Bathroom exhaust fans that plug in
Replacement bathroom exhaust fans rarely make it clear whether they feature a standard power plug instead of requiring hardwired electrical connections or drywall cutting. Because housing sizes have changed over the years, homeowners struggle to find a direct plug-in swap that matches their existing ceiling cutouts without extensive rewiring or remodeling.
What the numbers show
Counted from the threads quoted below. How we count
- The most recent one is from October 2026.
- This comes up 27.1× more often in r/HomeImprovement than across the site as a whole.
What people tried
Every workaround mentioned in the threads below. We haven’t tested any of them — and nobody here is claiming they worked.
- 1searching Amazon specifically for units with pictures of the plug
- 2using specific search queries like broan bathroom exhaust fan plug in
- 3Replacing only the motor, reflector assembly, and grill/cover instead of the entire housing unit
- 4Cutting the drywall to fit a different or larger standard fan size
- 5Buying a Panasonic fan and cutting the drywall to fit
In their words
Unedited, grouped by where they were said, most upvoted first within each place, each linked to the thread it came from.
“The problem is our bathroom has an older model Broan 678 and the ceiling cutout is 9" x 8 3/4" but nearly all the replacements I'm finding at Lowe's are asking for 7 1/2" cutouts or 10" cutouts.”source ↗
“I was wanting to avoid doing any drywall cutting if at all possible. Do they still make bathroom vents this size, or will I most likely need to cut a bigger hole?”source ↗
“Broan changed their housing sizes years ago so youre probably not finding a direct swap.”source ↗
“I ran into the same problem. It is easier to replace the motor and cover, which you can buy as separate parts”source ↗
Where this came up
People with this problem also raised
- 5Why is my bathroom exhaust fan making a strange noise?
- 4Does the vent duct go inside or over the hood?
- 8Where is the air filter slot in this house?
- 3How to wire a third-party controller to a Vent-axia MEV unit
- 4How to find a replacement part for an AO Smith blower motor
- 2How to vent a ceiling bathroom fan through a snowy roof