How to choose the best bathroom extractor

It can often happen, particularly in newly built homes, that there is a blind bathroom , i.e. without a window. However, it is important that air exchange is guaranteed in all rooms, especially in the bathroom, both to eliminate unpleasant odors and to keep the environment fresh by eliminating the humidity that is created to counteract the creation of mould.

How to solve typical Czech bathroom problems?

If your bathroom was also born without a window and there is no possibility of creating an opening to allow air exchange, the only solution is to furnish your bathroom with an efficient bathroom extractor .

What is a bathroom extractor and how does it work?

The aspirator is, in a generic way, that device that allows the recirculation of air in those closed environments, without windows. The propeller of the ventilation system sucks in the air saturated with humidity and bad odors, taking it out through the appropriate duct, introducing clean air into the environment.

How to choose the ideal bathroom extractor?

At first glance, especially if you are not an expert in the sector, bathroom extractor fans may all appear to be the same. In reality, even if the operating principle is often almost identical, it is important to base your choice on the small details that make the difference.

Dimensions of the bathroom to be ventilated

First of all, it is important to know the dimensions of your bathroom . This is because based on the size of the room, you need to understand what power your bathroom extractor should have. In fact, it is based on the power of the aspirator that it will be more or less efficient in the action it must carry out. It is clear that in a small bathroom it is sufficient for the extractor you want to install to have a power of just 8 Watts.

Fan flow rate

After that, it is important to evaluate the flow rate of the fan, i.e. the quantity of air that the extractor is actually able to filter in one hour of operation. Obviously, in this case, the range of the appliance depends on its power. For example, a 15 Watt vacuum cleaner generally has a flow rate of 90 m3/h.

Aspirator speed and pressure

Once the flow rate has been evaluated, it is important to know the speed of the extractor you are choosing. The speed of the aspirator indicates how long the appliance is able to carry out its action. Another important aspect to take into consideration is the pressure , i.e. the force with which the fan must push the air to overcome the resistance of the ventilation system, perhaps hindered by ducts or filters.

The performance of the extractor also depends on the blades . The best bathroom extractors are made up of blades with a wing profile which overall guarantees greater silence and more spare parts than the average. The level of noise is an important factor to take into consideration. This depends on the mechanical vibrations that the blades generate during the period of operation. Especially if you live in a condominium and the rooms are not acoustically isolated, it is a good idea to choose a very quiet bathroom extractor. Typically the best exhaust fan is capable of generating less than 26 decibels.

Types of bathroom extractor fans

The last technical aspect to take into consideration concerns the type of aspirator. In fact, there are different types of bathroom extractors based on their operation. Here are their characteristics:

• Axial fans installed directly in the duct are suitable for both introducing and extracting air from the bathroom. In these aspirators the impeller consists of a central hub on which the blades are installed. Performance depends on the type of blade, the airfoil and how many blades are used;

• Helical fans , similar to axial fans, are used in the absence of ducts (direct expulsion or with ducts of very limited length). They are mainly used in the industrial sector for the ventilation of warehouses, for commercial use in the ventilation of cells or stables, but also in civil and residential settings, for the extraction of air from bathrooms;

• Centrifugal aspirators are made up of a centrifugal impeller with a certain number of blades positioned along the directions of a cylinder rotated around its axis. The impeller rotates inside a snail-shaped casing.

Obviously after all the technical aspects, it is important to also base your choice on the design of the extractor. Generally speaking, the extractor fan is not a pleasant piece of furniture to look at, but there are devices capable of disturbing the harmony of the bathroom as little as possible. However, these are generally more expensive.

Once you have chosen the best bathroom extractor, it is important to know how to install it.

How is the bathroom extractor installed?

First you need to choose where to install it in the bathroom. You can choose to install the aerator on the wall, ceiling or even on the window. In this last case it is important to equip yourself with the appropriate kits available on the market capable of adapting the chosen extractor to installation on glass.

At this stage it is also important to calculate the air flow rate of the extractor which, in the case of bathrooms but also residential kitchens, must be 4 times the volume of the room. For example, if your bathroom is 2x2 meters with a height of 3 meters, you will have to choose an extractor that has at least 48 m3/h of flow rate. This is because the volume of the bathroom 2x2x3=12 must be multiplied by 4. In this way it has been estimated that in order to be ventilated in the right way, your bathroom needs an extractor with a flow rate of at least 48 m3/h.

Having evaluated these two aspects, all you have to do is rely on the instructions of the bathroom air extractor or rely on an expert.

Generally speaking, therefore, a good solution for air exchange is centralized ventilation using a turret . Installed on the top of the common exhalation pipe, designed for continuous operation, it radically solves the problem, as each toilet is normally equipped with a grill that allows you to determine the air sucked in according to your needs.

It is also important to remember that the degree of ventilation efficiency depends on the characteristics of the system, the positioning of the distribution terminals and the type of room: the higher the ventilation efficiency value, the more the ventilation system guarantees uniform mixing of the air throughout the treated volume. It is easy that, in case of use of particular turbulence diffusers, the ventilation system could be particularly efficient and it is possible to reduce the overall air flow while guaranteeing the renewal of the air.