Average Reviews:
(More customer reviews)I purchased this fan because the contractor grade unit in my house was noisy and did not have sufficient airflow to clear out the humidity in my bathroom (it actually was starting to cause a mold problem.) Installation was relatively easy, as the unit could be nailed to the same beam as the old unit, and used the old unit's electrical connections. The grille was a snap to install, and it's generous border is sure to hide a multitude of sins if your cut-out wasn't perfectly sized. Once installed, the fan has average noise levels but is not annoyingly loud (if you want a really quiet fan, get something under 1.5 sones.)
Before closing out this review, I wanted to add a few notes here for those of your who are trying to troubleshoot a bathroom fan problem, or have never installed a bathroom fan before, based on my own experience. First of all, if you have an airflow problem, and your current fan blower works, the problem might be the ductwork, not the fan - check that first. A simple check is to hold a lighter under the fan on all four sides and see if air is being drawn out of the fan (as opposed to being pushed to one side, which would imply you've got something stuck in the ductwork.)
Once you've verified the ductwork is clear, if the fan is broken and/or not blowing enough air, you need to gather some information before you start shopping for a replacement unit. For the sake of simplicity, let's say you want to replace a ceiling fan in a bathroom that has an attic or crawl space above it. The first thing you want to do is get a pad and paper and take down some information:
- what is the size of the bathroom in cubic feet (length x width x height)
- the size of the opening in the ceiling
- what size is the ductwork (usuallly 3", 4" or 6")
- the length of the run of ducting to the outside
- is the ductwork flexible or solid where it attaches to the fan (you might need to buy some flex ducting)
- does the current fan attach directly to a beam or does it use a mounting system
The two most important performance measurements when looking at fans are the amount of air it can move, measured in cubic feet per minute (CFM) and much noise it makes, measured in sones (1 sone is equivalent to the background noise in a quiet room, or 40db at 1khz). While the sound measurement is pretty straightforward, CFMs are dependent on the size of the duct and the length of the duct run, which is why you took those measurements earlier.
Calculating the correct CFM for a given bathroom size is pretty straightforward: take the cubic feet calculation you made above and divide by 7.5. So for a bathroom that was 8x8x9, so your fan system should move at least 76.8 cubic feet per minute - and this is where most people make their mistake.
Fans are rated in CFM, but this can be misleading, as your results may vary depending on duct size, the length of the run, and how much humidity (i.e. static pressure) the fan has to move. For example, installing a 110CFM designed for 4" ductwork in a space that uses 3" duct work immediately cuts the throughput of the fan by 25%. Similarly, a fan that blows 80CFM into a 3" pipe with .15" of static pressure on may blow it's rated airflow on a 10' run, but increasing the length of the ductwork to 50' decreases the airflow to 25CFM. Pay attention to the manufacturer's specifications when researching whatever fan you buy so you make sure that you're actualy getting the amount of CFM you need for your particular installation.
Hope this review has been helpful, and saves you a few headaches. Don't usually like to go into this kind of detail over something as mundane as a bathroom fan, but if you size one of these wrong, you can actually have serious problems such as mold damage in your bathroom, so this truly is one of those instances where it pays to "measure twice and cut once."
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Nutone 8832WH Ceiling Wall FanBroan-NuTone 8832WH 80 CFM, 2.5 Sones Fan, White Plastic Grille - 3" DuctFor rooms with independent lighting. Ideal for the bath or dressing area, these maximum performance exhaust fans are great for rooms with an existing light source.Broan-NuTone 8832WH 80 CFM, 2.5 Sones Fan, White Plastic Grille - 3" Duct Features:; There's a fan for every ventilation need:-Ceiling ventilation-Through-the-wall-Room-to-room-Concealed intake ; Room-to-Room Fan stretches energy dollars. ; All models feature prewired, plug-in motors for easy installation. ; Slim, low-profile white polymeric grille; Ceiling/Wall Fan
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