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Bathroom Exhaust Fans - The Options

Do you have bathroom exhaust fans?

These fans, which pull air out of your bathroom, are a critical device in your home. They pull odor, humidity and air particulates (hair spray, etc.) from your bathroom.

What features and considerations should we make when buying or replacing our bathroom exhaust fans?

Features

• Cosmetics - Color and style of the exhaust fan.

• Noise - Compare decibel ratings of fans (some manufacturers are using “Sones” to rate their noise which is annoying - Sones to Decibel Conversion)

• Light or No Light - That is the question. See our article below to help buy your bulbs!

• Automatic Humidity Control - These fans will turn on when they sense humidity and automatically turn off when the humidity has returned to normal.

• Integration With Energy Recovery Ventilators (ERV) - If your home has or will have an ERV, pulling “stale” air from your bathroom is a house hack.

• Timer Switch - Do you want to select how long your fan runs every time you push the ON button?

• Motion Detection - Some fans can automatically turn on when you enter the room.

• Bluetooth Speakers - Yes, its a thing!

• Heaters - Enjoy a toasty warm bathroom in the morning.

Considerations

• Ducting Air to the Exterior - You must make sure that the air pulled from your bathroom is ducted to the exterior. This air will exit either through your roof, soffit, or wall.

• Dual Wall Switches - Depending on the control you desire over the light and fan features, you may have to install a second switch, and switch wiring.

• Fan Size - Sometimes it makes sense to utilize the same size hole in your ceiling.

• Volume of Air Movement - Essentially how much air your fan can pull out of your bathroom in one minute is referred to as CFM (cubic feet of air per minute). A lot of fans these days come with selectable switches with multiple CFM settings such as 50/80/100/130/150.

Enjoy this newsletter? Forward to your fellow serious homeowners!

Luxury Home Feature - Messy Kitchen

What if you had a 2nd kitchen which was located off of your main kitchen, but you couldn’t see it?

This allows your main kitchen to remain relatively clean and uncluttered. You meal prep in the “messy kitchen” to keep the clutter out of site.

Light Bulb Shopping - The Best Shops

There are literally thousands of different light bulbs. How do you find the one you need, for a good price, and without leaving your home?

These are our favorite online lightbulb shops.

1. Bulbs.com - Currently running a special of $50 off a $600 purchase (Also $25 off $300). Try their bulb finder tool to get to the bottom of that special bulb you are looking for. Free shipping on orders over $99.

2. 1000bulbs.com - Currently running a special (code super30) for 30% off A19 bulbs. A19 bulbs are the very common bulbs most everyone uses. I’d recommend stocking up on a couple dozen of each wattage (40, 60, and 100 - these are incandescent equivalent wattages). Some of their A19 bulbs are as cheap as 94 cents!

3. Grandbrass.com - Not only do they have a great assortment of light bulbs, but just about every piece and part you could ever desire for a light fixture is here.

A few tips for bulb purchases

• Consider the light color you want. This is referred to as color temperature, and is measured in a unit called Kelvin. Common kelvin ratings are 2700 (“orange”), 3000, 3500, 4000, 5000 (“blue”).

• Buy bulbs that are enclosed fixture rated. These can handle the heat better.

• Buy extra! (This also cuts down on future shipping costs)

• Don’t forget to buy dimmable bulbs if you need them.

The content of this newsletter is for informational purposes only and does not constitute professional advice. Always perform your own due diligence before making any financial decisions. There are no sponsors of this newsletter.