Want to make big savings on your energy costs? Try this simple to install idea. Almost all bath rooms have a vent fan that exhausts air to remove smells and moisture. Some of us turn them on and forget to come back and turn them off a few minutes later. After a few minutes of running, the fan has done its job. If it is not turned off it continues to consume electricity to drive the fan motor and more importantly it exhausts your conditioned air into your attic or directly to the outside. This exhausted air is replaced by small leaks under doors, around windows and other areas in your home where outside air can creep in. You have to use more heating or cooling energy to condition this air. You can install a timer in the place of the fan switch and let it turn the fan off after the amount of time you set has gone by. These timers come in a variety of types but I prefer the electronic ones over the manual ones. I purchased the one in the photo below from Lowes for about $20.00. With only basic knowledge of electrical wiring you can install it yourself and begin saving right away.
Be sure to turn the power off before starting to replace the fan switch. Then remove the face plate that covers the wall switch. The switch is held in place by two small screws on the top and bottom of the switch. After you remove them the switch can be pulled out from the enclosure. You should see a black wire and a white wire attached to the switch and possibly a bare wire that is the house ground circuit. Remove the two or three wires from the switch. The timer will come with either three wires or three screw connections that mate with the wires you will remove from the existing switch. Remember to match the colors (Black to Black and White to White). There will either be a green wire or a ground lug to connect the bare copper wire that should be in the junction box with the old switch. Sometimes these wires are not attached to the switch so you may have to look around for it. I recommend you always connect the ground wire to any electrical device if possible for the added safety it affords. The timers are made to fit in the same box that the switch was in so it should fit easily inside the electrical box that held the wall switch. Secure with two screws to the enclosure. Turn the power back on and test the timer to see if it turns your fan on properly. Remember to buy a face plate for your time if it doesn’t come with one. Frequently the wall switch face plates will not fit the timers. Now you can set the fan to run for the length of time you desire and it will shut off automatically saving you both electricity and whatever your heating and cooling energy is.
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