Humidity sensing extractor fans

Humidity sensing extractor fans

8:50 AM, 10th October 2012, About 12 years ago 10

Text Size

This article which looks at “humidity sensing extractor fans” is the second in a series of articles by bathroom water damage prevention specialist Steve Dalloway.

I have these in all my flats and they are brilliant !

I mentioned in my previous article that mould needs three things to grow ….

  1. A warm environment
  2. A moist environment
  3. Something to grow on ( Shampoo / Conditioner / Soap / Dirt and Other Stuff……)

…. and moisture is the one that’s really easy to control.

These “humidity sensing extractor fans” switch on automatically when the bathroom gets humid and stop when the humidity level gets back to normal again. So no light pulls or having to remember to pop the fan on etc etc.

In over 20 years of using these types of devices I have had incredibly low levels of mould growth on baths, walls and ceilings.

They cost about £80 to £100 but it’s a great investment and saves me lots of time on turn-arounds as the bathrooms don’t need much attention other than a good clean.

The other good thing with this solution is that the fan only comes on when it’s humid and not at 2am when you go to the loo. So no waking the whole house up with a fan going for 20 minutes which can be annoying and wasteful of electricity too.

If anyone has questions, I’d be happy to answer them or offer advice on best practice.

My next article is about sealants that don’t go black and mouldy


Share This Article


Comments

Become a Member

If you login or become a member you can view this members profile, comments, posts and send them messages!

Sign Up

1:11 AM, 11th October 2012, About 12 years ago

Really liking this first hand talk, where do you get the fans from? If you don't mind.

Become a Member

If you login or become a member you can view this members profile, comments, posts and send them messages!

Sign Up

8:36 AM, 11th October 2012, About 12 years ago

Does the installation of the fans comply with English Building Regulations for new buildings?

Become a Member

If you login or become a member you can view this members profile, comments, posts and send them messages!

Sign Up

8:54 AM, 11th October 2012, About 12 years ago

Do you have an outlet in Edinburgh/Scotland? Do you need to core through to an outside wall?

AnthonyJames

Become a Member

If you login or become a member you can view this members profile, comments, posts and send them messages!

Sign Up

9:37 AM, 11th October 2012, About 12 years ago

In your experience, which product is the most cost-effective? Issues for me would be cost (obviously), dB rating of the motor, and component reliability. Aesthetics would matter too: fans by Icon are much nicer-looking than the average grill cover. Silavent claim to make quiet fans, but I have no experience of whether this is justified.

Steve Dalloway

Become a Member

If you login or become a member you can view this members profile, comments, posts and send them messages!

Sign Up

9:48 AM, 11th October 2012, About 12 years ago

Hi Dave,
We don't do fans at all these days as it's a very competitive market. Personally I have used the Vectaire AS10 slimline range of fans in all my properties as they shift the air well and are pretty quiet. Plus they are humidity sensing models.
The humidity sensing models just use a live & neutral to tem, have no pull cord and are automatic. They switch on when there is humidity and switch off when they have cleared it. So they don't go off at 2am when you get up for a pee and wake the house up.
I'm sure you can find these on the web as they are a UK manufacturer. We used to distribute their gear some years ago but made nothing on it, so we stopped - Good kit though !
If you are putting a fan in the ceiling into a loft cake sure you find a "water Trap" to catch any condensation in the extraction hose as water / condensation can run back into the fan and pop the electronics / motor. This only happens when mounting a fan in a ceiling.
The range is 4" for bathrooms and thats enough as 6" fans look way too big and cumbersome.
Hope this helps....

Steve Dalloway

Become a Member

If you login or become a member you can view this members profile, comments, posts and send them messages!

Sign Up

9:54 AM, 11th October 2012, About 12 years ago

Have a look at the post I just did for Dave...... What I was looking for was function and aesthetics being an engineer. The Vectaire AS10 range is what I use and its the humidity sensing versions. We used to sell them here at Byretech, but the margins were too low, as they are a UK made fan. Good but expensive and relatively quiet. Ive one in my own bathroom and its really agood product.

Steve Dalloway

Become a Member

If you login or become a member you can view this members profile, comments, posts and send them messages!

Sign Up

9:59 AM, 11th October 2012, About 12 years ago

To be honest without going into it in depth, im not 100% sure........ However bathroom extractor fans are designed for bathrooms, so it would be fair to assume that if designers design fans to be used in bathrooms they can actually be used in batrhooms.

Steve Dalloway

Become a Member

If you login or become a member you can view this members profile, comments, posts and send them messages!

Sign Up

11:05 AM, 11th October 2012, About 12 years ago

Search for Vectaire on the web and in particular the AS10 slimline Humidity sensing models. See post above to Dave. I think from memory its a AS10HT PLUS.

Become a Member

If you login or become a member you can view this members profile, comments, posts and send them messages!

Sign Up

11:41 AM, 13th October 2012, About 12 years ago

Become a Member

If you login or become a member you can view this members profile, comments, posts and send them messages!

Sign Up

12:42 PM, 15th October 2012, About 12 years ago

At that price its worth giving them a try. But for that price i'm not sure what sort of a product you will be getting. Normally on the low cost fans they are not that quiet, but its worth a punt I reckon. If anyone does try them i'd love to know the results......

Leave Comments

In order to post comments you will need to Sign In or Sign Up for a FREE Membership

or

Don't have an account? Sign Up

Landlord Automated Assistant Read More