On-Demand WC Fan Using 555

In most WCs with an extractor the fan is connected to the lighting circuit and is switched on and off either in sympathy with the light or with a short delay. Since toilets are sometimes used for washing the hands or just for a quick look in the mirror, it is not always necessary to change the air in the smallest room in the house. The following circuit automatically determines whether there really is any need to run the fan and reacts appropriately. No odour sensor is needed: we just employ a small contact that detects when and for how long the toilet seat lid is lifted.

If the seat lid is left up for at least some presettable minimum time t1, the fan is set running for another presettable time t2. In the example shown the contact is made using a small magnet on the lid and a reed switch mounted on the cistern. The rest is straightforward: IC2, the familiar 555, forms a timer whose period can be adjusted up to approximately 10 to 12 minutes using P2. This determines the fan running time. There are three CMOS NAND gates (type 4093) between the reed switch and the timer input which generate the required trigger signal. When the lid is in the ‘up’ position the reed switch is closed.

Capacitor C1 charges through P1 until it reaches the point where the output of IC1a switches from logic 1 to logic 0. The output of IC1b then goes to logic 1. The edge of the 0-1 transition, passed through the RC network formed by C2 and R2, results in the output of IC1c going to logic 0 for a second. This is taken to the trigger input on pin 2 of timer IC2, which in turn switches on the relay which causes the fan to run for the period of time determined by P2. The circuit is powered from a small transformer with a secondary winding delivering between approximately 8 V and 10 V. Do not forget to include a suitable fuse on the primary side.

The circuit around IC1b and IC1c ensures that the fan does not run continuously if the toilet seat lid is left up for an extended period. The time constant of P1 and C1 is set so that the fan does not run as a result of lavatorial transactions of a more minor nature, where the lid is opened and then closed shortly afterwards, before C1 has a chance to charge sufficiently to trigger the circuit.