I used a Panasonic fan as well and like it but wish I had used a larger rated cfm one and got one with a humidifier built in the fan itself at the ceiling. For this one I just installed a basic motion activated switch so that the fan always comes on whenever someone comes in the washroom.
I installed a humidifier switch in my other bathroom but it takes a little longer for steam to get to it before it activates.
Don’t forget about electrical for your infloor heating and a plug less than 3-4 feet from the toilet for a smart toilet/bidet,
and of course the electrical for the steam shower.
very nice but you Americans are showing off with all your gadgets now. UK is a little behind with size of bathrooms and what i can and can not do based on regulations.
not thought of heated floor… mmmmmm
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American? I wish! I am north of the wall a bit hard to get the toys up here as well.
apologies.
where did you get the fan from ?
I got my Panasonic fan from amazon in the US Panasonic FV-20VQ3 WhisperCeiling 190 CFM Ceiling Mounted Fan
but I wish I had gotten one one size bigger (290 cfm) and a humidity sensor built in being that it is right outside the steam shower. The Panasonic fan was a better build than most fans. I had a brand new Broan fan at first but it didn’t come close to removing humidity and was plastic parts. It was also about 110 cfm and noise level was about the same as the Panasonic with 190 cfm.
Don’t remember the brand with the humidity sensor built in though. The basic motion sensor switch I put in most of my washrooms for the fan to keep them always aired out.
Are you going to follow @anon36505037’s suggestion in post 2 for your fan?
I would recommend it.
I have used these in my en-suite and main bathroom with an Xiaomi humidity sensor.
Works faultlessly.
The Xiaomi sensor is the size of 50p piece and can be fixed anywhere you wish.
I don’t notice mine anymore.
i was looking at a sensor, but looked at the Aeon Multisensor 6
will look at the one you suggest now
I’m thinking of having one of the Panasonic fans put installed, but I’m still not sure what to get for the electrician to make this happen with Home Automation, if needed. I’ve been told z-wave relays will work, but you have to buy one for each function…Also, I don’t think this particular fan, even though it is their top of the line, has a humidity sensor…
I’ve also been told another run to the circuit breaker will probably need to be made in order to support the heater…I assume that won’t be hard since there is attic space between the bathroom this would be in and the circuit breaker (both accessible via the attic.)
Any opinions?
If the walls are open it’s much faster and cheaper than later! Morr circuits! Also consider motorized blinds. They have to plug in too.
I believe you are correct I do not think the Panasonic fans have humidity control built in but that maybe better anyway in case the humidity control fails easier to replace an independent unit. If you have kids/teenagers a better/cheaper option is just a dumb motion sensor switch for the fan like I did.
As far as the heated floors depending on how many things you have coming off your breaker will determine if you will need another circuit. except for my steam shower which required a separate in Canada 240 volt breaker everything else (including the floor) was able to go on 1 GFI (ground fault interrupter) 120 volt breaker.
One final item you might consider is electrical for a heated towel bar.
I second the heated towel bar. In my house that was appreciated more than the heated floors.
Make sure to put in an outlet close to the toilet in case you ever want to install a bidet. After doing all the work to make your bathroom beautiful, you don’t want a cord draped across the wall in plain view. DAMHIK
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Towel rail is already sorted but powered by the heating system so far.
Bidet the bathroom isn’t big enough but thanks for the thought
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A bidet seat just replaces the toilet seat.
Are bidets even a major thing in the UK? Alot of people mention them on these type of threads but as a kitchen / bathroom designer I’ve sold one in five years of being in the role… And that was to an American.
Anywho, heated floorings an idea, just bare in mind that electric undertile matting is equivalent to turning on a space heater or running many kettles. Central heating powered underfloor is much more efficient but higher install cost.
In a similar situation to you myself however in that I’m refurbishing the whole house and teching up the bathroom seems to be hardest of all. £30-40 will get you a good quality humidity triggered extractor with it all built right in the unit and a low noise output without anything seperate, it’s humidity sensing means if placed correctly then automating it simply isn’t needed.
Lighting is deffinately an area to benefit, possibly speakers, don’t forget that UK regs are allot stricter than the us on electrics in the bathroom, especially with things that utilise a mains socket connection.
With mine I’ve installed a plinth light system throughout the house which will guide you to the bathroom /kitchen ect, basically plinth lights fitted into the skirting (12mm diameter so only small pin points) that with the motion sensors allow them to light up as you approach to avoid bright lights at night but still guide you round. This continues in the bathroom to slowly bring the lighting up to a non-blinding level for late night bathroom trips.
Being in a bungalow, both my bathrooms have no windows, so ceiling flush LED panels adjust their lighting depending on time of day, using a light sensor mounted elsewhere in the house this then dims or brightens depending on the outside lighting level . This is over-ridable for when the other half wants daylight to do her makeup.
As part of the refurb I’ve had a recess created in one of the walls, this will contain touchscreen pc monitor that will double as a TV as well as controlling alot of the automation in the bathroom, in the en-suite I’m thinking of doing a smart mirror for the same purpose.
Finally, I’m planning on using the tado heating rad valves, this would allow me to have the towel rads heat up early before showering as well as making sure the room is toasty .
The limited range of options in the UK means a little outside of the box thinking, especially since we don’t generally do “huge” bathrooms like the Americans do,
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sounds good, don’t suppose you have pictures ?
Not as of yet, the place is still a building site. Biggest issue I’m having is actually working out if smart things is going to be worth it in the long run when alternatives seem to be progressing faster with more innovation and options
what are you considering ?
i’ve started to get a neutral dropped to each switch plate for future use. but not sure i need smart switches everywhere
I’ve had the neutral dropped just incase I change switches later. The fibaro’s however are going in the ceiling as access is simple enough and you can force a reset from the switch instead of the unit.
My main concern is probably the most simplest yet proven to be the hardest, that is to come up with a use scenario for each room.
Making sure the system covers both ease of use and not having to fiddle with it each day to use it. I’m trying to find a way to have a built in override that is automatic, meaning if I’m in a room the lights stop being motion activated and instead are over ridden to either stay on, or off depending on my activity.
However I don’t want to have to tell them to do it. So things like monitoring the energy of the TV, or computer, and if it’s on then I’m in the room and react accordingly.
Same applies to the bathroom, humidity sensing that the showers on , so the lighting remains as opposed to having to constantly tripping the motion sensor or telling the system that I’m taking a shower.
This can then be tweaked to further save energy by narrowing the time that lights ect are on when not in the room as eventually as soon as I leave the room the lights should turn off, not after 10 mins of no motion as it will detect that the showers off, no heat signatures in the room, doors closed so it’s clearly empty
All them things can easily be set up within SmartThings , mainly by using WebCore and having the appropriate devices.