I used Fantech fans in my upstairs bathrooms which have round ducts and then separately bought round metal vent covers that are the same size as the recessed lights I have in the bathroom and lined everything up.

Also, I generally avoid using the fan/light combination and use just a fan, so there is just a vent cover.

They make fan light combos that look like recessed lights. I wonder how long the bulb lasts and how dirty the bulb gets because the air gets sucked around the perimeter of the bulb.

Yes, every one IMO. Vents are as important in baths as in kitchens. I also have ceiling cans for down lights and sconces for front lighting that bathrooms need. I don't understand fancy fixtures in baths which don't play especially well with high levels of water vapor. Usually someone lets the electrician or contractor pick the vent fan or vent/light and they aren't very attractive as a result. I spent a lot of time on those.

it was code in the township(?) we moved from to have a vent fan in every bathroom without a window, shower or not... although the master had fans, so maybe size was figured in that too-- so much distance the toilet or shower were from the window required a fan... not sure if that is code most places or not...

it seemed really stupid to me that bathrooms with windows didn't need fans because of central air and heat!

I had a couple of the nutone/braun recessed light/fans installed in previous house- loved their look, super quiet, and were effective. lightbulb didn't get dirty and the accumulation of dust that gathers on the fan grate was eliminated... I guess that was all just sucked up too and blown out?? we only had them alittle over 3 yrs tho.

big ol' vent/light combos don't go well with any pretty ceiling lights, imo!!

We put one in our master bathroom and will be putting one in the hall bathroom. Our bathrooms are a little small for a chandelier, IMO.

I did let our GC choose our fan last time, but I'd love to hear more about what people have chosen, because I could certainly specify one this time around. And I feel like the one he chose last time is a little underpowered.

Ours look like recessed lights but I don't think there is a real bulb? But we don't have recessed lights in the baths so the vents still look weird :P

(Edited:. We have the same grille palimpsest shows below)

The fan grille is this:

And the light fixture is this lensed shower recessed fixture.

I found that the 'lensed' fixtures- including some of the light/fan combos with plastic over the light to be sortof dim... prefer the exposed bulb esp if just one light.

I have Fantech with the combo light/fan. It has a small grill with a can light. The halogen bulbs are really bright making cleaning the shower and tub much easier because one is installed inside the shower and one over the tub. Haven't had to change a bulb since they were installed maybe 4 or 5 years ago. The bonus of Fantech is the motor is installed in the attic, so they are virtually silent when running. A big bonus for me. Mine doesn't look like the one Pal posted but like this:

Dual fantech with halogen lights

My location requires lensed fixtures in showers and closets. They generally take a lower watt maximum fixture because they are enclosed but you can buy housings with a higher wattage rating, but they're more expensive.

pal,

Thanks for the photos. Did the Fantech fan originally come with a plastic rectangular vent cover that you replaced with the one photographed above? Do you think I can do the same with the Panasonic Whisper fans? That vent cover you used looks some much better than the cheap plastic vent covers that typically come with fans.

Carol

We added a fan to our master toilet/shower space (with pocket door separating them from vanity area and main bedroom, in that no-door winning 70s layout) since it didn't have one. It's a fan/light combo in the spot that used to just be a round light (not a can). I think it looks nice, doesn't protrude as far down as the old globe, and overall is practical and also gives an updated look to the bathroom. Of course, this space is tiny and not amazing, certainly a chandelier would be very out of place (about 5'x5' maybe, 8' ceilings).

No, the Fantech fans are remote and there is basically an empty box instead of a box with a fan motor in it, and the opening is round, not rectangular.

I appreciate all the details you all are sharing. Thank you and thank you to the original poster for starting this thread.

Yes, they are required by building code in our area....all baths must be vented.

Our very tiny master bath (40 square feet) doesn't have one and never did. There is a big viga running across the ceiling in this bath, so I'm not sure where a fan would go if I wanted one (I would consider one of those remote units like pal has, but we have a flat roof with no real space between roof and ceilings). The room has a window, though, which helps. There is a newer combo heat/fan/light unit in the main bath. Neither bath has ceiling light fixtures, so there is no competition.

One of the nice things about something like Fantech is that the outlet can be mounted anywhere you can fit a round duct or the box. So it can be mounted in a wall if the wall is thick enough (which would probably mean a 4 x 6 stud wall). I think there are also vertical mount conventional exhaust fans. I planned a run of closets between my bathroom and the exterior wall, so the ducts and access to the fan motors themselves are inside the closet.

Required by code here, too. We put a solatube in one interior bathroom and included the vent fan option. It was great...except for the occasional guest who couldn't figure out how to "turn off the light" lol!

We are very happy with our Panasonic Whisper Warm vent/fan in our 2 bathrooms. We especially love the heater which is just enough to take the chill out of the air after a shower, and the night light is a nice feature as well.

Yes, required by code and a good idea. Some things in the BR are absolutely function over form. Pictured below is a plain Panosonic one. Several inches away I put a nice ceiling light fixture.

Yes, we have them and they're not pretty. Even besides the look I can't stand the light, or should I say lack of, that mine give off. I did try changing bulbs. I discovered recently they make all different kinds now. I'd imagine there could be some hole patching issues with some of the models. I'd like to change to ones that at least do a great job venting. I don't understand making something and selling it knowing it doesn't do a good job at what it's supposed to do.

Thank you for all your helpful replies. I had a long, busy weekend and wasn't able to get back here until now. Glad to see some ideas available that aren't horrible. I hope I can change out my current vent lights and keep the same sized holes without having to do anything to the ceiling itself.