I have a pair of fans with lights installed in the same space (screened/covered patio) in south Florida.
They are ALWAYS powered from the main breaker panel.
They are currently controlled via a remote that shipped with them. This is one of those hokey remotes that controls a relay that in my experience is due for failure at any given moment. Either the remote fails, or the receiver in the fan fails.
The remote allows control of BOTH fans and lights independently, but they are either BOTH on of BOTH off.
I would like to replace this control/receiver setup so that Hubitat is in charge.
EDIT: The primary reasons for wanting to replace them are:
I don't want the remote to fail or be lost or relay to fail, and when it does, it will of course be with both fans and lights on
They are consistently left on because they are outside on far end of house; I want to add them to a rule that powers them down at the right time/state
Requirements:
Zwave
Hubitat can control both light and fans independently; for example lights can be on while fans is off and vice versa; I know how to open up the fan and rewire if necessary
Need to also install a manual wife-friendly light and fan switch where there is none today; I would prefer no wiring since this is outdoors and the walls are cement block stucco, but I can also install indoors nearby as long as the placement is logical (wife-friendly); I'm thinking alongside an existing light switch
Any ideas on what gear to get in order to solve this?
I have intermediate residential electrical knowledge/experience. I can install and wire just about any fixture and switch safely (up to code), and also have good instincts on what NOT to do even if noone will ever see it.
If you don't want to wire anything, I use the Bond controller that learns fan remote RF commands from multiple fans as well as fireplace remotes.
or
The device doesn't need to be in the same room and has pretty good range. There is a user driver and app that integrates these into HE.
Allows me to turn on/off/adjust fan speed/light level easily. Doesn't require any rewiring. If you choose to go the Zwave switch route, you'll need to remove the fan's current RF module (usually located in fan canopy)
Yes, that's how it works. Once configured, they appear as devices, so I'd say that any button controller ZigBee, Z-Wave, Lutron should work. I use Picos around the house to control non-Lutron lights which works perfectly. I don't use them for fan control though -- I prefer voice.
Aren't you glad you made the switch to Hubitat?!! None of us wanted Wink to go through the slow agonizing declining spiral it appears to be in. But it was switching that made me realize how handicapped Wink was relative to other options.
Thanks … yea, Wink was very limiting … Hubitat is quite flexible, but also has its quirks, but I'm learning to work through those. But for the most part, so far, so good. Happy Holidays as well!!
I added the code for the app and the driver, but I cannot get any devices to show up or work when I add them manually.
I did configure the app.
Gave it the IP address and also the token. I set the IP address to static and can confirm that when I move to next step the HUBITAT app can see the two devices I've configured.
Any idea which way to go to get them to be controlled from within Hubitat?
I had to add the correct drivers for the devices I have in BOND.
In my case I needed a FAN with DIRECTION and FAN LIGHT.
The logs hinted at not being able to created a certain devices so I tried other drivers. I did not add all because I did not want to add any more than I needed.
Thanks.
Works great so far.
Now I just need a physical switch for it to be wife friendly.
Thinking of the Inovelli Red Series with scene control.
One click = lights on/off (only used at peak brightness)
Two click = fans on/off (only used in one speed)
Three clicks = pertinent scene on/off (all the right things turn on/off for her in the terrace entertainment area)
One click = lights on/off (only used at peak brightness)
Two click = fans on/off (only used in one speed)
Three clicks = pertinent scene on/off (all the right things turn on/off for her in the terrace entertainment area)
Hold up for 3 secs = all on
Hold down for 3 secs = all off
Wife/daughter approval factor is high in the household.
However, I ran into an issue.
If the light is already OFF, and I activate a SCENE that is supposed to turn the light OFF, then the light simply toggles and actually turns the light ON when in fact what I want is the light to be turned OFF.
I think the root cause is that the fan's signal from BOND is a toggle rather than an explicit ON or OFF.
I made a rule triggered by the virtual switch that checks the existing status of the light and if it isn't already in the state it is in, then it sets it to the state I want, otherwise it does nothing.
It uses an IF and then an END IF conditional statement in the rule.
The magic is being allowed to check the current state before taking action (or inaction).
So far it works as long as I do not use the BOND app to change states which will get them out of sync. This works for me since I did not plan to use the BOND app and want to delegate everything to HUBITAT.
I was inspired by this Wink Relay solution, except mine seems a lot less complicated (probably since it doesn't have to account for Wink Relay loads logic:
In the end, there is a noticeable delay between button push and fan taking action, but that is not the logic of the virtual button, that is Hubitat-->BOND-->RF-->Fan communication. There was always a noticeable delay between fan and its original RF remote. I just have to live with it if I keep RF in the mix.
In the end this solution works great without having to disassemble fans and rewire them.
The only issue is that the remote has the same effect as using BOND app. Since my wife and daughter like the remote option, I will replace that remote with another Hubitat supported Z-wave remote.
Need help. I've added the BOND app Integration loaded into Hubitat, and it does pick up the 2 fans I have. I have one fan that is 3 speeds and reversible. The other is 6 speeds, reversible and has non dimmable light. Tried several device drivers without luck. Any suggestions? Thanks!!
But for the most part, so far, so good. Happy Holidays as well!!
