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Quietest bathroom fan with heater: seven fan heaters by their sone ratings

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· 8 min read

Illustration of a ceiling exhaust fan with a heater grille above a bathroom vanity

Panasonic's WhisperWarm DC FV-0511VHL1, with a light, and its unlit twin the FV-0511VH1 carry the lowest HVI-certified rating among bathroom fans with heaters: 0.7 sone on the 110 CFM setting in the 0.1-inch test, and 1.0 sone at 81 or 82 CFM at the tougher 0.25 inch.

Delta's BreezRadiance RAD80LED and Broan-NuTone's BHFLED80 tie at 1.5 sones moving 80 CFM, and the 765H80L is 2.0. Air King's AK965L and AK-917 list 3.5 sones without HVI certification, so they are ranked only against Air King's own AK55L.

Every figure rates the exhaust fan; no maker publishes one for the heater running.

On this page
  1. How we chose
  2. Our picks
  3. How to choose
  4. Comparison
  5. FAQs
  6. Bottom line

A quick look at the quietest bathroom fans with heaters

A bathroom fan heater carries one sone rating on its box, and that rating belongs to the exhaust fan, which is what decides the quietest bathroom fan with heater. Broan-NuTone and Air King put a second motor and a metal blower wheel behind the heating element, and neither maker attaches a number to it.

Seven combination units sold in the US are ranked below. Five have ratings certified through the Home Ventilating Institute at 0.1 inch of static pressure, so they share one ranking. Two Air King units state that pressure without HVI certification and are compared only with each other.

The certified group splits cleanly: Panasonic's WhisperWarm DC pair at 0.7 sone while moving 110 CFM, then Delta and Broan-NuTone at 1.5 sones for 80 CFM.

How did we pick these bathroom fan heaters?

Every bathroom fan heater here needed a sone rating printed by its maker for a current US model, and the five with HVI certification had to match HVI's directory, downloaded with data generated October 21, 2026.

Panasonic's WhisperWarm page and submittals, Delta's BreezRadiance listing and submittals, and Air King's product pages, spec sheets and catalog all loaded directly. Broan-NuTone's site refused every request on October 25, 2026, so its heater listing, product pages and spec sheets come from Internet Archive copies made in April and May 2026, checked against the HVI directory.

Homewerks' current ventilation range lists no heater model. Hampton Bay, Utilitech, Commercial Electric and Project Source are store brands sold through retailer sites, which we did not read, so their heater fans are not counted. Delta's 110 CFM RAD110LED is discontinued and stays out of the picks.

Sones from HVI-certified tests at 0.1 inch are ranked together, figures at 0.25 inch are kept in their own column, and Air King's uncertified ratings are ranked only within Air King. The less-than ratings on Panasonic's low settings are quoted, not ranked.

We did not measure any of these heater fans, with the exhaust running or with the heat on, so the second motor in the Broan-NuTone and Air King coil units remains as unrated here as it is on their boxes.

QuietSpecs' picks of the quietest bathroom fans with heaters

Lowest certified rating, with a light

Panasonic WhisperWarm DC Bathroom Fan with Heater and LED Light, 50/80/110 CFM

  • Noise, exhaust fan at 0.1 in.: 0.7 sone at 110 CFM; "<0.3" at 50 and 80 CFM
  • Price: No maker list price
  • Best for: A bathroom with no other heat source where the fan also has to light the room
  • Skip it if: Pulling a new 20 amp line to the ceiling is not practical in your house

Panasonic's submittal and HVI's directory agree on this fan heater: 0.7 sone at its 110 CFM setting at 0.1 inch, and "<0.3" at 50 and 80 CFM, which is an upper bound and so stays out of the ranking.

At 0.25 inch it is certified at 1.5, 1.0 and 0.7 sone for 111, 81 and 52 CFM, on a 4-inch duct.

Behind the grille sit a 1600W PTC heater, a 10W dimmable LED panel and a night light, and the unit needs a 20 amp circuit of its own.

See it at Amazon

Same low rating, heater and fan only

Panasonic WhisperWarm DC Bathroom Fan with Heater, 50/80/110 CFM

  • Noise, exhaust fan at 0.1 in.: 0.7 sone at 110 CFM; "<0.3" at 50 and 80 CFM
  • Price: No maker list price
  • Best for: A bathroom that already has good ceiling or vanity lighting
  • Skip it if: You want the light in the same grille, where the FV-0511VHL1 adds it at the same rating

The FV-0511VH1 is the WhisperWarm DC without the LED panel, and at 0.1 inch it matches the lighted model exactly: 0.7 sone at 110 CFM, "<0.3" on the two lower settings.

At 0.25 inch its lowest setting is certified at 0.8 sone for 51 CFM, a tenth above the light version, with 1.0 and 1.5 sones higher up.

Panasonic's product page prints the 0.1-inch numbers in reverse order of airflow; its submittal and HVI put 0.7 on the 110 CFM setting.

See it at iaq.na.panasonic.com

We found no Amazon listing for this exact model. Search Amazon for it

Tied at 1.5 sones, warm white LED

Delta BreezRadiance Bathroom Fan with LED Light and Heater, 80 CFM

  • Noise, exhaust fan at 0.1 in.: 1.5 sones at 80 CFM
  • Price: No maker list price
  • Best for: A full bath of about 80 square feet where a fan heater must replace an old 80 CFM unit
  • Skip it if: Your duct run is long, since Delta gives no sones at 0.25 inch

Delta's submittal gives this BreezRadiance fan-light-heater "80 CFM/1.5 Sones @ 0.1 SP" on its 4-inch duct, and HVI lists the same pair. Delta publishes no sone figure at 0.25 inch for any current BreezRadiance unit.

Its 1300 W element has a built-in thermostat and a thermal cutoff fuse, and the 13 W dimmable LED gives 850 lumens at 3000K. All eight current BreezRadiance models share that 1.5-sone rating, so another grille or light costs nothing on noise.

See it at deltabreez.com

We found no Amazon listing for this exact model. Search Amazon for it

Tied at 1.5 sones, three color temperatures

Broan-NuTone PowerHeat Heater Exhaust Fan with CCT LED Light, 80 CFM

  • Noise, exhaust fan at 0.1 in.: 1.5 sones at 80 CFM
  • Price: No maker list price
  • Best for: Owners who want to pick the color of the light as well as the heat
  • Skip it if: You can wire a 20 amp circuit, where the Panasonic rates lower

Broan-NuTone's spec sheet rates the PowerHeat BHFLED80 at 80 CFM and 1.5 sones at 0.1 inch, under "HVI-2100 CERTIFIED RATINGS", and leaves the sone column empty at 0.25 inch, where it moves 70 CFM. HVI's directory fills that gap with 2.0 sones.

The 1300 watt heater runs on its own plug-in motor and metal blower wheel, which the sheet says "functions independent of ventilator". The LED switches between 2700K, 3500K and 5000K.

Search Amazon for this model

Bring-your-own-bulb option, 2.0 sones

Broan-NuTone 80 CFM Heater Ventilation Fan with Light, 765H80L

  • Noise, exhaust fan at 0.1 in.: 2.0 sones at 80 CFM
  • Price: No maker list price
  • Best for: Replacing an older NuTone heater fan-light with a bulb you choose
  • Skip it if: Half a sone matters to you, since the BHFLED80 is 1.5 at the same airflow

This NuTone-branded unit moves the same 80 CFM as the BHFLED80 and carries the same 1300 watt heater on a separate motor, but its exhaust fan is rated 2.0 sones at 0.1 inch, half a sone higher.

At 0.25 inch Broan-NuTone and HVI give 68 CFM and no sone figure. Instead of a built-in LED it takes a 14W (max.) A19 bulb with an E26 base, bought separately, behind a snap-in lens.

Search Amazon for this model

Air King's fan heater with a night light

Air King AK965L Deluxe Combination Heater, Exhaust Fan, Light and Night Light, 70 CFM

  • Noise, exhaust fan at 0.1 in.: "70 CFM/3.5 Sones @ 0.10" SP."
  • Price: No maker list price
  • Best for: A small or midsize bathroom where a night light is wanted in the same grille
  • Skip it if: You want a certified rating to compare, which Panasonic, Delta and Broan-NuTone give

Air King's spec sheet gives the AK965L "70 CFM/3.5 Sones @ 0.10" SP." and its product page calls that "Sound Level Moderate".

The sheet does not cite HVI, and the model is not in HVI's directory, so it is ranked only against Air King's other heater units, where it ties the AK-917.

A 1500 watt wire coil heater with its own motor and metal blower wheel sits beside the vent fan, with a main light socket and a 7 watt night light.

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Air King's heat lamp unit, same 3.5 sones

Air King AK-917 Bulb Heater with Exhaust Fan, 70 CFM

  • Noise, exhaust fan at 0.1 in.: "70 CFM / 3.5 Sones @ 0.10" SP."
  • Price: No maker list price
  • Best for: Someone who wants radiant warmth while drying off and no heater fan noise
  • Skip it if: You need the whole room warmed, where a 1500 watt coil does more

The AK-917 heats with a single 250 watt R40 infrared lamp instead of a blown coil, and its spec sheet rates the exhaust fan "70 CFM / 3.5 Sones @ 0.10" SP., 2.61 Amps", level with the AK965L.

Air King describes the lamp as providing "silent supplemental warmth". Its sheet lists one blower wheel, for the vent. The heat lamp is not included, the housing is a compact 8 by 8 inches, and the lamp and fan can be wired to separate switches.

Search Amazon for this model

How to choose

New to the units? Read dBA explained or sones vs decibels.

Which bathroom fan with a heater has the lowest sone rating?

The Panasonic WhisperWarm DC FV-0511VHL1 and FV-0511VH1 share the lowest certified figure among bathroom fans with heaters: 0.7 sone at their 110 CFM setting, tested at 0.1 inch on a 4-inch duct.

Here are the five certified heater fans at 0.1 inch of static pressure, each on its standard 4-inch duct:

  • Panasonic FV-0511VHL1: 0.7 sone at 110 CFM
  • Panasonic FV-0511VH1: 0.7 sone at 110 CFM
  • Delta RAD80LED: 1.5 sones at 80 CFM
  • Broan-NuTone BHFLED80: 1.5 sones at 80 CFM
  • Broan-NuTone 765H80L: 2.0 sones at 80 CFM

Each maker's sheet matches HVI's directory for its model. Panasonic earns its place on its top setting, so the WhisperWarm moves 30 more cubic feet a minute than the Delta or the Broan-NuTone units while carrying less than half their sones.

Delta's RAD80LED and Broan-NuTone's BHFLED80 cannot be separated on noise. The choice between them comes down to the light: Delta's 13 W LED gives 850 lumens at 3000K, and Broan-NuTone's offers 2700K, 3500K or 5000K at 800 lumens.

Why the Panasonic low settings are not ranked

Panasonic prints its 50 and 80 CFM settings at 0.1 inch with a less-than sign before 0.3, and HVI's directory repeats it. That marks a ceiling: the fan tested below 0.3 sone, by an amount nobody states.

So the WhisperWarm ranks on its 110 CFM figure, which is a plain number, and the two lower settings are quoted in its specs.

Which heater fans have a sone rating at 0.25 inch?

Only the Panasonic WhisperWarm DC pair and Broan-NuTone's BHFLED80 have a sone figure at 0.25 inch, the higher pressure of a longer or bendier duct. Delta publishes none, and the 765H80L lists airflow there without sones.

Panasonic certifies 1.5 sones on the 110 CFM setting at that pressure, where the fan actually delivers 111 or 112 CFM, and 1.0 sone at 81 or 82 CFM. Its submittal adds that "static pressure in typical installations ranges from 0.20" to 0.375"", which is why this column deserves a look.

Broan-NuTone's own spec sheet for the BHFLED80 leaves the 0.25-inch sone box empty beside 70 CFM. HVI's directory gives 2.0 sones for that point. Set against Panasonic's 1.0 sone at 81 CFM, the WhisperWarm stays quieter on paper and moves more air at the higher pressure too.

How do bathroom fan heaters work?

Bathroom fan heaters share one ceiling housing between an exhaust fan and a heating element. In the Broan-NuTone and Air King units here, the heater gets its own motor, blower wheel and switch.

Broan-NuTone's sheets for the BHFLED80 and 765H80L describe the heater as "1300 watts, with metal blower wheel for efficient, even heating" on a plug-in motor that "functions independent of ventilator". Air King's AK965L sheet lists a heater motor and a ventilation motor, each with its own wheel, and says all functions can be wired to operate separately.

Panasonic and Delta describe one motor and blower section beside the heater in their submittals and do not say how the warm air leaves the grille. Panasonic's WhisperWarm uses a 1600W PTC element that cuts its own power draw as it nears operating temperature, and Delta's RAD80LED pairs a 1300 W element with a thermostat.

How loud is a bathroom fan heater with the heat on?

A bathroom fan heater with the heat on has no published loudness from any maker here. Every sone figure in this guide rates the exhaust function, and HVI's directory lists exhaust airflow and sound only.

For the Broan-NuTone and Air King coil units, that leaves the heater's own motor and metal wheel unrated. Turning on the heat adds a second fan to the one the sone rating describes.

The heat lamp is the exception. Air King's AK-917 sheet shows one blower wheel, the vent fan's, and the infrared lamp has no moving parts, which is why Air King can call its warmth "silent supplemental warmth" without a number. If you want heat with a figure attached, wall heaters are rated in decibels; see our bathroom wall heater picks.

Why are Air King's heater fans ranked on their own?

Air King's heater fans are ranked on their own because the AK965L, AK-917 and AK55L sheets give sones at 0.10 inch without naming HVI, and none of the three appears in HVI's certified directory.

Air King's catalog lists the three units as UL for safety and leaves HVI out, while it marks some other Air King products "HVI Certified performance". A stated pressure is a start, but without certification there is no assurance the test matched the one behind the other five figures.

Within Air King, the AK965L fan heater and AK-917 heat lamp unit tie at 3.5 sones, which Air King's pages call "Moderate", and the ceramic AK55L is 5.0, labeled "High", on a scale whose quietest step Air King calls "Almost Silent". Its catalog also says "A fan under one sone is considered very quiet."

Is a heat lamp fan quieter than a fan heater?

No, not on the exhaust rating. Air King's AK-917 heat lamp unit and its AK965L fan heater carry the same 3.5 sones at 0.10 inch, and Broan-NuTone's 162M and 164 bulb heaters are certified at 4.0 sones moving 70 CFM.

The difference shows up once the heat is on. A blown coil heater starts its second motor; an infrared lamp adds light and warmth with nothing spinning. Air King's lamp unit takes one 250 watt R40 bulb and warms the person under it rather than the room air.

Can a bathroom fan heater go over a shower?

No, not any of the six whose makers address it. Panasonic, Broan-NuTone and Air King all rule out a spot over a tub or inside a shower, and the Delta RAD80LED documents we read say nothing either way.

Panasonic's submittal says the WhisperWarm DC is "not intended for installation over a tub/shower enclosure". Air King's pages say its heater units "Can not be used inside of showers or over tubs." Broan-NuTone's product pages answer No to UL listing over bathtubs or showers, even with a GFCI circuit.

Place the unit over the vanity or the drying-off area instead, where the heat lands on a person standing outside the wet zone.

Does a bathroom fan with a heater need its own circuit?

Yes, for the Panasonic and Air King units: the WhisperWarm DC needs a "Minimum 20 Amp dedicated circuit", the AK965L a dedicated 20 amp circuit, and the ceramic AK55L a dedicated 15 amp one.

Broan-NuTone's spec sheets list 12 amps at 120 volts for the BHFLED80 and 11 amps for the 765H80L, mostly heater load, and Delta's RAD80 submittal gives 11 amps. A 1300 to 1600 watt heater draws far more than any exhaust fan, so an existing 15 amp fan circuit shared with lights may not carry it.

How the quietest bathroom fans with heaters compare

ProductNoise, exhaust fan at 0.1 in.Noise, exhaust fan at 0.25 in.Rating basisHeaterLightPrice
Panasonic FV-0511VHL10.7 sone at 110 CFM; "<0.3" at 50 and 80 CFM1.5 sones at 111 CFM, 1.0 at 81, 0.7 at 52HVI certified, 4-inch duct (HVID 1006503)1600W PTC10W dimmable LED panel, 750 lumens, plus night lightNot verified yet
Panasonic FV-0511VH10.7 sone at 110 CFM; "<0.3" at 50 and 80 CFM1.5 sones at 112 CFM, 1.0 at 82, 0.8 at 51HVI certified, 4-inch duct (HVID 1006504)1600W PTCNoneNot verified yet
Delta Breez RAD80LED1.5 sones at 80 CFMNot publishedHVI certified, 4-inch duct (HVID 1004922)1300 W element, thermostat13 W dimmable LED, 850 lumens, 3000KNot verified yet
Broan-NuTone BHFLED801.5 sones at 80 CFM2.0 sones at 70 CFM (HVI directory; blank on Broan's sheet)HVI certified, 4-inch duct (HVID 1006719)1300 watts, separate heater motorDimmable LED, 800 lumens, 2700K, 3500K or 5000KNot verified yet
Broan-NuTone 765H80L2.0 sones at 80 CFMNot published (68 CFM)HVI certified, 4-inch duct (HVID 1005981)1300 watts, separate heater motorA19 E26 LED bulb, 14W max., not includedNot verified yet
Air King AK965L"70 CFM/3.5 Sones @ 0.10" SP."Not published (61 CFM)Air King spec sheet, not in HVI's directory1500 watts wire coil, separate heater motorA19 bulb up to 15W LED, plus 7 watt night lightNot verified yet
Air King AK-917"70 CFM / 3.5 Sones @ 0.10" SP."Not publishedAir King spec sheet, not in HVI's directory250 watt max. R40 infrared lamp, not includedHeat lamp onlyNot verified yet

Frequently asked questions

What is the quietest bathroom fan with a heater?

Among heater fans with HVI-certified ratings, Panasonic's WhisperWarm DC FV-0511VHL1 and FV-0511VH1 rate lowest, with 0.7 sone on the 110 CFM setting in HVI's 0.1-inch test and 1.0 sone near 80 CFM in the 0.25-inch one. Delta's RAD80LED and Broan-NuTone's BHFLED80 follow at 1.5 sones moving 80 CFM. Air King's uncertified 3.5-sone units are not part of that ranking.

Does Panasonic make a bathroom fan with a heater?

Yes. The WhisperWarm DC comes as the FV-0511VH1, fan and heater, and the FV-0511VHL1, which adds a 10W dimmable LED panel and a night light. Both use a 1600W PTC heater, offer 50, 80 and 110 CFM settings and need a minimum 20 amp dedicated circuit.

Which bathroom exhaust fan with a heater and light has the lowest sones?

The Panasonic FV-0511VHL1, at 0.7 sone on its 110 CFM setting at 0.1 inch, per Panasonic and HVI. Among 80 CFM fan-light-heaters, Delta's RAD80LED and Broan-NuTone's BHFLED80 share 1.5 sones, and Broan-NuTone's 765H80L, which takes a separate A19 bulb, is 2.0.

Do bathroom fan heaters come with a humidity sensor?

Not the seven here. Broan-NuTone's pages list humidity sensing as No for the BHFLED80 and 765H80L, and Air King's, Panasonic's and Delta's pages for their heater units list no humidity sensor among the features.

Why do bathroom fans have heaters?

Makers sell them for bathrooms with weak or no heat. Panasonic pitches the WhisperWarm DC at older homes "if there is no heat in the bathrooms" and at assisted living, and Air King calls its units "supplemental heat". Air King's AK965L manual warns against relying on the unit as a home's main heater.

Is Delta's 110 CFM BreezRadiance heater fan still sold?

No. Delta's RAD110LED page marks it discontinued and names the RAD80LED as the replacement. It was rated 110 CFM and 0.7 sone at 0.1 inch and 1.0 sone at 85 CFM at 0.25 inch with a 1600W PTC heater, so the replacement moves less air at a higher rating.

Are Air King's sones comparable with Panasonic's or Broan-NuTone's?

Not here. Air King states its heater fan sones at 0.10 inch of static pressure, but its spec sheets do not cite HVI, and the AK965L, AK-917 and AK55L are not in HVI's directory. Panasonic, Delta and Broan-NuTone figures are HVI certified, so Air King's three units are ranked only among themselves.

The bottom line

What I had not expected was the second motor. Broan-NuTone's and Air King's spec sheets give the heater its own motor and metal blower wheel, and the sone rating on the box belongs to the other one, the exhaust fan. Nobody prints a figure for the heat setting, so the most important sound in a cold January bathroom is the one with no number.

On the numbers that do exist, Panasonic's WhisperWarm DC stands well clear: 0.7 sone at 110 CFM, where Delta and Broan-NuTone need 1.5 to move 80. It also asks for a dedicated 20 amp circuit, which in an older house can cost more than the fan. If the wiring were already there, the lighted FV-0511VHL1 is the one I would put above my own vanity, and I would still listen to the heater in a showroom first if I could.

Stanley Alu, founder and editor

What we also considered

These are worth knowing about, and why they didn't make the list.

  • Broan-NuTone PowerHeat Heater Exhaust Fan, 80 CFM

    The BHF80 is the BHFLED80 without the LED. Its exhaust fan carries the same 1.5-sone, 80 CFM rating in the 0.1-inch column and 2.0 sones at 70 CFM at 0.25 inch in HVI's directory, with the same 1300 W heater. Choose it if the bathroom already has a light you like.

    See it at broan-nutone.com

  • Broan-NuTone PowerHeat Heater Exhaust Fan with LED Light, 110 CFM

    Broan-NuTone's 110 CFM PowerHeat with an LED is certified at 2.0 sones in the 0.1-inch column and 2.5 in the 0.25-inch one, where it slows to 95 CFM. The Panasonic WhisperWarm DC rates 0.7 and 1.5 at that nominal airflow.

    See it at Amazon

  • Air King AK55L Ceramic Combination Heater, Exhaust Fan and Light, 70 CFM

    Air King's ceramic combination heater lists "70 CFM/5.0 Sones @ 0.10" SP." and a "Sound Level High", the loudest of its three heater units. Its 1350 watt ceramic element can run on a dedicated 15 amp circuit rather than 20.

    Search Amazon for this model

Sources

Every figure on this page was read on one of the pages below. We did not measure anything ourselves.

All 14 sources
Manufacturer pages and manuals for every product

Related guides

The quietest bathroom exhaust fans, by real sones

The sone rating on the box is measured under ideal conditions. We ranked bathroom fans on how loud they are once installed, and on the duct you have.

A quiet wall heater for a bathroom, by the decibels makers print

The Stiebel Eltron CK 150-1 Premium is the quietest bathroom wall heater we could verify: 37 dB(A) in its 750 watt silent mode, 48 dB(A) at full power. Dreo lists 28 dB for its ALCI-plug 517AS at the lowest speed setting, in plain dB, so we rank each maker only against itself.

The quietest bathroom fans with a light, ranked on certified sones

Replacing a fan and light combo? We ranked fan-lights from Panasonic, Delta Breez and Broan-NuTone on HVI-certified sones at the tougher 0.25-inch test pressure, and read the manuals for what glows, blinks or switches itself on at night.