Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

EDIT 09/16 I have installed many (20+) of this model and of other similar models in my apartments over the years. I no longer buy them as there are a few significant problems. - The replacement ballast for these changed from $40 to $100. After years of reliable service from mine I have had 3 ballast failures in the last month. (EDIT, now 7 failures in 6 months out of 15 fans) A $100 ballast is just criminal. I have had extended email conversations with Panasonic about this to no avail. - The CFL lights for the panasonic fans have always been a problem. The bulbs consistently only last 1-2 years, dramatically short of their rated life. It is impossible to find a GU24 spiral that matches the color of these bulbs, so when one fails (or you break one like me) you will have to order replacements from Panasonic at $12 or buy two replacements in another color and GU 24 bulbs are very expensive, even more expensive than LEDs these days. - The newer style light on this fan only shines straight down and doesn't light the whole room like the previous version. Think of it like a ceiling can. - Their support center has been outsourced and is very poor unless you are just ordering a part. I spoke to 5 people (mostly in the wrong department) on a marathon phone call of over an hour to figure out the replacement ballast. I still recommend their exhaust fans without lights, but nothing with lights. ORIGINAL REVIEW This is a significant improvement over the last generation of fans which had excellent fans but horrible lighting. These fans are very well made (shockingly well made) and very reliable. I have 12 or more installed in my rental apartments and have never had a failure. I am slowly replacing all my nutone fans as they fail - even the higher end nutone fan motors are all failing now after 5-8 years. The lighting on this is improved with a more attractive look and GU24 base spiral CFLs that can be found in may stores. The lighting is a relatively "cool" color at 3500K, I prefer about 3000. This new model fan even has all the interior holes in the housing taped off to minimize air leakage to the attic. My only disappointment is the backdraft damper which seems like it would allow a lot of air to come back through. The fan is so well engineered that I assume there is some reason for that, but it concerns me. Although the instructions don't cover it, the fan can is designed so it can be installed without access from above, like you would normally have in the attic. This is an ingenious design that they don't talk about in the manual, as it may be too confusing for some people??? This is helpful if you are replacing an existing fan, you have working ducts, and don't have access from above or don't want to go into the attic. To install it this way: cut or enlarge the hole in the ceiling to the proper size to fit this fan. Screw wood blocking to one or both ceiling joists to bring it out almost to the edge of the hole in the drywall. Detach the metal covered end of the fan that has the electrical and duct connections using the one screw that holds it on. Make the electrical an duct connections to that piece. Slide that piece into the whole and move it all the way to the edge where it belongs. Slide the main fan up into the hole so that it is flush with the other piece. Install one screw on each side of the fan into the blocking you added or ceiling joist if no blocking, leave loose. With the fan supported, mate the two parts of the fan together and re-attach the screw that connects them. Install additional screws on the two sides of the fan that have blocking and tighten all. I have installed a number of fans this way.