Control 3-speed Ceiling Fan and Light Kit?

Yes that unfortunately is still the preferred route for 3-speed fan control and dimming lights since there isn’t working solution just yet There is hardware out there from for a combo fan/light controller that uses Insteon and HomeDepot has a new solution with Hampton Bay that works in zigbee that has real potential if they ever release the Zigbee documentation to figure out the endpoints / clusters and the hex codes to send / receive to understand the device but today neither of these work directly with SmartThings.

UPDATE: The Home Depot solution is becoming available and is really REALLY good.

Thanks @dalec

There is one more option that should work, but it is expensive and pretty clunky.

You can get a Lutron maestro single gang device which can control both the fan and the light kit using IR. ($100)

https://www.amazon.com/Lutron-MIR-LFQMT-WH-Maestro-Dimmer-Control/dp/B0017OAWQ0

The switch communicate to the fan controller via Lutron’s proprietary frequency, but the switch itself can be controlled with an IR remote. It comes with its own remote, but you can also use harmony with it.

Once you have that set up, you can then use a harmony hub to control the Lutron light switch. ($100-$130 for the harmony depending on if you get it on a deal. Best Buy puts it on sale pretty often.) because IR is line of sight, the harmony will have to be in the same room as the Lutron switch.

http://www.bestbuy.com/site/logitech-harmony-home-hub-black/1483019.p?skuId=1483019

And once you have that working you can then activate the Harmony activities with SmartThings.

Not all fans will work with the Lutron switch, but you can check with Lutron on compatibility.

Oh, and it won’t work with LEDs – – you’ll have to use halogens or incandescents.

So, expensive and clunky, but it does offer one more option to consider, especially for older retrofits.

Talk to Lutron support if you have any questions about how to get the fan working with their switch. But once you do have a fan working with this Lutron switch, getting it to work with harmony and then smartthings is pretty straightforward and will not require any additional wiring or devices except the harmony hub, which can also be used for AV control in the same room.

To be clear, the 2 zwave device method gives you a lot more options, including the kind of bulbs to use, and I would always recommend that one first. also as @MikeDL points out below, since this method uses an IR connection you won’t get feedback if someone uses the wall switch, so the fan could be on and your Home automation system wouldn’t know it. But if you do have a particular set up where the zwave method just isn’t going to work for you, and you need a one gang solution, this is another possibility.

I wonder if the IR is in the fan module or the switch mounted on the wall.

For the Lutron, it’s a weird device. judging from the discussion on the harmony forums, the IR is from the handheld remote (or the Harmony hub) to the switch on the wall. The fan controller piece does not use IR, because apparently the wall switch is required, harmony cannot talk to the fan controller piece directly.

There is one for sale on ebay for $40 but I do not like devices that do not give feedback of it’s status so I think i’ll pass. Hopefully the stand alone hampton bay device is released soon. Really don’t want to install a dual gang box.

1 Like

We were just discussing in two other threads the desire for single gang devices that can have two independent controllers. In the past, Z wave has not been able to do this because of the size of the radio devices. But with zwave plus, it is possible to make much smaller internal radios, and we are just starting to see dual control single gang zwave plus options come on the market.

ShowHome just released a pocket socket with two independently controllable outlets. And GE has certified a new device which combines a motion sensor and a light switch in a single gang box, which should be available for purchase soon. Neither of these would’ve been possible with the previous zwave generations.

So I am hopeful that by mid 2017 we may well see a zwave version of a single gang fan controller with a separate light switch button. There just aren’t any yet.

1 Like
2 Likes

That would be great. Too bad aeotec has a bad habit of making product announcements years before they’re ready, if ever.

I wonder if it will come out before or after the nano dimmer module which has been “coming in 2016” since, well, 2015?

Or will it be more like the smart window film that they totally shelved two years after it was “coming soon” on their website?

1 Like

http://www.homecontrols.com/Aeon-Labs-Aeotec-Z-Wave-Nano-Switch-with-Power-Metering-Gen5-AEZW116?gclid=CjwKEAiA17LDBRDElqOGq8vR7m8SJAA1AC0_aPLBhc7p1_s8GwQZ4GBC7tvk9hc--1gPxJWvm0J5eRoCrNLw_wcB

Hey do the z-wave 3 speed ceiling fans work with any ceiling fan? what’s the wiring like to control all 3? i have a pull chain currently but looking for options to add a remote to it…

thanks

Josh

I don’t recommend the Zwave Fan control device unless you don’t have a light because it’s only fan speed. Instead check out this Zigbee Fan/Light controller along with its remote control options. it’s the one I recommend today and added it to my pull chain fan.

1 Like

I am wiring in two GE Smart Switches to control my fan and the light on the fan. I am using the GE Smart Fan (model 14287) control switch and a GE Smart Dimmer (model 14294). I have them wired up and working. Just want to validate that I have the wiring done correctly.

The switch with the red traveler wire in it is the dimmer switch (GE 14294) for the light on the fan. I ran a pigtail from the power in (line) to the line terminal and am then using the red wire (load) to carry the power to the light. The white wire is a pigtail from the neutral bundle. The black wire with the yellow tape on it is line in - power from the circuit breaker box. I ran two pigtails from the line in wire to supply power to each switch.

The other switch is the Smart Fan control switch and it is wired with power from the power pigtail bundle to line in, the other black wire is load to the fan motor, and the white is neutral.

Both switches have ground pigtails attached from the ground bundle.

Look correct? It does work properly.

Sounds good to me.

The red wire in this case is not a traveler of course.

How did you wire this up to gain independent control of the light and fan? I must have done it wrong since both devices control everything. I have Romex 14/2 running from wall switch to fan.

Did you have 14/3 or 14/2 wiring in your wall? What is the red wire connected to on the other end? I’m trying to do this but can’t get them to control separately.

If you have wire power coming into the switch box, I would have them independently powered and then 14/3 running to the fan which is two hot one neutral and one ground the fan should have a blue black and white and ground or something like that with two wires being hot one for the light power one for fan power and neutral to neutral and one for the ground

Are there solutions to keep a 1 gang box and not have to use a 2 gang while still being able to make the both the light + dimmer smart and the fan speed? Looking at options to having to cut two gang boxes across the house since I currently have Hampton Bay 1 Gang with 2 sliders across the entire house.

Thanks,
Automation Hoarder

It used to be a chandelier so it was powered by 14/2 W/ground

Are there any options yet (Sept 2019)

I installed a Hampton Bay Universal Smart 4-speed ceiling fan remote, but I only have a 3-speed hunter fan. Is this dangerous? I ask because the light seems to work fine.

The fan makes a loud noise on speed four, but I always just quickly turn it down to speed three.