Z-wave or Zigbee in-ceiling bathroom fan/heater/light

Hi,

I’ve searched high and low and can’t seem to locate a turn-key solution. I’m a bit surprised some of the manufacturers haven’t incorporated their products into HA. In any event, if I was to purchase an in ceiling fan/heater/light combo, how would it be possible to control all these functions through ST? I know they make some devices that might be able to partially control it through power, but I’d really like to be able to control all the functions through HA…thanks

I assume the device you are looking at has a wall switch? Instead of automating the fan itself, I recommend replacing the wall switch with a “smart” one. This way you maintain the capability to control it manually.

I believe most come with wall switches, unfortunately I cannot find one that comes with HA built in. I am not sure if there is a way to use a smart switch on a device which itself is not smart (e.g., know when the heater is on, know when the light is on, and know when the fan is on.) Maybe I’m wrong and there’s a smart switch that can control all these functions?

For many devices I prefer to not have HA built in. I can see a bathroom fan to last longer then the current state of HA system (e.g. SmartThings). replacing a switch with the latest technology is much cheaper and faster than replacing a whole device… only my view.

There are a number of relays that you can use that work with Smatthings that let you automate devices that are usually not smart. I have done this for ceiling fans, water heater, lights…). There are relays that switch 110v/220V (e.g. search Amazon for “aeon relay”) or “dry contact” relays (e.g. search Amazon for “Remotec Zwave Dry Contact” that do not supply any power and just close a circuit.

For your application you may need multiple relays for multiple function or multiple wall switches (fan, light, heater).

thanks…ill take a look

I was wondering if you guys/gals can take a look at this fan, its specs, and tell me if a Z-wave switch will work with this set-up…I’ve also including the switch that Panasonic recommends to control all the functions of the light.

Here’s the fan:

http://shop.panasonic.com/home-and-office/power-tools-and-ventilation-systems/ventilation-systems/ceiling-insert-fans/FV-11VHL2.html

And here’s the switch:

http://shop.panasonic.com/home-and-office/home-and-office-accessories/ventilation-system-accessories/FV-WCSW41-W.html

For the switch, the top button is a 3-way rocker…Left turns on one light, middle is off, right turns on another…The other two switches control the fan and the heater, separately…

What I’d like to have is one or more Z-wave switches that would take the place of all the controls…

Thanks for helping out on this…

You will need 4 zwave switches or relays to fully automate the fan. see p5 of the user manual for the fan. One for each on/off function. You will likely need more space for the automated switches than for the panasonic combo switch.

ftp://ftp.panasonic.com/ventilationfan/om/fv11vh2_en_om.pdf

You could use wall switches or just use the panasonic switch with relays behind it.

switch example:


relay example:

Thanks, so you’re saying if I want each function to be controlled remotely, that’s one relay per function…this could get costy :slight_smile: I was hoping there was a Z-wave switch out there that could do 3-4 functions and replace a single or dual wall switch plate.

I’m creating this setup to control my FV-11VHL2(240$) , its extremely expensive to control all 4 functions under ST control, basically I’m installing 4 Lutron Caseta switches (60$ each ) plus heater part have to be controlled thru Lutron Relay PHPM-SW-DV-WH which is easiest and cleanest solution ( ebay 50-75$) , install taking a lot of space on my wall ( 4 boxes ) plus relay have to be routed outside bathroom since its max humidity less than 90%. My bathroom wall will look like pilot’s cockpit with so many switches ( I have an extra switch to control heated floors thru floor thermostat plus one more for a mirror :slight_smile:

Since I already installed all boxes and wiring I will finish it but not sure if running all lights ON for 5 years with one Panasonic switch will be cheaper than saving electricity on this ST automation :slight_smile: