21 watt bulb? The ones I see on the Panasonic site now all seem to have two 18 watt CFL bulbs or one 32 watt bulb.

-- Eric
auzzy
Original Author
13 years ago
Eric--thanks for the reply. Now that I'm home and have checked the installation manual, it does say a 32W flourescent lamp and a 4W night lamp. The night light has a screw end like flourescent bulbs. We didn't put the night light bulb in as we have the fan on a timer and I think the night light would have been another switch. Anyway, I don't need the night light. Sounds like I'm stuck with the 32 W fluorescent lamp. Maybe they come in warmer colors; I'll check at the hardware store. I really dread when all lights will have to be CFLs after 2014; I really don't like the light they give at all. Very dark and shadowy; not at all bright and cheery.
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flseadog, I can relate to your situation because I, too, am considering the Panasonic because of its reported quiet operation. I had written out a lenghty post to you with my opinions, clicked the wrong button and lost it. ...AARGH! Returning to the Forum to rewrite, I noticed that jkom51 had posted the note above which makes a good point about the efficiency of the WhisperWarm related to the size of a room. I would have told you that I think the WhisperWarm would serve well in all 3 baths, based on my experience with another product. We used the Nutone heat/vent/light product for 25 years in my former Master Bath toilet/tub room. We hardly had to run heat for longer than 5 minutes (not 25) before the area (a mere 5' x 8') was toasty warm. I realize that this is a much smaller space, but the heat would always quickly spill out into the adjoining vanity/dressing area, leading me to believe that it would have warmed a much larger area. Since everyone raves over the WW, I just assumed that surely it must be better, or just as good. Perhaps the "heating for the volume of the room" as jkom51 mentioned, is an issue and you may need to consult an expert salesman. What we found was important was "heating a Hiney" once you stepped out of the shower, because everyone feels good with a warm Hiney. :) Therefore, my 2 cents: Bath 1: In this toilet-shower-soaking tub along one wall configuration, I agree that placing the WW in front of the shower would allow for direct heat when stepping out, as well as this central position would warm the room generally when you needed to take the chill out of the air. Bath 2: In an 11' x 6' vanity-toilet-shower along one wall format, I would position the WW between the shower and toilet, allowing for both bathing warmth and vent usage. Bath 3: Personally, I feel to use a WW in a 6' x 9' tub/toilet room is not overkill. You are looking for the CONVENIENCE of a heat/vent/light type product. We had the Nutone in a 5' x 8' tub/toilet room, and it worked just fine. Size appearance is another issue. Someone mentioned that the WW's grill is 18" x 16". The Nutone grill was 16" round, and it was attractive. I would suggest going to a dealer and actually seeing it firsthand, however. How much does the WW cost, anyway? Can anyone recommend an online source? Good luck with everything. My vote is on the WhisperWarm if 3 of them is in your budget.
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It's odd that you can't see the image I linked to; it shows up fine when I load this page. Anyway, yes, the MA-L3T251 is the one I was referring to. I'm sure this is fine with any light and fan, but if the timer is going to control a heater, you need to find out what the power draw for the heater on that Panasonic unit is. Because this switch combines a dimmer and a timer in the space of one switch, it is limited to 300 watts of power (whereas most switches and dimmers are typically rated for 600 watts, and some even for 1,000 watts). A heater typically draws a lot more power than a light or a fan. You might be fine with this, Susan, but I was suggesting you check the power so you don't end up disappointed with a burned out switch after a short time. I would think Panasonic should be able to tell you how many watts the heater draws. (If you get a number in amps, that's just as useful. Multiple amps by 120 volts to get watts. So: this switch is rated at 2.5 amps x 120 volts = 300 watts.) -- Eric
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Some of the fans are simple on/off fans controlled by a switch. But the fans do have a constant CFM feature. ie, if your wall damper is stuck partially open, the fan will run at a higher RPM to move the same amount of air if the vent had no obstruction at all. The next level up of fans can run full time at a low baseline CFM to constantly move a small volume of air. That baseline can also be set to "zero", which essentially turns the fan OFF. When the switch is actuated ON, the fan then ramps up from the baseline setting to a higher moisture removal CFM rating. It stays at that higher rating while the switch is in the ON position. When the switch is moved to the OFF position, it continues to run on the high CFM setting for a specified amount of time, then the fan ramps back down to the lower CFM setting. Or the fan turns OFF is the lower constant run setting is set to ZERO. I actually prefer the shower fan and shower light to be on the same switch. When the shower light is turned on both the light and the fan turn on. When the shower light is turned off, the light turns off but the fan continues to run for a set amount of time. Hope that makes sense. That is my understanding of the fans.
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Karena, Panasonic mades a boatload of different models of fans. Why would this decision be easier than anything else in remodeling? ;) Here's a link to Panasonic's web site showing the different models. There are ones with and without heater, with and without night lights, with and without motion sensors, and with different power fans for different sizes rooms. You want to get the proper power fan -- measured in CFM, or cubic feet per minute of air they move -- for your bathroom. An 80 CFM unit is for a small bathroom up to about 80 square feet; a 110 CFM unit is slightly more powerful for a slightly larger room (or one with a ceiling higher than 8'). For a larger bathroom (over 120 square feet), you'll probably want a larger model. Here's a link to a room size-to-CFM calculator. Depending which fan you select you may need two up to four switches. A basic fan and light requires two, although they could be combined. A heater is a separate switch, as is a nightlight. (You can buy switches which combine two switches in the space of one normal switch, so you only need a single or double-gang box on your wall, instead of a triple or quad.) In terms of a timer for the fan, several companies make them. I've purchased ones from Lutron, which allow you to set the fan shut off after as little as 5 or as much as 60 minutes. That's the Lutron model MA-T51. Below is the Lutron model MA-L3T251, which combines a timer on the bottom with a dimmer on top, in the space of a single switch. That's what I've used in both bathrooms to control the fan and the fan light; I'm not sure if that dimmer will work with the Panasonic if you choose a model which has a compact fluorescent light in it. I was planning to get one of the Panasonic units because I read they were very quiet, but I didn't like the non-dimmable fluorescent light or the size of the unit in the ceiling. Others here suggested Fantech, which uses a much smaller, flat grill in the ceiling and puts the fan in the attic. That's what we went with, and I'm happy with it. I know, I know... you're thinking this is just one more thing which seemed simple until you looked into it! ;) -- Eric
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brickton
13 years ago
Auzzy-

If you put in a 23W CFL, that is the lumen or light equivalent of a 100W non-CFL bulb. The lower wattage rating on the CFL actually produces more light. Have you tried a CFL with a lower temperature? Something in the warm 2000-3000K range?

Like these?

My wife hates the cool colored CFLs but she has made piece with the warm ones, they're friends now.
jacobse
13 years ago
Auzzy, I haven't been happy with the color of the CFL's I've tried so far, but something still sounds fishy to me that you're finding it too dark. A 32 watt CFL should be brighter than a 150 watt incandescent bulb -- which should be very bright in your shower. So I'm still wondering if something could be wired or configured wrong such that you're not getting the full power of the 32-watt CFL. Or could the bulb which came with the fan accidentally be a lower wattage one? Or could there be a problem with the transformer in the fan unit. Unless you have a super high ceiling, or a huge room, I don't think you should be perceiving the light as too dim. You might want to call Panasonic tech support to see if they can tell you anything that might be causing the light not to reach full power.

As Brickton says, changing to a warm color temperature CFL bulb -- more yellow light instead of blueish-wite light -- could improve the overall feel.

-- Eric

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