When you ventilate the bathroom, how often do you think about the amount of time that should be spent ventilating, or how much energy is being wasted by over-ventilating? If you’re like most people, these two issues have probably never really crossed your mind. The AirCycler Switch allows you to attack both of these problems simultaneously without a second thought.
How Long Should I Run the Vent?
HVAC experts suggest that the bathroom fan operate the bathroom fan for no less than 15, and no more than 20 minutes after a shower or bath. By letting it run for this amount of time, the fan is able to exhaust the moisture out of the room. Running the fan longer also does this. It can however, waste a tremendous amount energy, leading to higher energy costs, and a higher carbon footprint. Operating the exhaust fan for less time can cause condensation problems such as molding and rotting. These can inflame respiratory-related health issues including asthma.
How Do I Set and Operate the AirCycler Switch?
This switch replaces both the light and fan switches in the bathroom. The settings on the switch are ventilation, delay, and the ability to cancel the delay. The timer switch uses a microprocessor, which watches and controls how long the fan operates. It does this in order to provide a specific amount of ventilation to the room.
- Ventilation Setting – The number of minutes each hour you want the fan to operate.
- Delay Setting – The amount of time the fan will run after the light has been turned off (this setting is great, as it allows the ventilation cycle to finish after the bathroom is no longer occupied).
- Cancel Delay – Use this setting if you don’t want the fan to run after the light has been turned off. To activate this, simply turn the light back on again within a few seconds.
Once set, the microprocessor in the AirCycler Switch recognizes each of the settings and ventilates the bathroom accordingly. It does this by subtracting the delay time from the hourly ventilation time.
Take for example a situation where the hourly ventilation is set to 20 minutes, and the delay for 10 minutes. Someone spends 5 minutes in the bathroom (the ventilation runs during this time) and turns the light off when they leave. Afterward, the 10-minute delay kicks in, totaling 15 minutes the fan has operated for that hour. The microprocessor senses this and runs the fan for an additional 5 minutes over the course of that hour.
If during the course of an hour, the fan is operated for more than the 20 minutes that were initially set, the AirCycler will subtract that amount from 20 for the next hour of operation.
Limiting the amount of energy that is used (in many cases wasted) through bathroom ventilation provides you with more control over both the indoor air quality of the home as well as the amount of energy being consumed. Whenever there is less energy being used in the home, less money spent on energy bills is sure to follow.