Looking at the manual, it looks to me like this is a non-smart device. It simply adds a remote control function to fans that don't have it. Basically the old HBFC with the Zigbee radio ripped out! Or rather, never put in.
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This appears to be Home Depot’s replacement for the discontinued Zigbee HBFC, however it uses WiFi, not Zigbee. I have not seen any integration with Hubitat, yet.
It appears to use “Bond” technology to make it smart. To me, that seems like a good decision versus yet another cloud provider that could go belly up any day.
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Sounds like a "smart by bond" device, so yes it should work. No Bond hub required, the integration should provide a direct LAN integration with the fan.
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Cool thanks guys! @scottgu3 I didn't see the WiFi at first but it was quite late at the time. @ogiewon I'm assuming this discontinuation is why all the related fans are sold out.
I punted and bought it since I couldn't find a good alternative in a fully integrated fan solution after a couple hours searching, so I will report back on the integration. I am open to recommendations on fans that wouldn't need any controller retrofitting still though if anyone knows of good successors to the HBFC series.
I am new to HA as well, so some general info would be greatly appreciated. For WiFi enabled devices, these can all be added to the Hubitat as LAN devices correct? I am planning to tackle the migration from Homebridge plugins to Hubitat for the few LED controllers I have this week.
Well, another good option is the Inovelli LW36 z-wave fan controller.
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Not necessarily.
There’s no WiFi equivalent for a “generic” driver the same way there is for many zigbee and z-wave drivers.
Most WiFi devices will need a driver specific to the device, because there’s no standardization for the way WiFi IoT devices communicate with the hub.
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I've been using this for about two weeks and I have ZERO complaints with it.
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Unfortunately I don't have a wall switch. My main motivator for getting into HA was the fact that I only have 1 wall switch in my entire apartment, thus smart bulbs made sense, and now I am full blown down the rabbit hole.
@marktheknife thanks for that, it is helpful to understand the architecture.
Excellent, glad to hear it. You are using the BOND driver from Dan?
I believe he was referring to the Inovelli LW36, based on the post of mine he responded to.
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Dang, thanks for the clarification.
Did you find the answer if the Universal Smart Wi-Fi 4-Speed Ceiling Fan Remote
(https://www.homedepot.com/p/Universal-Smart-Wi-Fi-4-Speed-Ceiling-Fan-Remote-Works-with-Google-Assistant-SmartThings-and-Alexa-99434/311264804#product-overview) connects to Hubitat with the Bond drivers, without it requiring the Bond hub, the canopy receiver doesn't require the bond hub.
The Inovelli LW36 z-wave is not suitable for my scenario.
Thanks
Man, these OG Zigbee Hampton Bay controllers seem to burn out rather quickly. I get about 6 months per on my ceiling fan. My theory is that it's because I never run it on high, which is just a relay with full-flow.... and any mode lower is some sort of PWM that loads up a transistor somewhere that eventually fails from heat.
I'm definitely going to look at the resistor pictured above. Curious if the new ones have the same problem. 3 of the 3 units I've purchased now for my ceiling fan have had either the fan or light portion fail now, in less than 2 years total ownership.
I have 2 and they are about 3 years old. One runs every night, all night long, on high. The other runs at least 6 hours every day at med to med-high (rarely on high) without issue. Did you buy the 3 at the same time. Maybe a bad batch?
They don't make these anymore so we all have to consider alternatives when they die now. I would go with inovelli if one of mine died right now.
I have 4 of these. 2 were purchased when they were first released 4 years ago and another 2 a couple of years after that. All are still working well and none run on high; only low or medium.
Just providing another data point.
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I have had one of these installed for about 3-4 years. No issues whatsoever, except for the required Zigbee repeater in the same room. I did have it 'fall off the network' once, after a Hurricane which caused many power fluctuations. But I was able to reset it, and the re-pair it without too much difficulty.
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Following me-too post!
I have several of the HBFCs that have been running for several years. Various speeds, used in automations, no issues except the one @ogiewon mentions, where they fell off the network once....
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I bought 3 of the controllers to start, but only installed 2. I've only had an issue with the one. The second is still working flawlessly. I've never had it drop from the network. However I do have 2 xbee's and other zigbee repeaters. The third was never installed because the fan it was planned for was smaller than the others. Even though they are supposed to be universal, not all fans are made to allow the unit to fit in the housing.
I may have actually over powered the light component. It was an older fan with 5 lights. At the time it went, they were all still incandescent bulbs.
Little late to the party here, but I wanted to post some information regarding the Smart by Bond version of the fan controller now available at Home Depo.
I had one fan left that was still using the Zigbee version, and I'm not able to replace it with an Inovelli LW36 (it's hard-wired, no switch). I've constantly had issues with the Zigbee controller; losing pair, difficult pairing, having to send commands twice, etc. Strong mesh, at least 3 repeaters in close proximity.
WAF reached a low, so I picked up the Bond version to test out. I'm happy to report it is working very well. The Bond integration from danabw is working great. Since this is a "Smart by Bond" device, it doesn't require an additional hub, although you do need to install the mobile app for initial setup. The control is local, so it is fast (and not reliant on a cloud integration). I have not seen any reliability issues over the last week of usage.
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