FAQ: 2020 Ceiling Fan and Dimmer light wall mount control compatible with SmartThings and Alexa?

I see that Lutron is coming out with Caseta Fan control. https://www.techhive.com/article/3331179/lutron-caseta-ceiling-fan-controller.html

Since I just dropped coin on the Lutron smart bridge pro and a ton of pico remotes … what are chances that this fan controller could integrate with ST? Would really hate to have to use the Lutron app just for the fan and ST for everything else.

It’s not in this FAQ yet because it does not yet have SmartThings integration. People have contacted Lutron support and they have said they don’t know when or if that integration will be available.

I have two on preorder :wink:

1 Like

Hi, RE: Option 1, is this the correct switch? It doesn’t mention zigbee in the description.

Please ask questions about the individual devices in the threads linked to above. In this case the following thread:

Home Decorators Ceiling Fan/Light Controller MR101Z - First Impressions

The people there will be able to answer any questions you have about that specific device. :sunglasses:

I’ll update the detail post later, but just to mention that there is now a new WiFi fan out from Home Depot that has bond built into it and is supposed to come with a SmartThings integration out of the box (with the new V3 app). I don’t know anyone who’s tried it yet, though.

Inovelli is working on a new single gang Z-Wave switch that talks to a module that mounts in the shroud of the fan to control the light and ceiling fan. https://inovelli.com/shop/smart-light-switches/zwave-smart-switches-gen2/z-wave-fan-light-switch-pre-order/
Shipping later in 2020.

1 Like

Please don’t post anything to FAQs like this until they are actually available to ship. There’s a lot of stuff out there in development and it just confuses folks who are trying to solve an immediate problem. If there isn’t already an individual discussion thread for a pre-shipment device, you can go ahead and start one for discussion of it. Just don’t add it to the FAQ until it’s actually available. Thanks! :sunglasses:

Hey guys thank you so much for all of the suggestions. I’m struggling because all of the switches in my house are the skinny switches versus the wide ones. Are there any wall fan controls available that are of the skinny variety?

Can you show us a picture and give the exact dimensions of your switches? Also, what country are you in?

I’m in the United States. I need something this size.

[https://smile.amazon.com/GE-Enbrighten-SimpleWire-Assistant-47899/dp/B07X6JW72G/ref=sr_1_8?crid=QGJS6CVDCIYS&dchild=1&keywords=zwave+switch&qid=1597000962&sprefix=zwave+%2Caps%2C194&sr=8-8]

When we build our house 8 years ago all of the switches were done this size versus the wider toggle switches that are shown above.

Ok, that’s called a toggle switch

versus a rocker switch.

The good news is that in the US the size of the switch box for these are exactly the same, the wiring is the same, and so you can just substitute one for the other.

So if your concern was whether or not the fan switch devices shown in the FAQ will work, as far as size goes, they should.

If you’re saying aesthetically that you would prefer a toggle switch, I don’t think there are any that control fans. They aren’t very Popular for smart switches because with a dumb switch you lock the switch into place, up for on and down for off. But with a smart switch, you might be controlling it from a schedule, by voice, from the app, or from the wall. So the switch will rest in the center position. Making it ready for the next instruction.

With a rocker switch this is barely noticeable. But with a toggle switch the switch will be sticking straight out and that tends to bother people. So they just aren’t as popular a design.

There are some toggle designs available just for smart light switches, but I don’t know any for smart fan switches.

2 Likes

Thanks @JDRoberts for keeping the fan FAQ up to date. I found this really helpful when i was looking for fan controllers. Unfortunately, as pointed out on the other thread by @jkp , option one for the wink fan controller has been discontinued by Home Depot and is no longer available

A new wifi universal remote was pointed out as an option by another user on that same thread that might be an alternative.

1 Like

That one is a variation of the Bond remote (Option 5 in the post above), but at a lower cost. :sunglasses: They made a deal with Home Depot to put their technology into several different Home Depot products.

They do have a smartthings integration. As you point out below, it looks like this one does indeed include a motor controller as well “to make a dumb fan smart.“

1 Like

The Home Depot website doesn’t do a great job explaining it, but it does look like a receiver in the canopy is included with the remote. So it appears similar to the old wink Hampton bay controller, but instead of the receiver using zigbee, this receiver uses wifi so you can add to a dumb fan and control by wifi with the bond integration and the included remote. I don’t have one and don’t know all the ins and outs, but other users on here seem very happy with it. I believe status stays in sync with the remote which is a huge plus too. This new Bond remote i think creates confusion with the other bond universal remote (threw me off at first). Do you think we should start a new thread on this one? I included screenshots from the manual below.


Definitely! :sunglasses:

Also I’ve updated my post above to give this one its own entry.

Someone finally did a single gang switch that controls both lights on/of and dimmable as well as fan on/off and speed. Here’s a link to Amazon and a YouTube video of the install and it working. Works with Alexa and Google Assistant but not sure it works with SmartThings. I don’t see anything Z Wave or Zigbee in desription.
Smart Ceiling Fan Control and Dimmer Light Switch 2PACK, Neutral Wire Needed, Treatlife Single Pole Wi-Fi Light Switch Fan Speed Control, Works with Alexa/Google Assistant, Smart Home Remote Control - - Amazon.com

Treatlife Smart Ceiling Fan and Light Dimmer Switch Review - YouTube

That’s a Wi-Fi device (neither Zigbee nor Zwave), and does not integrate with SmartThings. :disappointed_relieved: Hopefully eventually someone will make one like this that does integrate.

If you can’t wait for something which does integrate, some people do use the treatlife device with a one-way integration through IFTTT, but you won’t have any way of knowing if someone turned the fan on or off at the wall switch. And of course now Ifttt charges a subscription. So it’s not what most people are looking for. See the following community discussion:

Treatlife integration?

@JDRoberts

I’m almost certain this switch will work with smart life which, as you know, works with Smartthings. We connected smart life to Smartthings at my kids house last week and this switch appeared in the ST app.

A convoluted way of doing things, in my opinion, but I believe it will work nonetheless.

1 Like

Cool, thanks for letting us know. Does the status update if someone changes the switch at the wall, or is it one of those integrations where it’s done through scenes?