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Electrical Wiring

Adding broan bathroom vent/light fan

7 years ago

I am remodeling my bathroom and it is down to the studs. I am adding the bathroom exhaust fan , the bathroom has never had one and became quite moldy. The only lights are 2 vanity lights. One light has 2 different wire sheathings goinginto it and the otherlight has 1 wire sheathing going into it. Both are controlled by 1 light switch. Is it possible to run one of the wires to the fan and put a recessed light in another location and hook them up to a double light switch. Like one of those switched with 2:1?

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Comments (6)

Vith
7 years ago
You dont need to move those lines. Add a double or triple gang box where the light switch is currently, and run one or two new lines to the bath fan/light. I would make separate control of light and fan and would do a triple gang box with 3 switches (vanity light/recessed, bath fan, bath light) and two lines going to the bath fan/light.

For the recessed light, run a line from one of the vanity lights to the recessed light.
ryan89
Original Author
7 years ago
last modified: 7 years ago
let me rephrase this. If i wanted to keep the vanity lights and just add a ceilings exhaust withlight how would idothat? I havearaised ranch. The bathroom switch is outside of thebathroom. It has 2 switches. One bathroom andone for the hallway light outside of thebathroom. I have a outlet in the bathroom that needs to be moved. Can i use that to wire a plug to the fan
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A bathroom exhaust fan should produce 4 air exchanges per hour. Your bathroom is 7 x 7 which is 49sq.ft Assuming an 8' ceiling the total volume would be 49 x 8 = 392cu.ft We want four complete air exchanges per hour so that would be 392cu.ft x 4 = 1568cu.ft per hour. There are 60 minutes in an hour so we divide 1568 by 60min and it equals 26.13cfm. You currently have a 50cfm fan, which is twice the size you really require yet your having problems with the mirror fogging up. I suspect your problem is not the fan. Nature abhors a vacuum therefore a fan cannot push air out of a room unless there is provision for an equal amount of air to enter the room. You can test the theory by running the shower and leaving the bathroom door slightly ajar to allow more air to enter the room. Generally they make a slightly higer gap under the bottom of a bathroom door to allow more space for makeup air to enter the room but in some circumstances that does not provide enough makeup air. The solution then is to install a duct through the wall to an adjacent room and put a grille on either side. That will allow the additional air.
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It's worth it. My windowless bathroom has a shower/tub and the tile floor feels cold in the morning. Having the heater on for only a short time feels great. Note it must be on a dedicated circuit. I have realized mine is not and it is a huge pain when it trips the circuit breaker on a cold dark morning. I got the one without a light since I put a recessed light in the shower/tub enclosure right next to it. The recessed light is on a dimmer and is made for a wet application. Plus the 3 light fixture over the vanity mirror is the other light source. My fan is Panasonic Whisperwarm exhaust fan FV-11VH2 and is 110CFM.
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greg_2015
7 years ago
ryan,
Vith already answered your question:
Add a double or triple gang box where the light switch is currently, and run one or two new lines to the bath fan/light.

No offense, but it seems like you have no idea how to do electrical work. I highly suggest leaving this to the pros or spending some time reading books on how circuits work.
ryan89
Original Author
7 years ago
last modified: 7 years ago
I dont have any idea thats why i am asking for help
greg_2015
7 years ago
I've heard that this is a great book for beginners.
Wiring Simplified
ionized_gw
7 years ago
To answer your question, we'd need to know where the individual cables that connect to the existing lights run. Do you know that? There are more than one possibility for wiring of this circuit. I'd recommend buying a book, a trip to the library as well or some internet surfing as well.

Do you have space in your service panel or a sub panel for a new circuit? Since you are down to the studs, this is a good time to do it. You should have a dedicated circuit for the convenience outlet(s). I believe that the lights are on a separate circuit from that, but I am not sure.

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