Heating and Ventilation
Clear the air while taking the chill off
Photo: Tom Wyatt
Heated towel bars keep bath linens toasty while doubling as radiators. Modern slat design comes in many colors—and in both hydronic and electric versions.
Heating the bathroom
Nothing spoils the soothing effects of a long, hot soak or shower faster than stepping out into a cool room -- or even one of average house temperature. A small auxiliary heater in the wall or ceiling may be just what you need to stay warm while toweling off. Add a timer, and you can wake up to a toasty bathing space.
Bathroom heaters warm rooms by either of two methods -- convection or radiation. Convection heaters warm the air in a room; radiant heaters emit infrared or electromagnetic waves that warm objects and surfaces.
Electric heaters
Because electric heaters are easy to install and clean to operate, they're the most familiar choice. Besides the standard wall- and ceiling-mounted units, you'll find heaters combined with exhaust fans, lights, or both.
Wall- or ceiling-mounted convection heaters usually have an electrically heated resistance coil and a small fan to move the heated air. A toe-space heater -- recessed into a vanity below the sink -- helps warm (and dry) the floor more quickly. Options include thermostats, timer switches, and safety cutoffs.
Radiant heaters using infrared light bulbs ("heat lamps") can be surface-mounted on the ceiling or recessed between joists.
Gas heaters
You'll find heaters available for either propane or natural gas. Though most are convection heaters, there is one radiant type -- a catalytic heater. Regardless of how they heat, all gas models require a gas supply line and must be vented to the outside.
Heated towel bars
Besides gas and electricity, another heat source has reappeared on the bathroom scene: hot water. The original idea was to warm and dry bath towels, but now these hydronic units -- wall- or floor-mounted -- are being billed as "radiators" as well.
In addition to water-powered towel warmers, you can also find sleek electric versions.
Ventilating the bathroom
Even if you have good natural ventilation, an exhaust fan can exchange the air in a bathroom faster, and in bad weather it can keep the elements out and still remove stale air. Some fans include lights or heaters or both.
It's important that your exhaust fan have adequate capacity. The Home Ventilating Institute (HVI) recommends that the fan be capable of exchanging the air at least eight times every hour. To determine the required fan capacity in cubic feet per minute (CFM) for a bathroom with an 8-foot ceiling, multiply the room's length and width in feet by 1.1. For example, if your bathroom is 6 by 9 feet, you would calculate the required fan capacity as follows:
6 x 9 x 1.1 = 59.4 CFM
Rounding off, you would need fan capacity of at least 60 CFM. If your fan must exhaust through a long duct or several elbows, you'll need greater capacity to overcome the increased resistance. Follow the manufacturer's recommendations.
Most fans have a noise rating measured in sones: the lower the number, the quieter the fan.
