Bath Exhaust/Light/Heat combo unit

[tev9999]

I'm working on a bathroom update. 1950s vintage, 70ish square foot, southeast MI. I have an existing exhaust fan/light that needs attention as birds invaded the attic and built a nest in the plastic exhaust pipe. Since I have to crawl up there any way I'm going to replace it with rigid metal. I figure I might as well replace the fan itself since it is probably 25+ years old. The light has a 7 watt bulb since I only need it for a night light.

I was looking at units such as this:

with the addition of a heater. I have the heat drop back to about 63 in the winter at night, so it would be nice to warm up the bathroom quickly for late night trips or early in the morning if the central heat has not caught up in time for a shower.

I would have to do some additional wiring with the heated version, but it would not be too difficult as I have an unused attic fan that already has a dedicated 20 amp circuit I can steal.

Are these units actually worth the extra cost and installation headache?

[John Grabowski]

Although these combo models do produce a lot of heat, your bathroom will not feel warm as soon as you turn it on. It will take some time to warm up the space as the fan usually blows the hot air out gently and it is on the ceiling where the heat rises to anyway.

The infrared bulbs that someone else suggested will give you an instant feeling of warmth, but will not heat the space quickly. My suggestion for a nice cozy warm feeling is to install a heat lamp unit AND an underfloor mat heater. Using both of these at the same time will consume less watts than the combo fan/heater/nightlight unit.

Most of the complaints I hear about bath exhaust fans are concerning the noise. I suggest one of the Panasonic models to replace your existing fan.

[J.A. Michel]

YES THEY ARE!! We recently moved to a new home. Although our new home is superior to the old one in every aspect, we do miss one thing. Our old home had a heater just like that in the bathroom, and our new home does not. We sure miss the 'ol hot air blower on cold mornings! It was really nice. We are considering installing one at the new house.

[RickR]

Depending on your bath layout you might try a "toe-kick" heater. 20A forced air will heat a small room quickly, and is at your level. It mounts in the base of a cabinet and blows hot air on your toes. :-))

Had one in a previous house and wish I could mount one here.

RickR

J.A. Michel wrote: