An extractor fan is a crucial component in any bathroom. These areas retain a lot of moisture and humidity, which can seep into walls and cause structural damage. In more severe cases, dampness can cause mould, severely impacting your health. 

Invest in powerful bathroom extractor fans to ensure you enjoy clear and dry air. The devices provide adequate ventilation to make your bathroom air clean and dry. If you plan on getting an extractor fan, here’s how to find the right one. 

What Are The Most Powerful Bathroom Extractor Fans?

With so many options to choose from, it can be difficult to narrow down the right extractor fan for you. If you’re looking for high-quality extractor fans, visit Meteor Electrical. 

Meteor carries a wide range of extractor products that keep your home humidity-free without taking up too much electricity. Here are some of the best extractor fans Meteor has to offer. 

1. Xpelair Simply Silent Extractor Fan

One of the best options at Meteor includes the Xpelair Simply Silent Extractor Fan. This powerful extractor device features an over-run timer for better operation and is also compatible with a sensor device. You can toggle the timer between seconds to 30 minutes. 

The Xpelair fan is highly efficient and uses Ghost Air Movement technology for silent running. This is an excellent option for almost any bathroom as it works at an exchange rate of 15L/s or 21L/s. This device allows you to enjoy powerful air circulation with excess energy charges. 

1. iCon Eco Extractor Fan

This incredible extractor fan is stylish and functional, making it ideal for many installations. Despite the compact size, the iCon Eco fans deliver powerful extraction qualities that work well for bathroom and shower rooms.

With an air extraction rate of 18 litres per second, this fan creates a hospitable environment in your bathroom.

1. Xpelair Centrifugal Extractor Fan

If you’re looking for a powerful option that works well in various locations, choose the Xpelair centrifugal extractor fan. This device is engineered with quality materials and an adjustable mounting bracket for easier installation. 

With a robust extraction process, you can install this device in kitchens and bathrooms and even use it for commercial ventilation. Designed with a zinc-coated corrosion material, you can keep using this extractor fan for a long time.  

What Sizes Do Extractor Fans Come In?

Often consumers choose a powerful extractor based on its size. This feature is one way to determine whether you have an efficient fan. 

When we’re talking about a fan’s size, we’re looking at the diameter of its blade and the spigot that’s placed into the ceiling or wall. This component will determine the ducting’s size and all the other grilles and accessories you will use.      

Most extractor fans are designed in a standard 4-inch size, ideal in almost every domestic property; however, you also go for a 6-inch variety for larger rooms and kitchens. 

Inline and Axial fans also come in a 5-inch option for specific installations. For bigger fans, go for inline models, which can go up to 8 inches. 

The extraction is the most significant difference between these sizes, meaning the larger the blade, the more powerful it is. That said, almost any domestic bathroom can be adequately extracted with a 4-inch fan, so you don’t have to look for bigger options. 

What Size Extractor Fan Do I Need?

With so many options, you might wonder which is right for you. The best way to determine this is by knowing all the installation aspects. Here are a few ways to figure this out.

Room Size: Knowing the size of your rooms gives a general idea of the extraction you need to look for. To successfully extract the moisture, you need to know the volume of your room. 

You can calculate this by multiplying its length by width and height. For example, the room might be 4m long x 2.5m wide x 2.8m high. This would give you a volume of 28 cubic metres. 

This means that one air change in the room for one hour would have an extraction rate of 28 cubic metres per hour. 

Most building regulations require four air changes per hour for efficiency, so multiply this number by 4 to determine your required extraction. To better understand the extraction rate, you can convert this measurement into litres per second. 

The Ducting Length: Most consumers might not know this, but your ducting affects the fan’s extraction rate. The air pressure inside the duct will slow down the air as it’s pushed away from the extractor fan. So keep this in mind when you choose your extractor fan. 

The Bathroom Zone: Bathrooms are divided into zones based on how much water they come into contact with. All electrical equipment, such as light fixtures and bathroom extractor fans, have an IP rating that clearly defines their suitable zone for installation. 

An IP rating defines the resistance against solid items and liquid/moisture. The higher the ingress number, the greater the level of protection. Use this measurement when placing your extractor fans. 

Zone 1 is the shower and the area vertically 2.25m above the bath. If installing an extractor fan in the zone,  look for an appliance with a minimum IP45 rating. 

If you want a powerful option, get an extractor fan with an IP65 rating. Zone 2 is the area from 0.6m from Zone 1. This zone should have an IP rating of at least IP44. Lastly, Zone 3 requires no IP rating as there is no water exposure here. 

With these factors, you determine the ideal size of your extractor fan. 

How To Choose The Best Extractor Fan?

Even in one category of extractor fan, there are several options to choose from. Apart from the size, here are some more essential factors to consider when choosing an extractor fan. 

Consider The Noise Factor

If you’re looking for a powerful extractor, noise might be your major concern. To find out the noise level of your extractor fan, look for the value displayed in decibels or dB(A). With this value, you’ll better understand how loud or silent your fan is while running. 

The common dB measurement for an axial extractor fan ranges between 35 to 45 dB(A), and the more powerful centrifugal fans can reach up to 55 dB(A). In the past, older extractor models would make a loud noise every time they were operating. 

Since the fans were larger and had a higher flow rate, they emitted more noise. Nowadays, consumers can choose from multiple options that offer silent running. You can easily find fans with a high extraction that operate at a low noise level. 

Think About How You Want Your Fan To Operate

All extractor fans come with multiple operating modes depending on your needs. Most fans can be turned on manually through a cord switch or remote control. Some fans also use a timer to turn off after a set period. 

If you want even more control over a bathroom extractor fan, look for one with a PIR sensor. These devices operate as soon as someone enters the bathroom. Alternatively, some advanced extractor fans have humidity sensors that operate according to the moisture level of the bathroom air. 

Consider The Air Exchange Rate

As we’ve mentioned, the best way to ensure you have a powerful bathroom extractor is by measuring its’ air exchange rate. This rate is measured in either metres cubed per hour or litres per second (L/s). 

The extraction rate is crucial as it shows how much air is removed when the fan is operational. Most building regulations look for an extractor fan with a rate of 15L/s for domestic bathrooms. Larger or frequently used bathrooms may require a higher rate. 

Check The Exterior Grills

All extractor fans come with a set of exterior grills that helps in their operation, but you must choose between fixed or gravity grilles.

Gravity grilles are designed with slats pushed open through the air extraction process. These slats are closed by gravity after the process, preventing backdrafts. 

However, gravity grilles can produce noise when working, especially if they’re placed underneath a bedroom window. If you want a noise-free option, consider fixed grilles, as they have a more streamlined design. 

Consider A Heat Recovery Option

Some extractor fans are prone to overheating, damaging their components and reducing their lifespan. To avoid this issue, some of the best extractor fans come with a heat recovery option. 

These devices extract stale air from kitchens, bathrooms and utility rooms and pass it through a heat exchanger. When fresh air is brought in, it is filtered through the exchange, recycling the heat. 

Why Do You Need Extractor Fans?

One of the main functions of extractor fans is removing steam and humidity. Before installing extractor fans, it is crucial to understand how these two particles affect your living space.  

Many building regulations and safety organisations encourage using extractor fans to remove significant dampness problems. 

The leading causes of dampness include rising and penetrating dampness. These come from an outside source and take up space in your home through steam and humidity. It condenses as soon as steam and moisture come into contact with cold bathroom surfaces.

When condensation happens over a long period, mould grows on your countertops and other surfaces. Long-term exposure to mould microbes and spores is hazardous to human health. This causes irritation, and you might experience coughing, sneezing, and skin rashes. 

If you experience respiratory problems, mould can amplify your symptoms leading to serious health complications. To avoid such issues, installing extractor fans is crucial. When hot steam is released, the extractor fan pulls the moisture into a duct connected to a vent opening

Once the moisture-laden air is pulled outside, drier and fresher air circulates through the room. Extractor fans in the kitchen are also critical as they extract pollutants and moisture from the air. 

In kitchens, the circulations of steam, smoke, grease, and heat make the kitchen unusable, especially during summer. Investing in extractor fans is crucial even in regions with a milder climate. 

While most homeowners prefer installing complete house ventilation systems for a constant flow of fresh and filtered air, you can also use extractor fans for a similar purpose. Instead of ventilating the entire house, an extractor fan provides individual rooms with clean and fresh air. 

What Are The Different Types of Extractor Fans?

Not all extractor fans are built the same, so you must look at all the different things to find the right one for your space. Here are the three common types of extractor fans. 

Axial Extractor Fans

Axial extractor fans move the air upwards, creating an air pressure difference that forces air to flow through the fan. Due to its smaller size and silent noise feature, axial fans are commonly used in toilets, bathrooms, and other smaller rooms. 

You can install this variety into walls and have direct access to the outside. These types of extractor fans carry air over shorter distances, so they must be positioned near or close to the outside. 

Centrifugal Extract Fans

Centrifugal extractor fans are manufactured for rooms that don’t have exterior walls. Due to its design, centrifugal extractor fans can move high volumes of air at a longer distance. This extractor fan works by spinning air outwards with the help of centrifugal force. 

The centrifugal force is created when the wheel propels the movement of fan blades. The air gets rid of moisture due to the fan wheel being mounted onto a rod. These fans have a much higher extraction rate than axial fans; however, centrifugal fans are far noisier. 

Since they have a high extraction rate, centrifugal fans are typically used in large bathrooms, kitchens, and storage or utility rooms. 

Mixed Flow Extractor Fans

Mixed flow extractor fans are a combination of axial and centrifugal fans. These extractor fans have a much higher extraction rate and a longer length of ducts. 

Mixed flow extractor fans quickly move the air, extracting it from all bends and corners in the duct without affecting the fan's performance. 

These types of extractor fans are also silent, making them a much better extractor than centrifugal fans. Mixed flow extractor fans work best for commercial kitchens due to their quiet operation. 

Inline Extractor Fans

Inline extractor fans are often placed in ceilings above the room and run silently. These fans are perfect for bathrooms that require long ducting. You can also install inline fans in rooms without an external wall or areas with noise pollution. 

Inline fans remove humidity and moisture from the bathroom and other areas in a streamlined process. 

The inline extractor fans suck in air from such humid areas and blow it out through a vent. This vent in the inline extractor fans is placed either behind the inline extractor fans or above the ceiling.