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It's hard to resist the urge to smarten up everything in a home. Too much can be a bad thing, where guests don't know how to turn on a flipping light. But, to my surprise, this bathroom fan of all things has a great blend of smart features and comes with physical controls, so it's not too confusing to operate.
This ceiling-mounted bathroom exhaust fan is from Home Depot's house brand, Commercial Electric. It can pair via Bluetooth or Wi-Fi and play music through its speakers, has an integrated full-color LED light that can turn on automatically via motion, and has an automatic humidity detection sensor that kicks the fan on when the shower's running. You're not going to use half these features most of the time, but it's fun to have around, especially if you like to throw a good (bathroom) party.
Right Vibes
I did not install this bathroom exhaust fan. I've changed a few light fixtures and have tried to tackle some home projects myself, but this seemed a little out of my wheelhouse, so I hired a handyman. He says the installation wasn't too different from a regular bathroom exhaust, which might make you feel confident if you've done something like this before.
My old fan was loud and cranky, but the new one on its highest fan setting offers a reasonable whir. (It's rated for 80 or 110 cubic feet per minute, or CFM.) It's powered by Home Depot's smart home platform, Hubspace, which I've previously not had a good experience with (I was never able to add a Defiant smart lock I was testing to the Hubspace app). Thankfully, this fan immediately connected to my phone via Bluetooth and my Wi-Fi network. Better yet, it also works with Google Assistant and Amazon Alexa.
I did not install this fan in a bathroom with a shower, but I tested the humidity sensor by using my clothes steamer to get rid of wrinkles on a shirt. It works and automatically kicks on! But my favorite feature, albeit passive, is the motion sensor. Having a room automatically light up without pressing a single button still feels like magic, and I now want to put motion sensors all around my house.
Motion sensing does have some drawbacks. First, you can't customize how sensitive this sensor is. In my bathroom, I have a mirror that looks out past the hallway outside, so whenever someone walks past the bathroom, the light turns on. It's not a big deal (my wife says otherwise), but something to keep in mind. The good news is you can set how long you want the light to be on via the app, and I've set it to a minute.
Yes, if you are in the bathroom for that length of time and don't move much (uh, you know why), then the light will turn off and you'll have to frantically wave your arms for a few seconds before it comes back on. A small price to pay, though you can also turn the motion sensor off.
Physical Controls
The wall switch controls can be intimidating; I recommend reading the manual first. The power button turns the fan and light on and off, but you can also press the individual fan and light buttons to turn them off. (Press and hold the fan button for three seconds to turn the Bluetooth speaker on and off too.) You can press the plus and minus signs to change the brightness of the light, or press and hold the color button to cycle through colors—I prefer to use the app for this.
You can also change the color temperature of the white light to make it cooler or warmer. Press and hold the light button for a night light option, handy for late-night bathroom runs. The app offers many of these settings too.
The speaker quality is impressively loud, though there was one time when my record player automatically connected to it, and I was very confused for a minute when I heard Ella Fitzgerald belting out of the bathroom. The speaker is best used when you're in the shower (I've tested a shower speaker in the past and loved it), but I also like using it for parties. During a recent holiday party, I had some quiet jazz playing in the bathroom at a low volume to offer a restaurant-like vibe (and some audio privacy since my bathroom is smack-dab between the living room and kitchen). People loved it.
It's worth knowing that a comparable 80-CFM bathroom exhaust fan costs roughly $72 and comes with a light attached, too. You're paying a premium here, but the good news is that unlike the cheaper exhaust and its one-year warranty, this Commercial Electric model has a six-year limited warranty. That offers a little more peace of mind. So does the jazz.
