Extractor fan advice - do humidistat fans work well?

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Hi there.

I desperately need to fit an extractor fan in my bathroom - at the moment, we just keep opening the window, which is not really enough (we have started to get black mould, now that the weather has turned colder).

I was just wondering whether had any experience of getting one with a humidistat - i.e. do they work well?

Our bathroom has lots of natural light, so I cannot rely on one that is controlled by the light switch.

I am struggling, also, to find a decent one that has both a humidistat and a manual pull cord (for, ahem, unpleasant odours). However, I assume that when someone has just washed their hands, this shall set the humidistat to come on, anyway.
 
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i know of one my son-in-law just purchased, not fitted yet, but tested and had some good reviews
Light, movement, Humidity and also all setup via blue tooth - with loads of settings - quite time etc

its supposed to be very quiet
Vent-Axia Svara - but no experience in use

i just set it up on a bench and checked all the functions at the weekend

we had an option to control from a switch - but that was all it would do

but going by the PDF instructions - you can have it triggered by a switch , wiring to the T connection- but he did not want that - so we did not test if you can have with all the controls and still trigger with a switch connected to the T connector

works on 12v or 240v

you can change the light sensitivity settings

its also IP rated so can go into zone1

I know in the flat they had , he had trouble with the fan with a humdistate - so i was surprised he wanted to use one again

But may not be what you want
 
I have fitted a handful of extractor fans with humidistats.

The one that I currently have in my upstairs bathroom is the most reliable one that I have come across. The others tend to be overly sensitive.

I only had a permanent live when I fitted mine, so I cheated and fitted two switches in a cupboard (yeah... I know it is not up to regs). One switch is to isolate it, the other is for when I want to manually turn it on.

The steam generated to wash your hands is unlikely to generate enough steam to trigger the fan.
 
Not very. A PIR with timer is better.

The light switch ones usually work very well. You are unusual if the light is seldom used

Some people wrongly think fans use a lot of electricity and make a lot of noise, or that the fan must not be used unless the bathroom is steamy.

You can run a fan permanently if you want, especially a 2-speed one.
 
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Some people think fans prevent condensation; they do not.
Indeed - and, even if they did/could, a humidistat-controlled one would presumably not do very well, since the humidistat would probably only turn on the fan after humidity had risen to a level that would result in condensation on cold surfaces - stable doors and bolting horses comes to mind :)

Kind Regards, John
 
Hi there.

I desperately need to fit an extractor fan in my bathroom - at the moment, we just keep opening the window, which is not really enough (we have started to get black mould, now that the weather has turned colder).

I was just wondering whether had any experience of getting one with a humidistat - i.e. do they work well?

Our bathroom has lots of natural light, so I cannot rely on one that is controlled by the light switch.

I am struggling, also, to find a decent one that has both a humidistat and a manual pull cord (for, ahem, unpleasant odours). However, I assume that when someone has just washed their hands, this shall set the humidistat to come on, anyway.
I have one with a humidistat. Works well when having a shower, comes on automatically. I have a separate pull cord that is not connected to the light to turn it on for 'smells'. I only have to turn it on then I turn it off and it runs for as long as the timer is adjusted for. Search my posts for 'humidistat'.
 
I am struggling, also, to find a decent one that has both a humidistat and a manual pull cord (for, ahem, unpleasant odours). However, I assume that when someone has just washed their hands, this shall set the humidistat to come on, anyway.

They are not that sensitive, as to be triggered by just hand washing, better to get one PIR and humidistat triggered, plus timer, which then covers all bases. No need then for light triggering.
 
Not very. A PIR with timer is better.

The light switch ones usually work very well. You are unusual if the light is seldom used

Some people wrongly think fans use a lot of electricity and make a lot of noise, or that the fan must not be used unless the bathroom is steamy.

You can run a fan permanently if you want, especially a 2-speed one.
They may not use a lot of electricity if run when needed. But running them 24/7 is a different matter altogether. Say a 10w fan on 24/7 will cost around £15 to £20 a year

 
They may not use a lot of electricity if run when needed. But running them 24/7 is a different matter altogether. Say a 10w fan on 24/7 will cost around £15 to £20 a year
Probably appreciably more than that at current (and imminent) prices. However, although I wouldn't advocate (or see a need for) running such fans continuously, many might think that, in the context of today's (and tomorrow's) total electricity bills, such an amount would be relatively 'trivial'
 
The major cost is heat loss, likely to cost hundreds of pounds in the winter for the extracted air which must be reheated to maintain internal temperatures. Better to install an MHVR system if you want continuous ventilation
 
many might think that, in the context of today's (and tomorrow's) total electricity bills, such an amount would be relatively 'trivial'
Maybe, maybe not. There is a thread in the AudioVisual section where a member is complaining about his TV using 12 watts in standby.
 
Maybe, maybe not. There is a thread in the AudioVisual section where a member is complaining about his TV using 12 watts in standby.
I don't doubt it - and, of course, some people are in such a difficult position that they have to consider such things.

However, I suspect that many people complaining about their TV's 12W on standby might well laugh at the suggestion that they should consider reducing the duration of their (10.5 kW) showers by about 1.6 minutes per day!
 
The major cost is heat loss, likely to cost hundreds of pounds in the winter for the extracted air which must be reheated to maintain internal temperatures. Better to install an MHVR system if you want continuous ventilation

Likely to cost MORE than hundreds of pounds.


Edit
The MHVR system I mean, of course.
 
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