Breathe In, Breathe Out: Why Proper Ventilation Is Crucial for a Healthy and Energy-Efficient Home

Installing proper ventilation in homes is crucial to not only build to code but to ensure healthy lives for those inhabiting it. Maintaining proper indoor air quality is essential and in order to keep pollutants and other harmful elements out of the environment.

Investing in high-quality fans for bathrooms, laundry rooms, and kitchens is a perfect way to help eliminate smells, excess moisture, and pollutants from the air. Removing excess moisture is important as it will keep the home from feeling hot and uncomfortable. By running a fan while cooking and showering, the risk of microbial growth is reduced greatly. The right fan will keep the air in the buildings fresh, clean, and safe for people (and pets!) to breathe daily.

How do these fans work? Obviously, pulling OUT bad stuff is the system’s biggest priority to clean the air. However, most ventilation systems also include filters for the air coming IN. The filters pull out anything harmful as the air comes in, making it fresher and safer to breathe.

EFI is proud to carry ENERGY STAR certified Panasonic fans on our online store.  What we love most about Panasonic’s Whisper lines is how they help you design within code compliance without compromising interior aesthetics. They’re attractive and effective. Not to mention how quiet and energy-efficient they are! They work hard and remain nearly silent when in use.

Having trouble knowing which Panasonic fan is right for the job?

Panasonic fans provide a great way to remove odors and humidity from spaces such as bathrooms, which are prone to conditions that cause mold and moisture-related issues if proper ventilation isn’t in place.

Things to Consider

• Fan Size and Power: Bathroom exhaust fan performance is measured in cubic feet per minute (CFM). This unit of measure gives the amount of air that is moved by the fan each minute. To assist homeowners in determining what fan you should buy, typically you should be looking for one with a minimum CFM rating that equates to your bathroom’s square footage. For example, if you own an 80 square foot bathroom then you’ll benefit from a fan that has a CFM close to 80.
• Noise: When trying to determine how noisy a fan is, look for the "scones" number. A fan with a lower scone number will tend to be quieter, usually less than 1.0 scones. Anything with a larger scone number will be louder (4.5). If you are looking for a fan that will drown out the sound of toilet flush or shower then look for fans with scones that are greater than 3.5. If you are looking for a quiet bathroom fan that will go completely unnoticed, look for fans with scones less than 1.0.
• Installation and Ducting: When using a bathroom fan the moisture and odors that it is absorbing must go somewhere and should be a consideration for anyone who is looking to buy an exhaust fan. Some fans vent into a home attic, which is not recommended for doing so will expose your attic space to potential mold issues. Instead, you should consider venting bathroom exhaust fans through the side of your home.

Check out this handy Panasonic chart that helps compare its variety of fan models to aid in the purchasing process: