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Sometimes you glance at a product and think — without really thinking too much — that you will probably find it unnecessary, over the top, or extravagant. And then, after a little experience with it, and some real thinking time, you find that it's just about perfect. This often happens with luxury items, high-end products, and super-specialized goods, and it might very well happen to you with the OREiN OL005 bathroom exhaust fan with Bluetooth speaker, currently 4.4 stars and $229.99 at Amazon.
OREiN is a brand of AiDot, a maker of smart home devices mostly united by a mobile app platform, though the OL005 isn't app controlled. This was a good decision; imagine giving your guests instructions for turning on the bathroom fan with an app. Still, a minimalist, technophobe, or contrarian might find this fan — with its RGB LEDs, user-selectable light color temperatures, night light, Bluetooth speaker, and two powerful speeds of air movement — a bit much.
Installation and setup
Installing the OL005 turned out to be a somewhat fraught process, mostly because we struggled to find the right place to install it and not due to any particular difficulty with the actual installation. This is a ceiling-mount-only device that's easiest to install in an attic for a bathroom on the floor below, so we set out in search of a bathroom that fit the bill. We found one in need of a new exhaust fan in a friend's Airbnb cottage. The bathroom actually has two exhaust fans ... one above the toilet and one in the shower stall that was making a hideous racket. The attic's floor joists were framed with 2x8 lumber (which is actually 1 ½ inches by 7 ½ inches), and the rather large OL005 is a full 8 inches tall. Since both bathroom fans were partly covered in the attic by a built-in platform, the OL005 was a half-inch too tall for the space. In an attic with no floor over the fans, this wouldn't have been a problem.
The OL005 as an Exhaust Fan
We conducted our tests on the OL005 exhaust fan before installing it in our home recording studio, which sees a lot of soldering activities. The fan's installation using the flex bracket provided was seamless and took approximately 45 minutes.
Before installation, we measured the air flow, the time it took for the fan to reduce humidity in a steamy bathroom, and its noise level. The OL005 offers two settings: 110 cubic feet per minute (CFM) and 160 CFM. We tested both settings, with and without an improvised flow hood. On the 110 CFM setting, the fan consistently achieved 108.22 CFM, which is very close to the specified value. On the 160 CFM setting, the fan consistently moved air at a rate between 185 and 209 CFM, exceeding expectations. In terms of noise, the 160 CFM setting produced 59 decibels (db), slightly louder than the 56 db produced at 110 CFM. For comparison, an installed 70 CFM Broan exhaust fan measured 69 db.
While a quiet exhaust fan is important, the main purpose of a bathroom exhaust fan is to remove humidity from the room after a shower. We decided to test the OL005 exhaust fan by using it to pull air from a bathroom and see how long it would take to return the room to its initial humidity levels after a hot shower. After a steamy shower, the room's humidity rose from 49% to 95%. Running the fan for 15 minutes, at a rate of 160 CFM, was able to reduce the humidity to 46%.
The OL005 and its Bluetooth speaker feature
Aside from being a quiet exhaust fan, the OL005 also comes with a built-in Bluetooth speaker. This feature allows you to listen to music while relaxing in the tub. We found that the speaker paired easily with both a phone and a laptop, which is not always the case with Bluetooth devices. It remained connected no matter where the phone was positioned in the room. The speaker played music clearly and without distortion at its maximum volume level, reaching a maximum of 91.2 decibels for the album we tested with. The sound quality was comparable to that of a moderately priced TV, which is more than satisfactory. Considering the size of the roughly 4-inch speaker, the audio quality was better than expected.
The OL005 as various kinds of lighting
For parents (and spouses) of video gamers, just the mention of "RGB" conjures up images of garish colors chasing themselves around the chassis or an overpriced computer, and we were a little worried we'd get these kinds of LED pyrotechnics with the OL005. Instead, its RGB functionality was limited in a good way. You have 7 colors to choose from, and at a glance they might seem to flirt with garish as well. But in practice, the colored light actually creates a subtle overtone in the room, which you might vary by mood or activity. It's a nice effect. RGB Music Sync mode causes the colors to alternate in time with the music being played, or at least with the drums, but it never gets obnoxious. Dubstep aficionados might find it a little lacking in drama, but for most people the lighting transitions will be soothing.
Conclusion and recommendations
We examined the OREiN OL005 from various perspectives and found it to be a standout product. It is well-crafted and visually appealing, offering the perfect combination of features for a primary bathroom that doubles as a spa. The remote control is a masterpiece, effortlessly managing the fan, music, and lighting options without overwhelming the user. The brightness, color temperature, and RGB color choices are all well-executed, avoiding the complexity often associated with smart home lighting. The Bluetooth functionality is straightforward and effective, allowing for volume control and playlist navigation. Most importantly, the powerful exhaust fan quickly clears the room, preventing issues like mold caused by bathroom humidity.
The OREiN OL005 is a well-executed product that we highly recommend. Although it would have been ideal if it was a half-inch shorter to be compatible with covered 2x8 framing, this is a minor drawback. The OL005 is designed with simplicity in mind, without overwhelming features that may confuse users. It is a simple pleasure that will delight your family and guests. We rate it a strong 9 out of 10. Currently, there is a coupon and discount code (orein111) available, allowing you to purchase the OL005 for $189.99.
