I want to transition to a smart home, and after some research Hubitat looks like it might be a good fit.
I have a 1940's home and we're in the process of redoing our kitchen.
We're going to update our ancient HVAC system in the next year, and once of the main things I'm interested in is having our HVAC system work with our soon-to-be-replaced ceiling fans. Our house has vents about 7' off the floor, which is a drag in the winter since all the warm air just stays up there and doesn't circulate as much as we'd like.
I think that adding some smart fans and/or plugs, and then setting up some logic where they'll run when the HVAC goes on and someone is at home would be a help.
Any guidance on this (say, a fan, or something in the fan AC wiring)? I was going to get a new ceiling fan for our main living area since our contractor will be running new wire up there anyway as part of the kitchen remodel. Then, once we get a new HVAC system installed I would install an EcoBee. Our current two wire thermostat will have to do for the meantime.
Additionally, we're installing undercabinet lighting and I'd like to schedule the lights to go on during the evenings when we're at home. Is that something to set up in the outlets and wiring, or am I better served to look at the units themselves? FWIW, we're a semi-Google home (Android, Chromebooks).
Just my opinion, but I would find the fan you like and then add a controlled light switch/dimmer switch and a controlled fan switch. There are a number of Z-Wave ones out there for either and I am sure there must be ZigBee ones also if you prefer that. Just make sure you get Z-Wave Plus. This combination works well in 3 rooms of our house.
There are fans that can be controlled directly, but there are only so many types of those and controllers that can be used directly (like the Hampton Bay one, which I also have) have some tradeoffs with range and remotes/manual control I have since learned.
For the undercabinet lighting... Many options for that, from RGBW LED strips to controlling outlets for single color ones. I guess I would follow up with a couple questions on this one (sorry):
Do you want a single color or controllable colors?
Do you want a single color that can be changed (controllable color using a remote for example, but Hubitat handles the on/off only)?
Are the cabinets one long set or a bunch of separate sections?
Normally people install a ceiling fan/light combination. There are a huge selection of these and by themselves they are not smart. In order to make them smart you install a smart switch for the lights and smart fan controller for the fan. BY FAR THE MOST IMPORTANT THING TO DO IS RUNNING SEPARATE WIRING FOR THE LIGHT AND THE FAN.
In many older homes (mine included), the ceiling fan/light combo has been installed where a light used to be. That means a switch (smart or not) is either sending power to this combo or it is not. This switch can be made smart but this does not allow for separate smart control of the light and the fan. There are many threads on this site on how to deal with this problem (a Hampton Bay Zigbee fan controller is a popular solution), but you want to avoid any of these solutions if you have the option. By running separate wiring for the light and for the fan you easily have the most desirable solution and that then becomes easy to make smart. Simply install a smart switch for the light, and a smart fan controller and your done.
I won't need a fan/light combo, since this space will already have recessed can lights. The fan will just serve to circulate the air.
For the undercabinet lighting, just one color of light is fine which hubitat controls on/off, and maybe brightness
there are several (4) upper cabinet sections
So for the fan, since it's just a fan and not a combo, no separate wiring, and add a Zigbee or Zwave switch? And then that could work with something like IFTTT (or whatever) to run when the heat goes on?
There would be no need for IFTTT with an Ecobee thermostat. There is an Ecobee integration with Hubitat. Also, since Ecobee isn't tied to the internal temperature sensor, you could mount it anywhere convenient (run wires from the furnace to the Ecobee location) and put the Ecobee remote temperature sensors at one or more "central" locations.
