A bathroom exhaust fan is an important part of a bathroom, as it extracts moisture from the air. As the bathroom is a very humid place, where there is a lot of water in the air, the removal of this water ensures that damp problems do not occur. The result of too much moisture in a bathroom can lead to mold, damage to the structure of the walls, peeling of the paint and wallpaper, and marks on the ceiling.
Luckily, there are many great bathroom exhaust fans available to choose from and these bathroom exhaust fan reviews are sure to help you make the right decision for your home. You could even find a stylish exhaust fan to help you match your fan with your existing decor.
We will also provide some vital information that you’ll need to bear in mind when you are considering which bathroom exhaust fan to choose for your home, giving tips for things like ventilation, noise, installation, and finish. With our help, you’re sure to find the best bathroom exhaust fan to suit your requirements.
The Bestsellers Bathroom Exhaust Fan
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Top 6 Bathroom Exhaust Fan Reviews
NAME | DIMENSIONS | CFM | NOISE | DIAMETER | INSTALLATION |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Panasonic FV-08WQ1 | 11.1 x 23.2 x 12.1 | 70 | 1.1 | 8″ | wall |
 Broan QTX110HL | 17.6 x 11.4 x 7.6 | 110 | 0.9 | 6″ | ceiling |
 Panasonic FV-15VQ5 | 14.9 x 15.8 x 13 | 150 | <0.3 | 6″ | ceiling |
 Broan Model QTXE110FLT | 10.5 x 11.4 x 7.6 | 110 | 0.7 | 6″ | ceiling |
 Delta Breez VFB25AEH | 12.36 x 12.36 | 130 | 1.3 | 4″ | ceiling |
 Broan 164 2-Bulb | 5.63 x 10.25 x 0.88 | 70 | 1.3 | 4″ | ceiling |
Panasonic FV-15VQ5 WhisperCeiling
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The PV-15VQ5 ceiling exhaust fan has dolphin-shaped blades in its blower wheel, which allows air to effectively but quietly move through the fan. At 150CFM, this ceiling fan is suitable for medium to large-sized bathrooms.
It features a basic design in the form of a square vent with horizontal slats. It has a white plastic finish to give it as neutral a look as possible. The condenser motor is completely enclosed.
If you’re looking for the best bathroom ventilation fan for your home, then this fan can offer you an affordable option without any fancy features.
This ceiling exhaust fan is designed to be installed easily by the user, giving ultimate convenience. Not only is it easy to install, but it is simple to use too. Thanks to high quality components used in the manufacturing of this bathroom exhaust fan you can enjoy a durable product that is built to last. It could be the best bathroom ceiling fan for your needs.
Panasonic FV-08WQ1 WhisperWall Bathroom Exhaust Fan
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If it is not practical to install a ceiling exhaust fan in your bathroom, the Panasonic FV-08WQ1 WhisperWall is a good alternative. It is made from high quality parts and as a result, it will produce a consistently high quality performance for many years. The motors are permanently lubricated too, keeping this fan quiet. The fan itself is designed to run at lower temperatures to keep the workings of the fan as cool as possible, which in turn results in a longer-lasting unit.
At 70 CFM, this is suitable for medium-sized bathrooms, and may not be adequate in a larger bathroom.
The blower wheel features a quiet design, which draws the air into the fan from both sides, making it as efficient as possible.
Panasonic is a well-known brand that has been manufacturing appliances for years. With this fan, you know that you will be getting a high quality item that is bound to last for a long time.
Broan QTX110HL Ultra Silent Series Bath Fan with Heater
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This high-capacity bathroom exhaust fan is a great choice when you want to include as many features as possible with your fan. The almost silent noise level of the Broan QTX110HL Bath Fan will make you forget that it’s even on, whilst the other features provide convenience and comfort.
The heater that is built into the fan ensures that you won’t lose any warmth in your bathroom whilst the exhaust fan is on. You can also turn off your main bathroom lights and take advantage of the convenient light that is integrated into this fan. The nightlight option will allow you to leave the nightlight on for convenience when using the bathroom at the night.
This bathroom fan light combo is suitable for ceiling installation and has a horizontal duct direction. It features a white polymer housing grille that completely encloses the motor. For added peace of mind, this fan comes with a 3-year warranty.
Broan Model QTXE110FLT Bathroom Exhaust Fan
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If you’re looking for the best bathroom fan with light that is quiet but can also extract the humidity from a larger bathroom, then this is a great option for you. The Broan Model QTXE110FLT bathroom exhaust fan can work at 110 CFM capacity, making it ideal for medium to large bathrooms.
The low profile of the grilles on this fan gives it an attractive look that will not detract from your existing décor. At the center of the fan, there is a light, which can be used as supplemental light. There is also the option to fit a night light for nighttime comfort.
Installation of this fan is relatively straightforward and it is ceiling mountable. The bracket and screws are included with this fan for quick installation.
An added benefit of this bathroom exhaust fan is that it has a very quiet operation, which is a popular feature when users are trying to decide on which model of the fan to choose.
Delta Breez VFB25AEH Signature Bathroom Exhaust Fan
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You can enjoy an intelligent bathroom exhaust fan when you choose the Delta Breez VFB25AEH Signature fan. It has a humidity sensor built-in, so you don’t need to remember to turn on the fan, and similarly, you won’t need to turn it off either. If you don’t want to use this feature, a simple on/off wall switch allows you to alter the setting.
This fan is designed to be ceiling mounted and can be installed easily by the user or by a professional fitter.
A brushless motor and precision engineering ensure that when you choose the Delta Breez, you’ll be getting an exhaust fan that will remain silent.
The attractive curved face fan grille has a white finish. It will give your bathroom a clean and bright look.
There is a 3-year limited warranty with this bathroom vent fan to give you peace of mind when you choose this fan.
Broan 164 2-Bulb Ventilation Heater Bath Fan
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This 2-bulb ventilation heater fan is an excellent all-in-one solution to not only remove the moisture from your bathroom but also provide additional light and heat to the bathroom.
Polymeric blower wheels along with polymeric dampers reduce the risk of backdrafts and stop your bathroom from getting cold when the fan is not in use.
The dual bulb feature offers heat from two 250-watt infrared bulbs, which can be controlled with an optional additional controller. This additional controller allows you to regulate the heat. The heat produced simply serves to keep your bathroom at a comfortable temperature whilst the exhaust fan is on and will not be sufficient for completely heating your bathroom.
This bathroom vent fan operates at 70 CFM and features an almost silent operation. Permanently lubricated parts in the motor along with the damper ensure that this fan remains as silent as possible for the lifetime of the unit. This may be the best bathroom fan for you.
Benefits of Fitting an Exhaust Fan
Many people have a bathroom exhaust fan in their homes. It is a sensible idea too, as this is the wettest room in the house. Check out these reasons why you should have a bathroom exhaust fan in your home.
Prevent Mold And Damp
When you shower or take a bath, a lot of moisture is released into the air in the form of steam. This steam cools and condenses higher up, and this leads to your ceilings and walls becoming damp. Over time, this causes mold to form in these parts of your bathroom, and cleaning it off can be difficult. Mold is not only unsightly, but it can also be dangerous to your health. As the air warms up again, the mold particles can become agitated and come away from the wall. This can contribute to all kinds of respiratory problems including asthma. Having a bathroom exhaust fan fitted in your bathroom will ensure that you can keep mold out of your bathroom.
Unfog Your Mirrors
If you have a bathroom mirror, you may find that getting out of the bath or the shower is the worst time to try to use it. The warm, humid air that occurs when you are using the hot shower or bath can cause your mirror to become misted up so that you can’t see your reflection. Although this may sound like a minor problem so, if you want to have a shave or put makeup on when you get out of the shower, you will have to clean the mirror first, and then often, it can become misted again quite quickly. A bathroom exhaust fan will remove the moisture from the air, preventing the mirror from becoming steamed up.
Things To Consider
CFM
The CFM rating of a bathroom exhaust fan specifies how much air the fan can handle. It is a specification that allows the user to choose adequate ventilation for their bathroom. The larger the CFM number is, the larger the bathroom size that it can accommodate.
CFM stands for Cubic Feet per Minute and refers to how much air can be exchanged per minute during operation. Most bathrooms can manage with just one exhaust fan, but if you have a particularly large bathroom, you may need to consider using two ventilation fans to effectively remove all the moisture from the air.
Noise
When you purchase your bathroom exhaust fan, you should think about the noise that the fan could produce. Fans are made up of motors and moving parts, and as a result, used to be very noisy. These days, however, many modern fans have much quieter mechanisms, and you can expect a quiet hum all the way down to complete silence. Silent bathroom vent fans are becoming increasingly available, whilst most fans at least offer whisper-like sound levels.
To ensure that your bathroom exhaust fan remains as quiet as possible, you should ensure that you purchase a fan that has been built using quality parts and that offers durability as noise from fans can often develop over time due to inferior parts.
Size
The size of the bathroom exhaust fans that you can choose from varies dramatically. Just because the housing on a fan is particularly large doesn’t mean that it has a better capacity than a smaller fan. If you’re wondering “what size bathroom fan do I need?”, read on to find out more.
The CFM number of a fan depends on the power of the motor rather than the size of the housing. Some fan housing is larger than it may need to be because it has lights and controls built into it, whilst the more basic fans feature standard ventilation grills. You should look at several fans to find the size that suits your needs best. You should also consider whether the bathroom ventilation fan is a ceiling or a wall-mounted fan when you are looking at the size.
Extra Features
Additional features of bathroom ceiling fans include multiple speed settings for the fan, heating features and you can even find a bathroom fan light combo.
A timer can ensure that you conserve energy as well as allow you to leave the exhaust fan knowing that it will switch itself off when it has sufficiently extracted the moisture from the room.
The HVI certification label is another feature that customers often look out for when looking for a bathroom exhaust fan. This is a certification that the fan has been carefully tested for performance by an independent tester and assures the user that the fan will perform as it is supposed to.
Ventilation Method
There are several methods of ventilation when you choose a bathroom exhaust fan. If you have an attic or loft above your bathroom, it is quite common to ventilate the moisture through the attic and out of exhaust in the roof of the property. If this is not suitable, however, it is also common to drill through the external brickwork and ventilate the moisture horizontally out of the building. If you live in a house, a ceiling fan may be the better choice for you, as you won’t need to add any horizontal exhaust points to your outer wall. For those who live in apartments or if you have a bathroom that is not on the top floor of your property, then horizontal ventilation will be your only option.
Installation
Once you’ve chosen the ventilation fan you want to install, you should choose a suitable location for it in your bathroom. Between the shower and the toilet is usually the perfect location to properly extract the moisture in the air. If you have a very large bathroom, you could consider installing more than just one fan.
To install the fan, you should have some basic tools including a screwdriver, pliers, a jigsaw, and a power drill. The materials that you should have close by are a length of duct pipe, a cap for the vent, caulk, or some other suitable filler and nuts.
You can install a bathroom exhaust fan by yourself if you are confident, but if there is a lot of drilling involved or if you have to drill into the roof, you may wish to consider hiring someone to fit it for you.
Color And Finish
The color and finish of your bathroom exhaust fan will probably be an important factor that you should consider. The finishes of all bathroom fans are waterproof so you don’t need to worry about moisture problems.
For contemporary bathrooms, there are fans with glass or chrome finishes. These look very stylish and can help tie this essential item into your existing décor. For the cheaper options, you will probably find that there is less choice when it comes to color. These fans are usually made from plastic and have a basic white or grey color. Polymeric finishes are common as they are robust and can help reduce coldness caused by a backdraft.
Smart Features on Bathroom Fans
Whilst old-fashioned bathroom vent fans didn’t offer many features, these days, you can find bathroom exhaust fans that can offer you more benefits than simply extracting the damp air from your bathroom.
Silent Operation
Sometimes, noises can be really annoying and when you’re trying to relax in the bath or trying to get to sleep after taking a bath, the last thing that you want to listen to is the sound of a loud exhaust fan. Some older fans were so noisy that even if you weren’t in your bathroom, you would be able to hear them from other rooms in the house.
Newer bathroom exhaust fans can offer you super silent operation. Some of them are so silent that you will not even notice they’re on, even if you’re standing right beneath it. So that you know these fans are on, they usually have an indicator light that will remain on for as long as the fan is switched on.
Lights
When you’re in a shower enclosure, you can sometimes find that the light is limited to this area. Bathroom exhaust fans that come with light can offer you additional light whilst you are showering or bathing. This is for your convenience and solves the problem of poorly lit bathroom corners.
Speakers
If you’re in the shower and want some music to listen to, you don’t need to risk your laptop or phone anymore. You can find bathroom exhaust fans that have a built-in Bluetooth speaker. These exhaust fans can even allow you to answer your incoming phone calls.
What Fan Capacity Do I Need for My Bathroom?
Most bathroom exhaust fans that are made for bathrooms are available in one of two sizes. You can choose a 4-inch fan or a 6-inch fan. The 4-inch fans are suitable for most bathrooms that are small to medium-sized. If you have a particularly large bathroom, then you may need the larger 6-inch version. Some bathrooms have no additional ventilation such as windows or they may be particularly cold requiring additional ventilation. These bathrooms may require a larger fan size even if they are a little smaller in size.
The extraction rate of your extractor fan will be measured in L/s. This is liters per second and it refers to the amount of air that the fan can exchange in a set amount of time. It may also be measured in m3/hr or meters cubed per hour. This is an important thing to understand when you are choosing the best bathroom exhaust fan. You will usually find that these days the 4-inch-sized fans can extract more than the minimum requirement of 15L/s. If you want a powerful bathroom fan, you should choose one that works at 90m3/hr or more as this is considered to be powerful enough to be suitable for a larger bathroom.
Energy Efficiency of Bathroom Exhaust Fans
When you buy a new electrical appliance for your home, one of the main things that you will be thinking about is the additional energy that it will be likely to use. Thankfully, modern bathroom ventilation fans are very energy efficient and have a number of features that are built into their designs to ensure that they will be more energy efficient.
As bathroom fans tend to be very quiet these days, you can be sure that you will know if it is on or off because of the indicator light that will usually be located on the bottom of the fan. This will ensure that you won’t waste energy by accidentally leaving it on because you didn’t realize it was still running.
Some bathroom vent fans can be programmed to run at a certain speed. If you have a bathroom fan that is near a window, it won’t need to run at such a high power setting as one that is mounted to the ceiling. You can save energy by making use of this option.
When you buy your bathroom fan, you should ensure that you would not be wasting energy by buying a fan that is too large for your bathroom. Equally, a bathroom fan that is too small will need to be on for longer and will be unlikely to do a very good job of extracting all the moisture out of the air making it less energy efficient than it should be.
The best thing to do is to check the amount of air that the fan can extract so that you can measure up your bathroom and pick the ones that are the best fit for your home.
Conclusion
These top 6 bathroom exhaust fan reviews give you an insight into just how varied the market is when it comes to choosing a fan for the bathroom. In order to keep moisture out of the bathroom and therefore prevent issues that can be caused due to lingering moisture, choosing the right fan is important.
Always check the CFM of the exhaust fan before you make your decision so that you know that it will adequately extract the moisture in the whole of your bathroom.
If you would like additional features, you have plenty to choose from, including a supplemental heating function, light, and optional night light features. Hopefully, these bathroom exhaust fan reviews have helped you to decide which is the best bathroom fan light combo or best bathroom fan for your needs. Optional extras include remote controls for the fan or even thermostats for the supplemental heaters. There are also a variety of designs when it comes to bathroom fans so that you can find one that will look the best in your bathroom.
For added peace of mind, some exhaust fans come with a warranty so you can get the most out of your best bathroom exhaust fan.