Adding a fan in my bathroom.

[Unruh]

So I have an older house that we did a lot of remodeling in. I have two lights in the bathroom, but no fan. I’m going to replace one light with a light/fan combo. This combo also has a Bluetooth speaker so my wife can listen to music while taking a shower. Here is my question, I know very little about wiring/electrical, the switch turns on both lights when you enter. Is this gonna be a problem when wired up to the special switch that came with the fan?

 

[yatg]

Maybe. You need to look at the wiring requirements for the switch.

 

[fasteddie]

There are two ways a light switch can be configured. The switch box could be fed with a hot and neutral wired back from the panel or the fixture may have hot and neutral with a switch leg going down to the switch box. Seems like they are calling for the first scenario. Also, I am only guessing but with that new controller, I think the fixtures might be hot all the time and the light fan bluetooth are controlled by RF remote control so you might find the second light fixture will be on all the time.

 

[MattT]

I think the fixtures might be hot all the time and the light fan bluetooth are controlled by RF remote control so you might find the second light fixture will be on all the time.

That's how it looks. The combo unit may have the ability to control additional lights though. If it doesn't then it'll require a double gang switch box & additional wiring for the seperate light.

 

[Jim greengo]

How are you going to vent it?

 

[spitfire557]

How are you going to vent it?

Hopefully not dumping into the attic like my house had when we bought it.

 

[marinusdees]

How are you going to vent it?

My buddy who is superintendent for a large roofing company told me failure to vent is asking for moisture problems leading to failure of the roof sheathing. Delamination of plywood, etc.

 

[Norcal]

Depending on where it is located, the fan could require GFCI protection.

 

[Unruh]

How are you going to vent it?

I have installed the vent out the roof already. Just need to install the fan and hook up the ducting.

 

[Rob_b]

If you have easy access to the attic for the fan, then wiring into the wall where the power is located should be easy. Just pull back some of the insulation and find the top of the wall, drill into the stud, open the wall up to add a switch to what is already there(box too) tag it off the load side of the GFCI plug to the switch(should be a timer type) and then to your fan. Its about a 1-2 hr job...

 

[MarvinBerry]

That's how it looks. The combo unit may have the ability to control additional lights though. If it doesn't then it'll require a double gang switch box & additional wiring for the seperate light.

Either that or return the fancy Bluetooth fan & get a standard one.

It does look like an rf always hot deal...went through this with a pair of ceiling fans last year. But in reverse, where my old dual gang light & fan controls became a single on/off with the rf remote kludged in next to it.

 

[slimpickins]

That's how it looks. The combo unit may have the ability to control additional lights though. If it doesn't then it'll require a double gang switch box & additional wiring for the seperate light.

Another giveaway that the switch is likely RF for at least part of the control is the instruction "IMPORTANT: Do not use a metal wall switch plate when installing this switch" ... probably because it will block or attenuate the RF.

 

[Unruh]

Another giveaway that the switch is likely RF for at least part of the control is the instruction "IMPORTANT: Do not use a metal wall switch plate when installing this switch" ... probably because it will block or attenuate the RF.

Yeah, that is my thoughts as well. We plan on running wires and putting in a dedicated switch. I installed one of these fans in the other bathroom, but didn’t have the double light issue. We really like it.

 

[m32825]

I have installed the vent out the roof already. Just need to install the fan and hook up the ducting.

Did you insulate the ducting? If not, cold air in the attic will condense the moisture out of the exhaust stream and cause it to drip back down instead of going outside where you want it.

-- Carl