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"High-end" bathroom exhaust fan?

7 years ago

Isn't there a higher-end maker of bathroom exhaust fans than Panasonic or Braun / NuTone? They do work but I'm planning for my dream house! And yes, I do see the humor in this question!

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enduring

7 years ago

last modified: 7 years ago

I have the fantech fan in my attic and 2 ducts run to it from my bathroom ceiling. Room is 8x10 and is our "big bathroom". I have lighted vents with 50watt halogen bulbs in them. One vent at the toilet area and the other in the shower. I called fantech for specs and assistance in ordering the correct combination. They were very helpful. They have a helpful website iirc. It's been 3 years and still going strong. I requested my brother put ridged ducts in mine and my DS insulated them against our cold winters. No issue. I have it hooked up to a controller on the wall that is manual. I don't forget to turn it on for showering. Nothing gets steamy :) The light switch is on a dimmer. I never use the dimmer. I have 2 doors into the room so a light switch at each. There is about 3/4" gap at the floor at each door to allow make up air to enter, when fan is on.

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Comments (11)

MongoCT
7 years ago
Fantech has been a favorite of mine for quite a few years.

The inline fans can be remote-located, usually up in the attic. That minimizes motor noise. For the most part they have larger ducts than the typical exhaust fan calls for, so they may move air more effectively. That minimizes noise due to air turbulence.

If you have a large bathroom, you can use two ceiling grates feeding into a single fan.
chispa
7 years ago
We used the Panasonic (fan, light and night light) and also installed a panasonic switch that has a humidistat and timer. The switch is great for teens that forget to turn on the fan and take steamy showers. Switch will detect humidity and turn on the fan. Fan will then turn off by itself after 20 mins or until no longer too humid.
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We have 3 panasonics in our house-- a whisper warm which includes heat+light+fan and two of the ones that look like a recessed light and are light + fan. All work well, but all have been installed in the past year, so I can't comment on longevity. The recessed light ones are my favorite-- they allowed us to keep a sleek streamlined look in the shower (the ceiling in both showers is tiled) while also doing a good job moving air. All 3 are quiet and all 3 were expensive. I was uncomfortable spending that much on fans, but I have no regrets (as of now).
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Photos? I prefer a inline fan but if you have no attic get the largest and quietest fan you can. Then you get a foot of rigid duct, an adjustable elbow, and another short length of duct to go through the roof. No need to go straight up.
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I believe my fans had it somewhere in the specs, what size of duct and maximum length, and I believe any 90-degree turn is the equivalent of 5 feet of length
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Thank you just_Janni for the suggestion, but I already paid to have a Broan motion sensing one with a timer installed. The Delta Breeze would fit the hole, but I can't return the Broan at this point. I think part of the problem is that the electrical company that I hired is sending out some green kids that don't really know what they are doing. I'm having the one here right now just pull the switch detector out because he did not think he could wire the switch motion detector and the fan motion detector to both operate the fan. He's struggling just reversing what the first kid did and on the phone with others for advice. Whatever. I imagine that the water sensor idea was the right way to go, but I'm already a roughly $400 fan and 4+ hours the first day and an 1.5 hours so far today with electricians working on replacing an exhaust fan. Should have hired the industrial electricians that my husband uses for his office. The residential outfit is struggling. They were recommended by the HVAC people that we use. Hmmm. Live and learn. https://www.broan-nutone.com/en-us/product/ventilationfans/zb80ml1
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perhapsyouveheardofme
7 years ago
Has anyone used the Broan LunAura? Looks nice with the LED nightlight feature but I have not seen it up close. http://www.nutone.com/products/product/a6da75af-8449-4d4d-8195-7011ce977809
Leslie Stone
7 years ago
We have a circular Fantech fan light. I'm not sure if our original bulb is halogen or sodium, but it is so intense that my tall bald husband can actually feel the heat on top of his head when he showers.
Olychick
7 years ago
Enduring and I have exactly the same set up and I use it the same way. I LOVE my Fantech more than any other thing I put in my bath remodel. After years of noisy, ineffective bathroom fans, banging vents when it's windy, etc., I couldn't be more pleased than I am with Fantech. I've written here before (many times) that it is so powerful (and virtually silent) that sometimes in the summer, I'll turn it on at night to suck out the warm air that has settled in my upstairs where the master is and the cool air is sucked in from outside to replace it. I live in the PNW, so our nights are cool and the days seldom warm enough for air conditioning. In about an hour, the warm air is gone. Needless to say, it's very effective on the bathroom steam, too.
enduring
7 years ago
Oly, I probably heard that you had that fan, when I was planning mine. I know I got the name from Mongo too. Your bathroom was one of the first bathrooms on this forum that wow'd me. I live the warmth and and beauty of it as well as the functional use of space. A real inspiration for me when I was remodeling mine.
catbuilder
7 years ago
Enduring, did you mean to say you put in rigid ducts?
User
7 years ago
Olychick, enduring - I would love to see pics of your bathrooms. Please point me to your threads or reveals, I'd appreciate it.
enduring
7 years ago
last modified: 7 years ago
Yes catbuilder, "rigid", Im not a good speller and sometimes I don't proof read my posts.

Pippabean: my 2 reveals. both have links to Photobucket and not pictures posted on the thread.
- east bathroom, go to the bottom of my original post and there will be a short link to the photobucket slide show. You can click on the pics to get a larger view. Don't click on the long links under the first few pics because that will only take you to the actual picture from photobucket.
  Bathroom Reveal, Thanks to the Bathroom and Remodel Forums!
- west bathroom, this post link will have a clearer link to the photobucket reveal pictures in my initial post.
My West Bathroom Reveal from project in 2013 to 2014
Olychick
7 years ago
Pippabean, here is a link to my bathroom reveal:

Master Bath in the Treetops
sunfeather
5 years ago
Olychick - what is the model number of your fan and the CFM?

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