Last updated: September 10, 2026
Pressure capability decides the specification — not the airflow number in the catalogue.
Buyers often treat "panel fan", "axial fan" and "inline duct fan" as three competing products. They are not. A panel fan is an axial fan — the same propeller principle — mounted in a square wall plate instead of a cylindrical case. The genuinely useful comparison is between the three ways that principle gets packaged, because that packaging decides how much pressure the fan can generate, and pressure is what decides whether your installation works.
| Panel / wall fan | Cased axial fan | Inline mixed-flow duct fan | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Example | KLT series | Short-case axial | BAER inline duct fan |
| How it mounts | Flush in a wall or window opening | Inline in a duct, or wall-mounted in a sleeve | Inline in a duct run |
| Air path | Straight through the wall | Straight along the duct axis | Swirled through a mixed-flow impeller |
| Pressure capability | Low | Low to moderate | Moderate to high |
| Practical duct length | Direct, or up to about 3 m | Up to about 5 m | 10 m and beyond |
| Typical airflow | 150 – 1,800 m³/h | 200 – 2,000 m³/h | 200 – 1,500 m³/h |
| Noise at the room | 35 – 48 dB (at the fan) | Moderate | Low — the fan sits away from the room |
| Cost per unit | Lowest | Low | Higher |
| Best for | Bathrooms, kitchens, workshops, warehouses, sheds | Short ducted runs, wall sleeves | Long ducted runs, ceiling voids, silent operation |
Airflow and pressure are a trade-off, and every fan sits somewhere on that curve. A wall panel fan is optimised for volume: a 12-inch KLT-20B moves 792 m³/h with almost nothing in its way. Put ten metres of duct in front of it and the same fan may deliver a fraction of that, because the duct resists the flow and the fan cannot generate the pressure to overcome it.
An inline mixed-flow fan accepts a lower free-air figure in exchange for the pressure to push air through real ductwork. That is why a hotel with a central ceiling void uses inline fans with short grille drops, while a warehouse with an open wall uses panel fans and no duct at all.
For the physics in more detail, and a two-way comparison of the ducted options, see Inline Duct Fan vs Axial Fan.
| Application | Specify | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Bathroom, direct through an external wall | Panel fan | Shortest air path, no duct, lowest cost |
| Bathroom with an internal wall and a ceiling void | Inline duct fan | Needs a duct run to reach outside; panel fan would stall |
| Domestic kitchen, wall to outside | Panel fan (plus a hood for grease) | A panel fan is not a cooker hood — pair them |
| Restaurant kitchen, long extract run | Inline duct fan on the hood duct | Grease filters and long duct demand pressure |
| Workshop or warehouse wall | Panel fan, 12 to 18 inch | High volume, no duct, cheap to install |
| Hotel or office, ducted to a facade grille | Inline duct fan | Low noise at the room and a duct run that actually works |
| Poultry or livestock shed | Panel fan, 14 to 18 inch | High volume and robustness matter more than noise |
| Cold-climate extract where heat loss matters | Inline duct fan plus a back-draft damper | Seal the duct when the fan stops |
Extract and make-up air are two halves of one system. A single panel fan extracting from a sealed workshop will underperform; the same fan with a matched inlet louvre at the opposite end will move dramatically more air for the same energy. On larger projects the usual arrangement is panel fans for extract and either louvres or a second fan for supply, sized so the two roughly balance.
A panel fan is a type of axial fan. Both use a propeller to move air along the axis of rotation. The difference is the housing: a panel fan is built into a square wall plate for flush wall or window mounting, while a cased axial fan sits in a cylindrical housing for duct or sleeve mounting.
Neither is better in general. An axial fan moves more air at low pressure and costs less, so it suits direct wall mounting and short runs. An inline mixed-flow duct fan generates more pressure, so it suits longer duct runs and installations where the fan must sit away from the room.
Yes, up to roughly three metres of straight rigid duct, and you should allow 15 to 30 percent of the free-air rating for the loss. Beyond about five metres, or with two or more bends, an inline duct fan is the correct choice.
It has a more complex mixed-flow impeller, a proper casing and usually better motor and bearing specification to cope with the higher pressure duty. You are paying for pressure capability and for the ability to put the noise away from the occupied room.
An inline mixed-flow duct fan mounted in the ceiling void, with a short flexible drop to the ceiling grille. Moving the fan out of the room is the single most effective noise measure; a panel fan in the wall always radiates its noise into the bathroom.
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