one fan or two?


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Old 05-14-12, 12:26 PM
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one fan or two?

Ihave two adjacent bathrooms - one with a fan and one without. The one with a fan is incorrectly vented into the attic. I would like to have proper venting for both bathrooms. I had an electrical contractor estimate the job and he is pushing to use 2 individual fans vented through the gable. I suggested using a single inline/remote fan that would vent both bathrooms at the same time. My thought is that I am reducing the installation time and labor by only having one fan and one exhaust. The wiring is slightly more complex to use 2 parallel mechanical swtiches (Thanks Furd from the electrical forum) but not so much so. My electrical contractor checked with his local Panasonic dealer who said they don't sell very many inline/remote fans.

Am I approaching this wrong? Are two complete sets of fans/wiring/ducts/exhaust really a more popular or better idea than one inline/remote fan?

- Peter
 
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Old 05-14-12, 12:40 PM
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It is more typical to have one fan per room but the inline fan is certainly an option.

Here is a Panasonic inline fan.

Panasonic Exhaust Fans WhisperLine™ 240 CFM In-Line Bathroom Fan - Energy Star Rated | Wayfair
 
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Old 05-14-12, 12:42 PM
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Your idea may be realistic but it's certainly not common from what I've seen.

I'd put in two fans were this my house.
 
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Old 05-14-12, 01:00 PM
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One inline fan is normally quieter and more powerful. They are also harder to access for maintenance when required since they are in the attic most times.

I also believe in a normal install (unless you get fancy with dampers and controls) you will be pulling from 2 rooms...when really you only need to exhaust one. The tradeoff is that it won't need to run as long because of the power.

I think spending the money on a nice quiet powerful fan with a humidity sensor for each bath would be a better choice.

No...you can't connect the ducting...each needs it's own run.
 
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Old 05-14-12, 03:32 PM
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No...you can't connect the ducting...each needs it's own run.
For most inline/remote fans, you'll need to merge the ducting before you get to the fan. NuTone, among others, sells Y adapters for doing this.
 
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Old 05-14-12, 04:19 PM
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Nash, so you would be evacuating air from both bathrooms simultaneously, even though only one switch called for it? How would you wire it? Low voltage relays?
 
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Old 05-14-12, 05:04 PM
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I meant connecting the ducts from 2 individual fans on the exhaust side....
 
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Old 05-14-12, 05:23 PM
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Nash, so you would be evacuating air from both bathrooms simultaneously, even though only one switch called for it? How would you wire it? Low voltage relays?
Yes, that's how inline/remote fans with multiple intakes typically work. And yes, they sometimes require low-voltage relays.

But the good news is that if the OP buys a package from almost any of the many companies offering them, it will come with all of the needed parts and instructions.
 
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Old 05-14-12, 05:26 PM
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I meant connecting the ducts from 2 individual fans on the exhaust side...
Right. You couldn't do that. They're combined before getting to the single intake on the fan.
 
 

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