What Size Should My Bathroom Ventilation Fan Be?

July 28, 2017

Everyday tasks like showering, bathing and shaving can put home-destructive humidity into the air in your Hasbrouck Heights home. There’s good news however—a straightforward bathroom ventilation fan can protect you from distorted wood, mold growth, cracked drywall and other issues associated with a humid bathroom.

Even if you have ventilation fans in your bathrooms, do you know if they’re the right size? Are they as noiseless and energy efficient as they could be? ACE Solutions is here to answer your questions.

Today’s bathroom ventilation fans are small and modern and they work more quietly and efficiently than ever before. You’ll find a hefty range of choices, from simple fans that will get the job done to fans with fitted heat lamps, motion sensors and heat-exchanger ventilation that helps block warmed air from leaking through your ventilation. While there are a lot of bells and whistles to pick from, the most important aspect of your fan is whether or not it’s large enough to do its job.

Rated by the cubic feet per minute (CFM) of air they move, a bathroom ventilation fan should be able to exchange the air in a bathroom at least eight times an hour. With a normal 8-foot ceiling, your ventilation fan should have a CFM rating almost as high as the number of square feet in your bathroom. Therefore, if your bathroom is 5 feet by 8 feet, a CFM rating of 40 would be satisfactory.

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 simple, you can heed HGTV’s guidance for bathrooms larger than 100 square feet – verify your CFM requirements by toting 50 CFM for every toilet; 50 CFM for each shower, bath and combo; and 100 CFM for each whirlpool.

If you’re not sure if your bathroom ventilation fan is the proper size, or you know it’s time for a new one, give the professionals at ACE Solutions at call at 201-579-2562. We’re here to help you ensure you have a ventilation fan that will work hard to guard your home and keep it cozy.