Average tasks like showering, bathing and shaving can put home-destructive humidity into the air in your Lafayette home. There’s good news still—a straightforward bathroom ventilation fan can save you from distorted wood, mold growth, cracked drywall and other trouble associated with a humid bathroom.
Even if you have ventilation fans in your bathrooms, do you know if they’re the correct size? Are they as quiet and energy efficient as they could be? AC Sales is here to answer your questions.
Today’s bathroom ventilation fans are small and modern and they work more quietly and economically than ever before. You’ll find a large range of selections, from simple fans that will get the job done to fans with integrated heat lamps, motion sensors and heat-exchanger ventilation that helps prevent warmed air from getting out through your ventilation. While you can find a lot of bells and whistles to pick from, the most imperative aspect of your fan is whether or not it’s big enough to do its job.
Assessed by the cubic feet per minute (CFM) of air they move, a bathroom ventilation fan should be able to replace the air in a bathroom at least eight times an hour. With a typical 8-foot ceiling, your ventilation fan should have a CFM rating at least as high as the number of square feet in your bathroom. Thus, if your bathroom is 5 feet by 8 feet, a CFM rating of 40 would be adequate.
If you have a larger ceiling, the equation gets a little more difficult. You’ll want to multiply the width of the room by its height and length, divide it by 60 and multiply by 8. Or, to keep it easy, you can heed HGTV’s guidance for bathrooms larger than 100 square feet – determine your CFM requirements by increasing 50 CFM for every toilet; 50 CFM for each shower, bath and combo; and 100 CFM for each whirlpool.
If you’re unclear if your bathroom ventilation fan is the correct size, or you know it’s time for a new one, give the pros at AC Sales at call at (337) 234-2345. We’re here to help you make sure you have a ventilation fan that will run hard to protect your home and keep it cozy.
