I was thinking about upgrading the light in our guest bedroom to a ceiling fan with a light kit. The problem is there is only 12-2 romex in the box. I was thinking could I add a zooz zen30 double switch in the box and not wire the fan relay, but instead put a dry contact relay in the fan junction box? Then the switch would function just like my other rooms without the trouble of running another wire. Do you think this would work? I have my doubts.
I can't really comment on your dry contact relay solution but I use a Bond hub to control several fans and other RF devices. I basically have a dumb switch that powers them, which I leave permanently on and covered with a switch guard. The bond hub controls the light and fan speeds. Works well.
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The standard upgrade in our new house:
- Minka Aire smart fan with light, DC motor, and no extra bridge needed for integration
- Zooz Zen71 operated as a button controller, so my wife doesn't turn off power to the whole thing
Fans are not cheap - $300 to $500 for the models we use. They work with the Bond App, HE Bond Integrations, or the physical remote. Installation and set up are simple and the DC motors are a silent treat.
My ceiling fans have 12-3 romex run from the fan to the switch box...and I use the Zooz Zen30 to control them:
- Light on dimmer
- Fan on relay switch
I set the ceiling fan pull cords so that the light is at the brightest setting, and adjust the fan speed where on want it. Dimming for light, and on/off for the fan.
What you are describing should work. You can configure the relay switch to just be a button (i.e. deactivate the switching part), and then setup a rule to turn the dry contact on/off for the fan.
If you have a neutral available, consider hard-wiring the line/load hot and tie in a Zen32 at the switch position -- that's what I'm doing, and it works a treat... Main button = toggle fan light, 3 small buttons = low/med/hi, and 4th small button is fan-off (hold to reverse fan) -- all via Bond integration
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B08GKGB6L5/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1
i got these for my parents because they didn't have a neutral by the switch, but instead in the fan. it works off 12-2 and splits the connections to the light and fan to allow individual control. also integrates with most common voice assistants
5 of our 6 ceiling fans have the Home Depot Hampton Bay (King of Fans) controller in the canopy. The controller is Zigbee. It was originally designed for the Wink ecosystem. I connected the white and black wires at the wall switch so the controller has power all the time.
The wall switches have been replaced with matching remote controls.
The Zigbee radio in the controller is very weak, so a Zigbee repeater in the same room gets it linked. Someone wiser than I recommended Tuya Zigbee repeaters.
https://a.aliexpress.com/_mOPRwy4
Unfortunately, the controllers are no longer available from Home Depot. They are available on eBay.
I have a spare just in case.
Edit. They are available at Home Depot. Part number 76278
A bit more than I paid..
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Bond Bridge is about $100 and will allow you to automate as many fans in your house as you want to.
Standard for me w/older existing fan installs where the fan is wired to a switch on the wall w/no neutral and just power on/off to both fan and light is:
- Bond bridge to control fan
- Wire power on at the wall switch, cover w/a Pico for control from the wall. Could use any wall switch replacement (e.g., Zooz Network Scene Controller ZEN32) that has enough buttons you can tie to fan light vs. fan speed control.
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Thanks for all the ideas. I have a lot to consider here. At the moment none of my fans have remotes. Not sure how the bond works if the fan doesn't already have a remote.
Bond bridge needs a remote to learn from to control the fan. If your fans aren't/can't be controlled by RF/remote, then the Bond bridge isn't an option.
The main downside that I see is that you can't dim your lights using this method. You will just have on/off for both the fan and light. That, and it is an expensive way to handle this.
If you could find one, that Hampton Bay Fan Controller works OK, or maybe you could find one of the Inovelli Fan Controllers. Neither require a dedicated fan wire.
Otherwise, a rewire would probably be a better long-term solution. Is this a room with an attic above? If so, running a new wire is fairly straightforward.
Years ago a co-worker wanted to install a ceiling fan in a room without a ceiling fixture. He did it right, using a good mounting box. Every time he turned the light on, it would blow, He assumed it was just a bad bulb, but the second bulb did the same thing. He turned the fan on, and on low speed it was really fast, and after a few minutes the fan started smoking. He thought the bulb was blowing because the fan was defective. He exchanged the fan for a better model. New bulb blew again. Fan speed was way too fast even on low.
He connected the fan to 220 
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