The bathroom exhaust fan is the product category most likely to be chosen on price alone and most likely to produce regret when the noise becomes a daily annoyance. A cheap fan that works is a fan you hear every time someone showers. A well-specified quiet fan costs more upfront and produces nothing except the moisture it removes.
The Fantech Silent 100T-W sits firmly in the second category, and at $159.95 it is priced at the point where the quality justifies the step up from the budget end of the market without requiring a significant stretch.
This review covers what the 100T-W actually delivers, who it suits, and why the specific combination of features at this price point makes it one of the more straightforward purchasing decisions in Vent Experts' bathroom fan range.
The Noise Figure: 27 dBA at Three Metres
The headline specification on any quiet bathroom fan is its noise rating, and the 100T-W's 27 dBA at three metres is the figure that positions it in the silent fan category rather than the standard fan category.
To put 27 dBA in context: the threshold of hearing for most people is around 20 dBA. A quiet library registers around 30 dBA. A soft whisper at one metre is approximately 30 dBA. At 27 dBA measured at three metres, the 100T-W is operating at a level that is genuinely inaudible over the ambient noise of a running shower, a conversation, or the television in an adjacent room.
This is achieved through what Fantech describes as an advanced vibration-absorbing design. The motor and impeller assembly is mounted in a way that isolates vibration from the fan housing before it can transfer to the wall or ceiling and amplify through the building structure. Standard bathroom fans produce most of their perceivable noise not from the motor directly but from this structural vibration transmission. The 100T-W's isolation design addresses this at the source.
The 27 dBA figure is the number that matters for everyday use. A fan that is inaudible during a shower is a fan that no longer needs to be considered as a negative element of the bathroom experience. It runs, it does its job, and nobody notices it.
Run-On Timer: The Feature That Makes This Fan Special
A bathroom exhaust fan switched off immediately when the user leaves the room removes the moisture produced during the shower for exactly as long as the shower runs. The moisture that has condensed on the walls, the mirror, and the ceiling continues evaporating after the shower ends. Without continued extraction, it either recondens on cold surfaces, migrates into wall cavities, or raises the ambient humidity of the bathroom to the level where mould becomes a persistent problem.
The run-on timer on the 100T-W keeps the fan running for a preset period after the light switch is turned off. This is the operationally correct approach to bathroom ventilation and it is what separates a bathroom fan from a bathroom ventilation system.
The timer function is integrated into the fan rather than requiring a separate controller or a specialised switch. When the room light goes off, the fan continues for the preset duration and then stops automatically. No manual intervention is needed, no separate timer switch is required, and the occupant does not need to remember to return and turn the fan off manually.
For rental properties, where reminding tenants to operate ventilation correctly is not reliably effective, and for family bathrooms where consistent operation cannot be guaranteed, the automatic run-on function removes the human element from the ventilation equation entirely.
The Backdraft Damper
The foil backdraft damper is a feature that is easy to overlook and genuinely important in practice. When the fan is not running, the duct connected to the bathroom exhaust represents an open path between the outside environment and the bathroom interior. Without a damper, cold air, wind noise, and occasionally insects use this path in reverse.
The 100T-W's low-loss foil damper sits in the airstream and closes under its own weight when the fan stops. It opens freely when the fan runs, adding minimal resistance to airflow. The low-loss designation means the damper is designed to minimise the pressure drop it creates when open, which matters because any restriction in the duct path reduces the effective airflow the fan delivers.
In Australian conditions, where winter brings cold air intrusion through unprotected exhaust paths and summer brings insects, the backdraft damper transitions from a nice-to-have to a straightforward functional requirement. The 100T-W includes it as standard rather than as an optional accessory. Pair it with a quality external vent to complete the exhaust path.
95 m³/h at 8 Watts
Airflow
The 100T-W delivers 95 cubic metres per hour of airflow at 8 watts of power consumption. For a standard bathroom of four to eight square metres, 95 m³/h provides between twelve and twenty-four air changes per hour, which is comfortably above the minimum required by Australian standards for bathroom ventilation.
Running Cost
8 watts of power consumption is negligible. Running the fan continuously for a year costs approximately $7 to $10 at standard Australian residential electricity rates. Running it for thirty minutes a day including the timer run-on period costs a fraction of that. Energy consumption is not a meaningful factor in the purchasing decision for this product at this wattage.
100mm Duct Flange
The 100MM duct flange connects to standard 100mm flexible or rigid ducting, which is the most common size available for residential bathroom installations in Australia. No reducers or adaptors are required for a standard installation.
IP45 Rating
IP45 is a slightly unusual rating that is worth understanding. IP44 is the more common bathroom fan rating, covering protection against solid particles larger than 1mm and water spray from any direction. IP45 extends the water protection to cover water jets from any direction, which is a higher standard than spray.
For a bathroom exhaust fan installed above or adjacent to a shower, the additional water jet protection covers scenarios that spray resistance alone does not: a shower head accidentally directed at the ceiling, significant water vapour impinging on the fan grille at close range, or a bathroom installation where the fan sits closer to the shower than a standard layout would suggest.
IP45 is not necessary for every bathroom installation but it provides a margin beyond the minimum that is relevant for wetroom installations, compact ensuites, or any configuration where the fan and shower are in close proximity.
The Five-Year Warranty
Fantech backs the Silent 100T-W with a five-year warranty, which is the longest standard warranty in the residential bathroom fan category and is approximately double what most competing products offer. For a fixed installation that is expected to run daily for years, the warranty period is a meaningful indicator of the manufacturer's confidence in the product's longevity.
A fan that fails within two years and carries only a one-year warranty produces a replacement cost that closes the gap between this product and cheaper alternatives quickly. A five-year warranty on a $159.95 fan represents a meaningfully lower total cost of ownership than a two-year warranty on a $99 fan that needs replacement in year three.
Installation
The 100T-W requires hardwired installation by a qualified electrician. There is no plug-and-cord option, which reflects the fact that this is a fixed installation product intended for integration into the room's switching circuit. The run-on timer function specifically requires connection to the light switch circuit to operate as intended.
Wall and ceiling installation are both supported, with the appropriate mounting configuration determined by the duct path available in the installation. The 100mm duct connection suits the majority of residential bathroom installations without modification.
Who This Fan Is For
The 100T-W is the correct product for:
✓ The correct product for:
- Bathrooms, ensuites, and toilets in residential homes where noise is a consideration and a cheap fan's persistent hum has become a daily irritation
- New build and renovation projects where specifying a quality bathroom fan from the outset avoids the replacement cost of a cheaper fan that proves inadequate
- Rental properties where automatic operation through the run-on timer removes dependence on tenant behaviour for effective ventilation
- Compact ensuites where the fan sits closer to the shower than a standard layout and where IP45's additional water protection is relevant
- Homeowners who have experienced mould problems in bathrooms and want extraction that continues working after they leave the room
✗ Not designed for:
The 100T-W is not designed for commercial applications, for spaces requiring higher airflow than 95 m³/h, or for applications where humidity sensing and automated moisture response are required. For those applications, other products in the Vent Experts range are more appropriate.
The Specifications
| Specification | Fantech Silent 100T-W |
|---|---|
| Airflow | 95 m³/h (26 L/sec) |
| Power | 8W |
| Noise | 27 dBA at 3 metres |
| IP rating | IP45 |
| Duct size | 100mm |
| Motor | AC |
| Backdraft damper | Yes, low-loss foil |
| Run-on timer | Yes |
| Humidistat | No |
| Smart control | No |
| Voltage | 240V, 1 phase |
| Warranty | 5 years |
| Price | $159.95 at ventexperts.com.au |
Buy the Fantech Silent 100T-W in Australia
If a noisy bathroom fan has become a daily annoyance, or you want mould-fighting extraction that keeps working after you leave the room, the Silent 100T-W is built for it.
Vent Experts Australia - available at ventexperts.com.au for $159.95. Browse our exhaust fans, ducting accessories and external vents to complete your bathroom ventilation.
Visit our website to check stock and pricing today.
Frequently Asked Questions
27 dBA at three metres is below the level of a quiet library and roughly equivalent to a soft whisper at one metre. In normal bathroom use with a shower running or any ambient noise present, the fan is effectively inaudible. It is the figure that places the 100T-W in the genuinely silent category rather than the merely quieter-than-average category.
The run-on timer keeps the fan running for a preset period after the light switch is turned off. It requires connection to the room's light switch circuit, which is part of the standard hardwired installation. When the light goes off, the fan continues for the preset duration and stops automatically without any manual intervention. The timer preset is set during installation.
Yes. The 100T-W supports both wall and ceiling installation. The appropriate configuration depends on the duct path available in your specific installation. The duct flange connects to standard 100mm ducting in either orientation.
The SILENT-100T-W model reviewed here includes a run-on timer but not a humidistat. If automatic humidity-triggered operation is a requirement rather than timer-based operation, check the Vent Experts range for the appropriate Fantech Silent Series variant with humidistat function.
The Fantech Silent Wall/Ceiling Mounted Fan with Backdraft Damper and Run-On Timer is available at Vent Experts at ventexperts.com.au for $159.95. Check the product page for current stock availability. Installation requires a qualified electrician and cannot be self-installed.