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

There is much said about light and fan controls, but I can’t find any specific brands that are listed. I find several light switches but not dimmers, and nothing listed as a fan control. Looked at the similar topic listed but it had no actual solution.

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Are you looking for a single device that controls both the light and fan? If so, what about this:

There are a few links within that link to follow up on, so be sure to read up on those.

If you’re looking for separate devices, the GE dimmer and fan controller devices are ones to use and/or look at.

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Before getting to the various North American options, just a quick link to a UK discussion

Ceiling fan control - no light (UK)

OK, back to this thread. :sunglasses:

Just to add a visual to @johnconstantelo 's excellent response…

Option 1: Hampton Bay Zigbee Controller. [Discontinued by Home Depot in 2020]. Full integration with SmartThings of both fan and dimmable lights. Optional single gang wall switch.

The Hampton Bay zigbee option has a single gang wallmount Controller that has both fan and light controls and looks like this. This one will also let you reverse the fan if your fan controller has that feature. Because each button is labeled, it’s very intuitive for guests to use.

Option 2: GE Zwave switches. One model controls the fan speed and a different model can dim the lights. Full integration with SmartThings, officially supported.

The GE zwave option will require a dual gang, with one switch to control the lights in the fan and one switch to control the fan speed. They will end up looking something like this. You will get low/medium/high Control for the fan, but no reverse.

IMG_3794

http://www.ezzwave.com/z-wave-products/

And here’s a video that shows how the GE switches work when you have one switch for the fan lights and a separate switch for the fan speed. I like this video because the guy walks through exactly how you change the fan speed at the switch. (The app shown towards the end of the video is not the smartthings app, but you would get similar results with the smartthings app, it would just look a little different.)

Option 3: GE Fan Control model 14287 With Doubletap Plus Smart Bulbs in the Fan

GE released a fan control switch in late 2017, model 14287 , which allows you to double tap the top or bottom of the rocker and perform a different function. If you use Zwave (not zigbee) smart bulbs in the fan kit this will work to turn the lights on or off even if your SmartThings hub is offline. :sunglasses::bulb: This gives you a single gang zwave Option, although it will not be intuitive for guests since just tapping the rocker once will only control the fan, not the lights. And you won’t be able to dim the lights from the switch, just on/off. Also, this will only work if your fan kit takes regular full size A19 bulbs. Still, it will be a good choice for some people.

https://products.z-wavealliance.org/products/2506

Although the product description says “lights must be on a separate switch,” that is only true if you want a wired wall switch, in which case use option 2 above. If you use smart bulbs and use the double tap feature of this switch, you can control both fan speed and lights from one device.

https://www.amazon.com/GE-Controls-Required-SmartThings-14287/dp/B06XTKQTTV

https://www.amazon.com/GoControl-Z-Wave-Dimmable-Light-LB60Z-1/dp/B00PJH16UC/

Option 4: Inovelli Red Series Zwave Fan and Light Control

In 2020, Inovelli introduced a single gang minimalist light and fan control. Z wave. Hold down the light button to make the light brighter. Hold down the fan button to make the fan faster. Works with multi speed fans. Includes a speed control device which gets installed in the fan canopy.

Option 5: Lutron Caseta Fan Control Switch*

There has been a smartthings/Lutron Caseta Integration for several years, but they only added the Caseta fan switch to the integration in June 2021.

More details on this later, but if you were already using Lutron Caseta light switches, this will be a good option. Note that like GE and Leviton, the switch only controls the fan speed, you will have to add a second switch next to it to control the lights and use smart bulbs in the light kit.

https://www.amazon.com/Lutron-Wireless-Single-Pole-PD-FSQN-WH-Assistant/dp/B07N1GXM38

All five of these first options work well with SmartThings and you will be able to use Alexa through SmartThings to control them.

Option 6: Treatlife WiFi Fan Control Switch

This interesting device was released in 2020, or at least that’s when it got a manufacturer-provided smartthings Integration through the smartlife app. However, the integration is only for scenes, not for the device itself, which means you have to create the scenes in the smart life or tuya app and then create virtual switches in smartthings to represent those scenes and it all gets pretty complicated. In addition, if someone changes the fan settings outside of smartthings, including by voice or on the switch at the wall, that does not get reported to smartthings.

There are people in the community who have this and do like it a lot, both because of its price and because you can run it without a hub, but the integration just isn’t as good as the first five options.

It is designed to control a dumb fan which is already wired to a dumb wall switch for light control and on/off of the fan, but which uses a pull chain for speed control.

It allows you to set the fan speed on high with the pull chain, then remove the pull chain and operate the fan speed and light from the wall switch. Descriptions I have seen says it is UL listed.

You also need to check the specs to make sure that the fan is not more powerful than the switch is designed for.

image

As mentioned, Several community members have it and like it. Setting it up with Alexa is a little tricky because it will initially create three devices, one for the fan speed, one for dimmable light, and another one I’m not sure what it’s for. The problem is they all have very similar names. Many people have said they needed to rename the fan speed in the Alexa app to be different from the light in order to get Alexa control of each.

The other issue with this one is that it is a very blocky shape, and some people have said they were not able to fit it into their existing switch box. So check the dimensions before purchase. But it’s a good option to have, and would work in a hub-optional smartthings set up. However, it does require an active Internet connection to work with automations or voice control.

https://www.amazon.com/Ceiling-Control-Treatlife-Assistant-Schedule/dp/B086PPRWL7

And here’s a discussion thread about how to use the virtual switches with it.

Need Help to Integrate Treatlife Ceiling Fan Switch to ST - #5 by Paul_Oliver

Two more retrofit options, but not yet as good as the first six

Option 7: Bond Remote: easy no-wiring solution, but limited features so far and expensive

Olibra has come out with the Bond remote, which is an expensive universal remote designed to add voice control to fans that already have a remote. Note that it doesn’t have its own button remote or wall switch – – it’s really just adding as a second controller to your existing fan system, but a controller that can also understand Alexa or Google Home.

IMG_4609

As of June 2019, an official SmartThings integration has been added if you are using the 2018 V3 app.

It costs $99, partly because they have put multiple radios inside this thing so it can work with many different fans that have remotes, on a number of different frequencies or on IR. It doesn’t work with every fan, for example it doesn’t work with a Lutron maestro controller or an Insteon fan controller or some of the Casablanca models. But it works with a lot of the most popular ones as long as the fan already has a remote.

The bond adds voice control and also has Wi-Fi capability and its own IFTTT channel.

It also has a smartthings integration for some models.

It seems to be pretty good at controlling the fan speed, but so far light controls are mostly limited on/off, no dimming. But that also varies by specific model.

One bond is supposed to be able to control up to six fans, but if they have IR remotes they will have to be line of sight to the device. For RF remotes, you’ll just have to try it and see what the range is.

You can contact the company in advance to see if it’s known whether or not it will work with your model.

So the first five options in this post will give you much more granular control of a fan with lights, but the bond is worth looking at if you want a no wiring solution. (Also, the other options in this post all have their own wall switches; the Bond just adds additional integration to what you already have.)

More discussion in the following thread:

@Jamieboy05 , @mamouLA , and @ErnieG all brought up the bond when it was still in pre-release, and I am very glad to see that the device as delivered does have a lot of practical value for some community members. So I have updated this post to include it. :sunglasses:

Option 8

As @mwav3 notes below, in 2020 Home Depot released a new less expensive version of the Bond remote Which includes a canopy controller. This one sells for about $30 less than the original. It looks like a handheld remote even if you do mount it on the wall, so some people may prefer some of the more switch-like options.

Option 9: Lutron Maestro. No neutral required, full control, but no status updates from the wall switch

There is one other option if you don’t have a neutral at the switchbox, but it’s not as good as the first four because when someone uses the wall switch the information will not be reported to smartthings so you could never trust the status in the mobile app. So I just mention it here for completeness.

There is a Lutron Maestro fan Control Device (MIR-FQ4FMT-WH) where the Wall Switch can be controlled with a Logitech Harmony Home Hub. It will work fine in terms of having SmartThings control the fan by using the harmony as a “man in the middle”, and you will have a wall switch, but again, if someone uses the wall switch SmartThings won’t know that that happened. So this one is only for retrofit options where the other options don’t work.

IMG_3795

https://support.smartthings.com/hc/en-us/articles/205653834-Logitech-Harmony-Home-Hub

If you don’t need fan speed control, just on/off

Option 9) Zooz Dual Switch (light dimmer plus on/off control of fan

In late 2019, the Smartest House introduced a new zwave device which is a single gang size with two separate device controls. The top is a dimmer switch for a light (not for a motor!) and the bottom is a simple on/off button. Early reviews are good. This is particularly popular for bathrooms with a single speed extractor fan. Requires a neutral at the switch.

Summary

Choose one of the first five options if you have a neutral at the switch and you want to fully integrate a multi speed fan and its lights with SmartThings, including keeping the status up-to-date in the SmartThings mobile app. You will be able to use a voice assistant by using the SmartThings integration.

The Home Depot version of the bond may be less expensive, but with slightly less integration.

The treatlife Wi-Fi switch is very inexpensive, but at the time of this writing integration is limited to scenes.

If you are just looking for on/off control of a single speed extractor fan, the Zooz zen30 is a good choice.

If you want a no wiring solution, the original bond is definitely worth looking at. However, at the present time it doesn’t give you full integration.

If you don’t have a neutral at the switchbox but you do want a wired solution with its own wall switch, the Lutron maestro may also be worth considering. You will get control of more features than you might with the bond, but installation is more complex and does require installing a fan controller as well as replacing the switch. And you still have the issue that the status can get out of sync with the SmartThings app.

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Anyone with any thoughts on using a NodeMCU soldered up to control the rf relays in the reciever box? I’m thinking of tearing into the box in the fan and doing some circuit chasing to see if it would be possible… may take some creativity as everything in the rf box probably runs on 120v… but may be a better permanent solution than tearing apart the rf remote and soldering relays to it…

Since this is an FAQ thread intended for brief descriptions of completed solutions, why don’t you start a new thread in the project section and I’m sure there will be several people who will be glad to help you brainstorm a new approach. :sunglasses:

https://community.smartthings.com/c/projects-stories

@JDRoberts - can you buy the Hampton Bay controller with the wall mount instead of the loose controller? I have 5 rooms with wireless wall mounted controllers that I’d love to replace to make zigbee but I’m only seeing the remote control version for the Zigbee.

Thanks!

No, you’re stuck with purchasing both the Hampton Bay Universal Wink Enabled White Ceiling Fan Premier Remote Control: https://www.homedepot.com/p/Hampton-Bay-Universal-Wink-Enabled-White-Ceiling-Fan-Premier-Remote-Control-99432/206591100?cm_sp=BazVoice--PRRDR--206591100-_-x
and the Hampton Bay Universal Ceiling Fan Wireless Wall Control: https://www.homedepot.com/p/Hampton-Bay-Universal-Ceiling-Fan-Wireless-Wall-Control-68109/205846346
You can throw away the Receiver that came with the Wall Mount Control as it doesn’t have Zigbee. You can use both the wall mount and the loose remote to control the fan and lights. You just have to make sure the switches are all set the same.

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@dancran So the wall mount connects to the Zigbee receiver and remote? End game id really just want the receiver and wall mount. I have it set up this way at the moment but with Hunter fan and i believe hunter wireless wall mount.

Yes, the wall mounted remote will control the Zigbee receiver without problem and you will also still be able to use the loose remote. Unfortunately, Home Depot does not package the wall mount remote with the Zigbee receiver which is why you have to purchase both kits throwing away the Receiver (Non-Zigbee) that comes packaged with the Wall Mount Remote. (Using the Zigbee Receiver that comes packaged with the loose remote) I’ve done this with two of my ceiling fans.

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Does it allow the fan to turn on/off or just control the speed? I would think it allows on/off, but I can’t find that on the amazon page for it.

It’s always a good idea to read the user manual for any smart device that you are considering buying.

http://www.ezzwave.com/sites/jasco/uploads/documents/12730_EnFrSp_QStart_V1_081314.pdf

In this case you press once on the top for on, and you hold to change the speed.

You press once on the bottom for off, and again hold to decrease the speed.

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I saw this honeywell one today.

Honeywell Z-Wave Plus Smart Fan Speed Control, 3-Speed In-Wall Paddle Switch, White and Almond |Built-In Repeater Range Extender | ZWave Hub Required - SmartThings, Wink, Alexa Compatible, 39358 https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07B3Y7YK5/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_UeqmCbMJ8XANT

Good catch. That’s a rebrand of the GE switch discussed already in this FAQ. :sunglasses:

It’s already on this thread, it’s option 4 in post number three. :sunglasses:

This is an FAQ thread and intended for information that would be of value to many different people.

If you have questions about a specific device/project, please start a new thread so people can answer you there.

Zigbee, Zwave, Zwave plus? Uh… Okay so wrap my head around that.

As I understand it, ZWave has a limit of 4 hops between the controller, I.E. the hub, and the client device. Zigbee doesn’t have any such limit. However, Zwave is pretty much an open applied standard where Zigbee is a standard that various vendors, well… vary… so not all Zigbee devices play well together.
Z wave has a larger range. That’s a good thing.
It’s all more than a bit confusing. Not sure how to proceed…

That’s not exactly how it all works, but we would be getting way off topic for this thread if we start going into protocol distinctions. :sunglasses:

Why don’t you start by reading the following FAQ, and then if you still have questions about the protocols you can start a new thread under devices and we can talk about it there.

Meanwhile, as far as selecting devices that work with SmartThings, most people will be fine with either Z wave or zigbee for any given device, you just choose the one that has the best features for what you need.

You just need to make sure that you have enough repeaters overall of each protocol that you are using. See the following FAQ on those issues. Start with post 11 in that thread, then go back up to the top and read the whole thing.

Now I could be terribly wrong, but as I understand it, at least with Zigbee, the wired devices such as outlets, light switches, fan controls etc… act as repeaters… I could be terribly wrong, if so, I will have to reassess my network design…

FWIW, I was planning on going all zigbee with the light switches and fan controls if for no other reason, cost… Zwave for some reason seems to be more expensive.

Again, this thread is a general FAQ about fan switches. I’ll be glad to discuss network protocols in a different thread. Or a specific fan set up. Thanks! There’s a ton of information in the forum, and lots of different discussions, and it just helps everybody if we stay on topic in each thread. :sunglasses:

Also, if you just want to understand more about repeaters, see the following FAQ in the community – created wiki:

https://thingsthataresmart.wiki/index.php?title=Repeaters

Agreed, so back to the topic at hand. Switches for ceiling fans with / without light kits.

All of the fans in my house are 3 speed, and I see the GE model 12730 discussed above which looks like it will meet my needs, however, and there is one HUGE problem. The blue light. I like the help me find it in the dark lighting sure, but as you know, blue light tends to mess with people’s sleep, and I need to use these in bedrooms.

Is there a model you can recommend that perhaps uses an amber light instead?