Low Voltage Radon Fans

What Is A Low Voltage Radon Fan…And Why Do You Care?

Low Voltage radon fans have garnered growing interest because many jurisdictions do not require installation by a licensed electrician. The primary factor for making that determination has to do with ability to cause harm or injury.

Residential housing voltage (also known as line voltage) is typically between 100 and 250 VAC.  For homeowners, this is considered high voltage, and requires a licensed professional when working on any part of the system.  This electric power has the potential to cause harm or injury directly, not only as a result of the voltage, but the availability of a large amount of current.  These two elements, voltage and current, define the amount of power available.

High voltage alone is not dangerous.  For example, static charges we receive in winter are at thousands of volts, but have almost no current, so they have little power and don’t cause much harm.  The same is true of high current at very low voltages.  When working on car electrical systems, the current is high, but the voltage is low; they can cause a shock, but not a very harmful one.

When considering whether a fan is, in fact, low voltage, we mainly refer to the general definition according to the National Electric Code (NEC).  With this guideline, a low voltage fan is a device that:

-- Is powered by less than 50 volts
    AND
-- Utilizes a power supply with a maximum rating of 100 watts

Any fan that does not satisfy BOTH conditions is not considered Low Voltage and would require a licensed electrician to install in all cases.  Be aware that state regulation determines necessity of permits, so you will need to find out whether the code where you will be installing the low voltage fan allows it to be installed without an electrician.

Now, what are the benefits of installing a low voltage radon fan?  There are many, but they primarily boil down to:

-- Ease of installation (just install and plug in)
-- Decreased cost, both in time and money
-- Reduced risk (they won’t cause the harm or injury that high voltage can)

Low voltage fans offer an exciting opportunity, as long as caution is taken in making sure that the fan does in fact live up to its low voltage claim.