Reversible Window Fan -- Looking for ideas

Hi ST Community – I’m a relatively new member, taking the HA plunge just a few weeks ago. I’ve learned a lot about wiring that I never knew before and gotten lots of great tips from reading through the threads here. My ST system is now up to over 100 physical and virtual devices and I’ve automated most of the major tasks and rooms in our home, but there’s one thing I haven’t been able to do yet. I’m hoping some folks here have some ideas.

Our garage gets quite hot during the North Carolina summers and traditionally I’ve had a box fan in the window that runs continuously 24 hours a day. Some days I have it positioned pointing outward and essentially use it as an exhaust fan, other days I point it inward to draw cooler air from the outside (such as in the evenings).

What I would like to do is setup a reversible box fan similar to this one I found on Amazon to be able to be controlled by SmartThings. I would then use the temperature sensors in the garage and the outside temperature to code the logic as to whether to run the fan in exhaust or draw mode, as well as shut it off when not needed.

I’m not aware of any commercial products that would meet my needs, so I realize this is probably going to involve some sort of hackery on my part. I’ve never done anything like that before so I’m hoping you guys have some similar experiences or projects that I can use as guides as I try to figure this one out.

Looking forward to your inputs.

There are lots of different ways to do this kind of project, but if you want a no-wiring solution, choose a model which is compatible with the Logitech Harmony. There are a number of these.

Once you can control it with the harmony, you can integrate it with SmartThings.

Here’s just one example:

You can check device compatibility with the harmony on the following page:

https://support.myharmony.com/en-us/compatibility

Most of these will be using IR remotes, in which case the harmony will have to be line of sight to the fan. But you can use the same harmony to control other devices in that room, including home entertainment devices.

Like I said, there are lots of different ways to do this, but this is one of the easiest. :sunglasses:

Wow. Super cool. I’m already a harmony hub user, but of course it’s not in my garage and too far away to run the IR blaster. I didn’t even think about remote controls as a way to do this. I was thinking more like I’d have to hardwire a z-wave relay to the electronic control on the fan.

Quick amazon search turns up a wireless infrared extender for just $30. Since I already have a harmony hub, this may be the simplest solution.

Love to hear other ideas…

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Hey there! The first thing that comes to my mind is a hack… Lol… I would get a dry contact relay and wire it into the system for the switch that reverses the fan… Then connect that to a micro switch compatible with ST.

That’s a variable speed fan plus reverse. A contact Relay might give you on/off, but it’s not going to give you any of the other features.

Depends on how you wire it and how deep into it you want to get… Lol

Jarrett
I’ve had quite the same idea and had actually looked at the same fan on amazon! Unfortunately I am not a hacker but if this ever gets any traction I will happily test it out!