PanasonicFV-0811VFL5E WhisperFit EZ Retrofit Ventilation Fan with Light, 80 or 110 CFM

Many reviews talk about challenges with installation. You can't just slam this in with a like-for-like wiring but expect new behavior from your fan. And every home's wiring is different, so it might be simple, it might be complicated, or it might but outright not possible to do everything you want from it.The light is plenty bright for a standard hall bathroom and color-wise somewhere between warm and cold; that is, while it's LED it has a slight yellow hue to it that is a bit warm in color. It works well with our off-white tile. The fan is quiet, but set at 110 it's not whisper quiet.Installation for me took about 5-6 hours while trying to figure out what was happening wiring-wise in the walls, thinking through what I wanted to the fan to do, etc. If an electrician can't figure it out--as some have claimed--get a new electrician.PATIENTLY READ THE INSTRUCTIONS FIRST to get a sense of what you're doing. Even watch a video or two.The physical installation is rather simple, though if your attic is tight or other physical barriers are in place your experience may vary. The design of the fan box offers a great deal of flexibility.Don't try doing this with the power still to the switches. You're guaranteed to get "bit."My set up: I wanted the nightlight always on (unswitched,) the fan on one switch, and the light on another switch. I had to run two extra wires to make this work.I have a conduit from the switches but it first runs to the vanity light, then another conduit heads up to the fan. I ran a hot wire from the vanity like electrical box to the night light wire to solve that need.I ran a wire from the switch box through the vanity light box and up to the fan for the light.I used the existing fan wire for the fan.The neutrals all tied together as shown in the instructions.I swapped by single switch with a dual-switch single pole switch, one toggles the vanity light and the other the fan light. Next to that is the fan switch, which is actually a humidity detecting switch. Wiring-wise, it works the same as any other switch.

The FV-08-11VFL5E Panasonic vent fan is a dual purpose fan for both new construction and retrofit installation. This review covers retrofit installation.First, the unit: A well designed quiet fan, 0.4 sones @ 80 cfm/1.0 sone @ 110 cfm with both a main light and a nightlight. Panasonic assumes that there are three power sources (fan, main light, night light) which in the case of retrofit is often not the case. For my installation it was a replacement for a builder grade Nu-tone, 70 cfm 3.0 sone unit which had seen better days and was more like 5 or 6 sones as the bearing was deteriorating. I had only two switches to work with and elected to forgo the night light by tying back the wire for that light as it was not needed.The Panasonic unit’s main light is very bright, which might be appropriate for large bathrooms, but can be controlled for smaller spaces like mine by installing a dimmer switch.Once the prep work is complete, installation is fairly straightforward using the supplied Flex-Z bracket and securing the removable duct adaptor and junction box to one side of the bracket after wiring and securing the exhaust duct, then sliding the main body of the fan into the ceiling opening and securing it to the other side of the bracket. The two connectors for the fan and the light are slightly inconvenient to plug in as there is limited space for one’s hand. I would advise plugging in the light first followed by the fan.Second, removal of the old unit: Contrary to every installation instruction that I have seen, this is not necessarily an easy task unless there is no insulation or batt insulation. I have installed two units, now and am contemplating doing the third. The first removal was in a technically accessible, but in reality, a non-accessible space located 30 feet from the attic access and about 4 feet from where the gable roof abuts the outside wall, giving little space above the fan. To compound the problem, the exhaust duct was short and the whole unit was buried in blown in insulation. The old unit was also nailed to the ceiling joist through tabs outside the fan box. After prying the box’s side from below, I was able to insert a saw blade between the ceiling joist and the box and cut away the tab. Fortunately, the installer only secured one side. Removal of the old box resulted in an avalanche of blown in insulation. The second installation was in a more accessible location, so I was able to rake away most of the insulation, resulting in less of a mess even though the installer had secured both sides of the fan box. The point of this explanation is that removal of the old units took much longer than the installation and was terribly messy, something to think about before embarking on what seems like a simple replacement, especially if you have blown in insulation and the old box is secured from outside the box.Needless to say, I am extremely happy with the results, I have adjusted the light’s brightness to suit my needs via a dimmer switch and with the increased airflow (80 cfm) am experiencing less condensation and cannot hear the fan while in the shower. I recommend this unit with no reservations. I would add that as of this time (June 2021) this model can be obtained from various sources at around $168, so you don’t have to pay the $250+ some are asking.

Purchased for a bathroom reno and replacement of old exhaust fan, this is very quiet and very bright. Installation was a breeze as all I did was watch the electrician do it