If you are thinking about or have already started the process of installing an exhaust fan in your home, Air King has a few tips to help you through the process. An exhaust fan is a vital part of your home’s overall indoor air quality, so making sure you have the right product is critical.
Size it Correctly
Exhaust fans measure the amount of air they move in cubic feet per minute (CFM). This is the first step in determining what fan to use. A quick calculation is that you want 1 CFM per 1 square foot. So if your bathroom is 10 feet by 10 feet, you will want at least a 100 CFM exhaust fan. Depending on usage – hotter showers, more frequent use and so forth, you should consider a higher CFM fan to make sure you are ventilating the room properly.
Choose Correctly
There are many factors that go into how to choose the correct product when installing an exhaust fan – size, sound, features and so on. Air King has written many articles in this regard and encourage you to browse through the Blog archive. For this article we want to focus on some of the items that can get overlooked, like certifications. If you are installing the fan over a tub or in a shower stall, it will need a special certification to ensure safety. You will want to look for the statement: “Certified for use in a tub/shower on a GFCI circuit” or a similar statement. The same holds true if you plan on installing the exhaust fan on a wall. There are special certifications for wall mounting. This information is typically found in the product specifications or product description.
Connect it to the Correct Ducting
The size of ducting connecting to the fan can have significant performance implications. Most residential homes have either 3”, 4” or 6” ducting. It is ideal to use a fan that matches the ducting of the home or is able to transition to larger ducting. For instance, if you are installing an exhaust fan with a 4” duct, you want the ducting in the home to be at least 4”, larger is fine, but if you have smaller ducting in place, it will greatly reduce the performance of the fan.
Use the Correct Ducting
This could probably be a part B in the Connect it to the Correct Ducting section, but we think it is important enough to have it's own point. There are a few different types of ducting available and they all can have different effects on how your exhaust fan operates. For the most part, you will be using existing ducting and as we mentioned above, it is important to match the ducting of the exhaust fan to the size of the existing ducting. In cases where you will be installing ducting, there are a few things to consider. Generally, there are two types of ducting – flexible and rigid. When possible, rigid ducting is the best to use as it provides an ideal path for the air to flow out of the home. Flexible ducting provides an easier installation but can decrease the performance of the fan depending on the length and type. When comparing the two types of ducting, think of a car driving down a smooth road (rigid ducting) and how easy it is. Now think of the same care driving down a bumpy road (flexible ducting) and how the car needs to go slower and the ride is not as comfortable. Both ducting gets the job done, but one is definitely better than the other. In some installations, flexible ducting is the only option.
Seal it Correctly
An item that regularly is overlooked when installing an exhaust fan is sealing the fan. No matter how precise you try to be when cutting the opening into your ceiling or wall for your exhaust fan, there is almost always going to be gaps around it. These gaps can allow unwanted drafts to come into the room from the attic or wall cavity. An easy solution is to seal around the housing. If you have access to the fan housing through an attic space, using spray foam or a bead of caulk all the way around the housing onto the ceiling material will be your best option. If you only have access at the room level, using caulk around the edge of the housing will be your best option as using spray foam might be a little difficult to control.
With a little planning and knowledge of your home, installing an exhaust fan can be a fairly easy project. Air King offers a full line of ventilation solutions that can help the overall indoor air quality of your home. To learn more about Air King exhaust fans, visit airkinglimited.com.
