Best Exhaust Fans for Creating Healthy Indoor Environment

The Panasonic company has been delighted customers with innovative home products for more than 50 years now. Their award-winning products really make American houses more comfortable and "healthier", and the Panasonic FV-11VQ5 bathroom exhaust fan is no exception. It's a real workhorse that can give you trouble-free ventilation for many years without increasing your energy bills. By circulating 110 cubic feet of air per minute, this exhaust fan is an excellent pick for residential applications. Compared to most other bath fans, this Panasonic exhaust fan uses much less energy to move much larger volumes of air. The item is extremely durable, so it can give your bathroom continuous freshness for long years to come. It boasts a galvanized steel body with a built-in damper preventing backdrafts. It's made of top-quality components that are resistant to heat and rust. By the way, the powerful plug-in motor is lubricated, which also adds to the longer service life of the whole device. And since the fan uses less energy than most other models, it is less likely to overheat and end up with the motor or bearing failure. The condenser AC motor is totally enclosed and equipped with a thermal cut-off fuse. However, the best part about this vent fan is that it uses a double-tapered blower wheel that moves air super quietly. The Panasonic FV-11VQ5 fan works so silently that you might not even know it is on.

BROAN is the leading company in home ventilation in North America. It offers the huge choice of kitchen ventilation products that effectively reduce humidity, odd odors, dust, pet dander, and chemicals. And the Broan 509 Through-Wall Fan is one of them. Moving air at 180 cubic feet per minute, it's very powerful and does a superb job at removing stale air from kitchens or other utility rooms. However, with this high CFM rating, it's a bit loud - it produces a 6.5-sone level of sound. The fan is equipped with a permanently-lubricated and thermally-protected plug-in motor. The motor can run continuously, and even if the rotor locks up, the motor won't overheat. The fan has a built-in damper that minimizes backdrafts.

This vent unit is fairly easy to assemble and install. It requires wiring installation to a wall switch. And you'll need to cut an 8" round duct through the wall to the outside. The unit fits walls from 4" 1/2' to 9" 1/2'-thick. The exact dimensions of the fan are:

The fan comes with very detailed step-by-step instructions, so the assembly won't be a tricky job and it won't take you a long time.

This wall mounted exhaust fan has a classic white polymeric grille which can be painted to whatever color you need to match your home decor. And the rugged steel housing of the fan is finished with an electrically-bonded epoxy paint that can also be painted to fit your outdoor style.

The Bionaire BW2300 window exhaust fan is an excellent choice if you can't tolerate hot weather and would like to have cool fresh air circulating around your house all year long. The unit has two fans that can move an incredibly large volume of air for their size. Yet, they run without any vibration and are almost whisper-quiet at the lowest speed. By the way, the unit features three different speeds (high, medium, and low) for more controlled airflow. It uses 43 watts on low, 49 watts on medium, and 64 watts on high speed. On the highest setting, the fans run incredibly fast but they are a bit on the loud side.

The 8.5-inch fans are very smartly designed and can work both simultaneously or independently. They can operate in an exchange mode where one fan pushes in fresh cool air from the outside and the other exhausts hot stale air from inside. In other words, two fans can be set independently for a full room air circulation. This reversible fan feature is fabulous, as it gives you an opportunity to draw in cooler air into the kitchen, for example, and exhaust out stuffy air while cooking. This way, it can cool any room you need, however, remember that the outside temperature rules everything. It should be at least ten degrees cooler than the inside temperature.

This twin fan can be mounted on double-hung, vertical-slider, and casement windows. It comes fully assembled and with two solid, and one expandable side extenders to fit non-standard windows as well (from 24 to 37 inches wide). The extender panels offer rigid support for either horizontal or vertical orientation. If needed, you can buy additionally Bionaire 3-inch spacers that can be stacked together to give this fan extra height or width. The Bionaire BW2300 is an excellent 2-in-1 unit that can not only exhaust air from your room but also cool it down a bit. An excellent alternative to AC units.

The Delta BreezSlim SLM80 is virtually silent. Unlike other 80 CFM bath fans that run at 0.8~2.5 sones, this one produces just 0.6 sones. In other words, when it's working, you barely can hear it. However, the fan is not only quiet. It's very strong and good looking. With an air flow of 80 CFM, it's suitable both for ceiling and sidewall mounting (it fits any 4" wall). The installation is fairly straightforward. The package includes a 4” metal oval duct with a 3” adapter. The black plastic adapter is oval on one side and round on the other. If you want to make sure that exhaust isn't leaking out or prolong the adapter service life, you can further wrap it in tape after installation. The fan has an enlarged grille that will help relieve cutting errors if needed.

This Delta exhaust fan is ENERGY STAR qualified and HVI certified. With an efficiency rating of 9.4 CFM per Watt, it consumes just 8.5 Watts. This low energy consumption reduces not only electricity bills but also emissions, thus, protecting the environment. The fan is excellent for single home retrofits and large multifamily projects. It will effectively improve the quality of the air and remove excess moisture from your living environment. And less humidity means less risk of health problems.

The fan is made of galvanized steel that is resistant to corrosion. Underneath the grille, you'll see an LED indicator light. When the fan is running, the LED indicator flashes green. Overall, if you need a very quiet and energy-efficient fan for its rated flow, the Delta Breez SLM80 is a reasonable purchase.

For less than $40, you can get an extremely effective double window exhaust fan. It features two 8.5-inch fans with six blades each. The fans can run both simultaneously or independently. This way, you can set one fan on intake and the other one on exhaust during hot nights. The fans will circulate the cool night air through your bedroom, keeping a perfect temperature. Or you can install the fan in the kitchen window to draw in fresh air or exhaust out stale air when cooking.

The fan can operate either manually or automatically. It has a thermostat that can maintain a selected temperature in your room. You can preset 60, 65, 70, 75, or 80 degrees Fahrenheit, and the unit will automatically turn itself off once the sensor detects the selected temperature. Also, you can select low or high mode. The fans run relatively quiet at both speeds. The unit uses about 46 watts on low and 63 watts on high modes. It has a one-touch electronic control for switching between temperature settings and switching device on/off. You'll need to push through every mode to get to "off", which is not very convenient. However, for the price, it's a minor sacrifice. Overall, if you need an affordable twin fan to exchange air with outside, this one will fit the bill perfectly.