Auto ceiling fan controller?

SmartApps & Automations
1

Anyone have a basic smartapp that would control ceiling fans based on temps? Looking for the following.

IF [ Temp senor X (outside temp) is above F degrees, AND Temp sensor Z (inside temp) is above F degrees.] Then turn ON ceiling fan switch Y.

IF [Temp sensor Z (inside temp) is below F degrees.] Then turn OFF ceiling fan switch Y.

2

I’ll be writing one if there isn’t one. Once I get moved, and get the ceiling fans, and get the zwave controllers for same. Sigh.

3

  1. ceiling fan doesn’t cool the room. It only cools people that have a layer of warm air around them, or people that perspire. So controlling a fan based on temperature makes sense only when people are present.

  2. Sorry I don’t have an app. I actually wanted to do something like what you ask for, but my fan is 3 speed, so it would take 3 switches to get my desired result. I combined a wireless (not Zwave) ceiling fan thermostat controller
    http://www.amazon.com/Hampton-Bay-Thermostatic-Ceiling-Control/dp/B001AQQSRM

and a Aeon Micro Switch module


to turn the fan off when house is unoccupied.

FYI the wireless thermostat has crappy range so I had to relocate it to line-of-sight 10-feet.

Good luck.

4

You might be able to do this with one of the keep me kozy apps. I feel like one of them was a simple on off switch controller. If not dissect the SmartApp and create your own.

6

i have such an app, but I can’t upload it until tomorrow…

7

Can’t you control a fan with a dimmer switch?

8

You can with a variable control switch specifically rated for fans, but not with a dimmer rated for lights only. You will burn out the fan motor and may cause a fire. This is true whether the switch is networked or not. See the following thread:

GE makes a zwave switch specifically for controlling a fan which is a good option:

2 Likes
9

There is a 3 speed fan switch:

10

Thanks, yes, the Leviton is a good fan switch that also works with SmartThings. It’s always good to have choices. :blush:

11

I’m not a programmer at all so that’s why I didn’t tackle any of this before posting.

I’ll be using the the GE 12730 for all of my ceiling fans.
http://www.amazon.com/GE-12730-Z-Wave-3-Speed-Control/dp/B00PYMGVVQ/ref=sr_1_1?s=hi&ie=UTF8&qid=1432047568&sr=1-1&keywords=12730

This is what I’ll use for manual control of the speeds from my cell.

12

I have the GE switch and I do this with IFTTT. I guess you could also do this with external sensors. There is a smartapp for the GE switch but you don’t really need an app if you’re going to just do on and off.

13

Didn’t have much luck with IFTTT mid last year. Didn’t seem to be that reliable for me then, but have not messed with it in a while.

I don’t think it’d work in this case, since I would like to have several criteria to turn it on. Needs two temps as well as only working if we are present.

14

Did you ever find a solution(smartapp) for this? I would like to do the same thing. Have a Fan turn on, triggered by motion, and set to a specific speed based on temp in the room.

15

This’d be great if someone can create an application that sets the speed of the “fan control” based on a temperature differential.

so Low = XX degrees away from HVAC thermostat temp
Medium = XX degrees away from HVAC themostat temp
High = XX degrees away from HVAC themostat temp

and you’d set your% settings for low, medium, high for that Fan “Dimmer” since they show up as dimmers in smartthings.

If anyone’s up to the “app challenge” this i think could be used by many.

2 Likes
16

That’s a good idea to modify the speed. I will look into that for my SmartApp.

Enjoy!

1 Like
17

If you modify your app to control the three speeds settings send me a message. Use adjustable setpoint, and then an adjustable differential setting between speeds.
In the meantime Rule Machine smartapp works beautifully. It is just a little hard to make a simple setpoint change.

UPDATE:
I wrote a smartapp to control the 3 speed ceiling fan now.

1 Like
18

I’m just glad you have something that works for you.

19

There’s an app in the app stores called SmartRules. I use this to do just that. :grin:

20

[quote=“rob_gore, post:15, topic:16758”]
This’d be great if someone can create an application that sets the speed of the “fan control” based on a temperature differential.
[/quote][quote=“Tom2, post:14, topic:16758, full:true”]
Did you ever find a solution(smartapp) for this? I would like to do the same thing. Have a Fan turn on, triggered by motion, and set to a specific speed based on temp in the room
[/quote] @Daniel1 @rob_gore @NMK95 @rey_rios @ero4444 @schettj @ero4444

Just in case anyone is still looking for an app for this, I ended up writing a smartapp for a 3 Speed Ceiling Fan thermostat control via any temperature sensor with optional motion trigger.

1 Like
21

Instead of selecting a desired room temp is there a way to make this app automatically follow the thermostat set point?
So for example as of now if I have the desired room temperature set to 72 and my furnace thermostat is set to 72 it works great turning the fan on when the thermostat turns on and off when the desired set point is reached however… if my thermostat is set on a schedule to change temperatures (say from 72° to 75° When I’m sleeping) when this happens my house temperature changes and my ceiling fan stays on high speed all the time unless I go in and manually change the targeted room temperature set point in the app. It would be nice if it would automatically follow what the thermostat is set to or changes to can this be done?