Advice needed for first time project

Wiki Projects & Stories
#1

Good morning, hopefully I get this in the right area.

I’ve decided to take the plunge into SmartThings and have my first project in mind, but have no idea what all I will need to accomplish my goals. This is going to be a bathroom project and will involve a combo fan/light overhead with a vanity light bar over the mirror (separate switch). I’m comfortable with wiring and electricity, for what that is worth.

My goals are:

  • Turn overhead light on when someone enters the room, and keep it on for 5 minutes from last detected motion.
  • Provide for manual on/off of the light above the mirror
  • Provide rules and future abilities to control light above the mirror

Seems simple enough, but I can’t seem to tell what are all the components I will need to make this happen, beyond my initial SmartHub, I am also concerned about devices that are going to be OK in the humidity of the bathroom.

Looking forward to responses and being an active participant here in the community as I continue forth on my HA projects.

#2

Question: Will the light/fan come on at the same time or will they be wired separately? My combo fan/light is wired separately.

You will need

  • Motion Sensor

  • Smart Switch to control fan light or a smart bulb for use with a standard dumb switch.

  • Smart Switch to control fan(if separating out the circuit) and want to control it with ST.

  • Smart Switch to control the vanity light. This will still allow local control of the lights and control with ST.

#3

Light and fan are wired together… If there was a way to separate them, that would be great, but I fear it would require running additional electrical wire to the fan/light combo to separate. Unless there was a unit out there that allowed for remote control of the fan/ligh using single power source.

#4

without knowing how the unit is powered, its hard to say. There very well may be 2 separate power wires, 1 for the light and 1 for the fan… they may be connected together and powered off the same switch. If that is the case, there are devices to separate them but if its a single wire for powering the unit, its probably not possible to separate them.

#5

Depending on the fan and how much room is in the wire box, you could possibly control both with 2 Aeon Labs micro switches.

#6

After some further discover they are controlled by separate lines and are currently just wired to the same switch… I keep finding little nuggets like this from the prior owner… So, I can separate them.

#7

If they are separate, I would use the micro switches as @mander mentioned.

#8

There appears to be a lot of options in Smart Switches, any guidance?

If I go with a ZWave switch, does that mean that I will need something additional to the ST Hub, or does it already support it?

#9

ST supports Z-Wave. I am using mostly the GE Smart Switch/Dimmer currently, but I do have some Leviton and other switches. Doesn’t sound like you need a dimmer switch, but they are about the same price.

Here is a comparison of the Leviton vs GE dimmer switch:

#10

Placed order for hub, 3 switches, motion sensor and bunch of new LED bulbs for that room. Should all be in Wed. Will let you know how the install goes. May need some advice on configuration/setup.