New 2021 topic on ceiling fan controls - Everything on the market is too limited!

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So far I have found only one 4 speed fan control on the market that I would trust that is compatible with HA is the Lutron Caseta and it has a serious problem with speed level "3". The distance between level "2" and level "3" is too close and the distance between level "3" and level "4" is too far. If speed "3" was at the right level this controller might be more functional.

I don't understand why all of the manufacturers limit the smart control of fan speeds to 3 levels. I have a fan in my office/lab at home with three extremely bright LED lights (150 watt equivalent) on a Lutron dimmer which work great for the lighting but for the fan I can only get 3 speeds in the Z-wave or Zigbee arena and 4 that don't work right from Lutron. Hampton bay used to have what looks like a decent controller but it is no longer available.

I believe that the fan speed is phase controlled and as an engineer I am very close to spending the time to design a control box, but that will have to sit up in the attic or in a closet somewhere due to the size I would have to hand build it at.

Please, someone come up with a 6 speed or variable speed fan control that works with HA (and subsequently the competitors)!

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Then you know that the problem is the inductance of the motor windings varies all over the place, manufacturer to manufacturer, lot run to lot run. Equally, cheap capacitors are +-20%.

Those two values determine the speed. You'll void the warranty on the Lutron device, but you can swap out the middle speed cap.

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Definitely following as I've been in search of same for my radon fan. The limited options of 25%, 50%, and 100% found in the Jasco smart fan controls result in way too little vacuum pressure or full blast.

Currently, I have an energy monitoring smart switch fronting a Pass & Seymour rotary full range fan speed control, but I'd sure like to make it smart. If I need to make an adjustment (e.g., a day that is abnormally humid, hot or cold, I need to throttle back the suction), I have to go to the utility room and turn a physical dial just like they did in the olden days.

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The fan market is switching over to DC motors in mid- to higher-end product lines for noise and efficiency reasons too. The pull-chain type controllers don't work with them. So they all have proprietary controllers. Some of them have APIs. Some don't. This market is going to be the wild west for a while IMO.

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I would love to see a video or photo demonstration of swapping out that cap, If I had confidence, I would do it. I don't have a lot of extra time to experiment though I would like to. If someone has figured it out, please post it somewhere.

I figured out how to add an z-wave satellite control switch the smart Leviton LTBKT series vent fan timer and posted it somewhere (I think).

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What's the rating on the innovelllii speed controls?

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The Inovelli has you set the fan to its highest speed manually, and then it operates similar to a dimmer giving you a full range of speeds 0-100%

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The LZW36 really only does three speeds, or at least that is my experience and the Inovelli Community consensus (I can't find this in their marketing material either way). Well, three plus "breeze mode" (which they've reserved Z-Wave level 1 for).

But if you're looking for something to buy now, it won't matter either way: they've halted sales until they figure out the canopy module disconnection issue some users were reporting. (The wall module uses Z-Wave, then it's some proprietary wireless protocol to the ceiling module, which is where the issue was.)

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Yeah, I was excited to read @thebearmay post but wanted to verify for sure. I've poured through the LZW36 specifications and marketing literature and find absolutely no mention that it provides continuously variable speed control. I would like to see that if it is indeed the case.

I know Inovelli is a good company with some good products, but I've never ever gone to their site to buy something and found what I wanted in stock.

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I normally just feed it a level value, but looking at the driver

...
                if (cmd.value == 1) {
                    childDevice.sendEvent(name: "speed", value: "auto")
                } else if (cmd.value > 1 && cmd.value <= 33) {
                    childDevice.sendEvent(name: "speed", value: "low")
                } else if (cmd.value > 33 && cmd.value <= 66) {
                    childDevice.sendEvent(name: "speed", value: "medium")
                } else if (cmd.value > 66) {
                    childDevice.sendEvent(name: "speed", value: "high")
                } else {
                     childDevice.sendEvent(name: "speed", value: "off")
...


    switch (value) {
        case "low":
            return childSetLevel("${device.deviceNetworkId}-ep002",33)
        break
        case "medium-low":
        case "medium":
        case "medium-high":
            return childSetLevel("${device.deviceNetworkId}-ep002",66)
        break
        case "high":
            return childSetLevel("${device.deviceNetworkId}-ep002",99)
        break
        case "auto":
            return childSetLevel("${device.deviceNetworkId}-ep002",1)
        break
        case "on":
            return childOn("${device.deviceNetworkId}-ep002")
        break
        case "off":
            return childOff("${device.deviceNetworkId}-ep002")
        break

It appears that they've only implemented 3 (33, 66, 99), but the fact that they are sending the level value may indicate that more might be possible.

1 Like
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They are really responsive in email. Any spec questions will be answered quickly

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I'm sure they would. But especially now that @thebearmay pointed out how the LWZ36 handles the values, there is no reason to think it is capable of more than three speeds. The Jasco fan control also lets you specify any level you want between 0 and 100, but it only does 25%, 50%, and 100%.

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This only partly addresses your point, but I'll just mention that the Leviton zwave fan controller ZW4SF has 4 speeds, not three.
Their old Vizia RF one VRF01 only had 3 speeds (I had several of these and over time they decreased to only 1 or 2 speeds - the higher speeds gradually stopped working).
I've been happy with the ZW4SF so far.

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This controller does 4 speeds and works with the bond integration for local control.

https://www.homedepot.com/p/Universal-Smart-Wi-Fi-4-Speed-Ceiling-Fan-Remote-Works-with-Google-Assistant-SmartThings-and-Alexa-99434/311264804

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I have successfully used one or two zooz zen52 double relays and replaced the pull chain switch in my fans. Zwave fan control with factory fan speeds. Turned a four speed fan into a six speed fan.