I have a ceiling mounted fan that I got from Amazon a year or two ago in the UK. It's really handy but is causing WAF (and HAF) issues. The problem is that it's operated by remote control. In the middle of the night, my wife or myself wake and decide it's too hot and want to turn the fan on. An argument could erupt if the remote cannot be found without turning on the light or clambering over one another as it's bound to be on the wrong bedside.
I'd like to automate it but it's an unknown Chinese model (remote is marked 'Newday') with no model identifiers on the product. I know for certain it's a radio remote as I can wander into another room with the remote and operate it through walls.
A peruse on ChatGPT seems to think I may be able to buy something that can copy the radio signals used by the remote and 'replay' them (it mentioned flashing something with Tasmota). That would be great as I'd simply set up both of our existing bedside buttons to send commands.
Does anyone have any idea what I'd need to attempt such an automation? TIA
Bond isn't readily available in UK. I'm hoping to bodge a solution from Amazon so that if it doesn't work I can return it! I just found this Tuya Zigbee thingymawatsit that looks promising....:
Really? Hmmm that is possibly a more interesting option. I recently posted another query regarding turning on an IR device remotely (Virgin Media TV Box) and the Broadlink RM Pro was the solution there (plenty available on eBay for about £20 IIRC). That might kill two birds with one stone.
Edit: Broadlink RM4 Pro is on Amazon UK £50 with same day delivery - ordered it
You connect it with the phone app to your wifi, then there is a setting in the phone app to allow for local control. You get the IP from the phone app settings, and you use that in the integration and it becomes a local device.
The driver is also a button device, so you can assign button numbers to trigger automations, though you can call the driver command sendCode from any automation directly, such as in RM. Use the command to send something like sendCode("fan high"), and it references the code you named "fan high" and it sends that code.
@chrisbvt Brilliant. Thanks for the additional information. I've just got to hope that the existing codes from the remote copy across. Then I'll just use button controller to map presses from my Sonoff Orb buttons. They do single, double, triple press & hold with my driver so hopefully I can do low, medium, high and off using just one of the 4 physical buttons)
I can also relate to your use case. We use echo for controlling the bedroom fan.
"I'm cold" turns the fan on low
"I'm warm" turns the fan on medium.
We don't use high setting, as it makes a mini hurricane in the room.
"I'm hot" turns the fan on medium and sets the AC one degree cooler (only used in summer)
Still, we can wake each other up with the echo commands in the middle of the night, so I also have a Zigbee button mounted to the headboard. It is set-up so that when it is pressed, it turns the fan on low if it is on medium, and it turns the fan to medium if the fan is on low, for silent speed changes, without needing to search for a remote or find the right button.
You can also expand the automation by adding a temperature sensor. I use WebCoRE, though you could probably do the same thing with Rule Machine.
The idea is simple: if the temperature reaches a certain point and remains there for a set period of time, the system can turn the fan on or off, or adjust the fan speed accordingly. That’s the approach I use in my setup.
I also have a Zigbee buttons that lets me manually control the fan and temporarily overrides the automation when needed.
Yes, I'd already thought about automating according to room temperature. My Honeywell radiator TRVs report the room temperature and I have an RM rule that closes the curtains in the bedroom in summertime when it gets too hot. I'll set a rule for nighttime to automate the fan.
The one issue I have with my fan is that it emits a loud 'beep' every time it receives a command. Annoying and totally unnecessary - I may have to strip it down and obliterate that component!
I have the same problem with all of the portable ac units. Truly annoying. I researched taking the thing completely apart to get to the “speaker”. Funny thing, we all just got used to it by the time I was finally willing to void the warranty by disassembling the units!
I second the idea with the Zwave or zigbee buttons on each side. I definitely second the temperature based recommendation above. I do the same for the AC units. Each tap up increases the set point (in your case speed), each tap down decreases, as an override to a finely tuned thermostat scheduler and temp sensors in the room. If we find ourselves manually overriding the scheduler a few nights in a row, especially at the same time, the scheduler gets adjusted.
Same here with our bedroom AC. Worse, I control it via IR blaster and a temp sensor, so it switches between cool and fan as the virtual thermostat goes cooling or idle. It beeps every time.
We have tuned it out now, so we don't really notice it anymore. It is all my other devices as well, like my humidifier that works from a humidity sensor and virtual humidistat - beeps when it turns and off.
My electric fireplace too, it is also run by IR, and any changes to it makes a beep.
Some things have a setting to silence the beeps. That really should be universal for every appliance manufactured, to be able to turn beeping off.
Received the RM4 Pro and set up. This morning I've added all of the buttons for my ceiling fan and got it working with my existing Sonoff Orb in Button Controller app. It works great.
Can someone please explain the difference between the Bond Bridge and the Broadlink RM4 Pro, if you just need to control DC ceiling fans? I've had the bond recommended to me in the past but balked at the price. The Broadlink, however, is inexpensive. If my only needed use case is control of RF ceiling fans (no IR), would the Broadlink do all the Bond bridge would do?
The Broadlink RM Pro (including the RM4 Pro) does not send all the same RF frequencies as the Bond Bridge
. While both devices support popular RF frequencies, their ranges differ, and the Bond Bridge is generally more compatible with a wider variety of ceiling fans and shade controllers.
Frequency Differences:
Bond Bridge: Operates in the 300-450 MHz range.
Broadlink RM Pro: Typically limited to 315 MHz and 433 MHz (specifically 305-335 MHz and 430-440 MHz).
Key Takeaways:
Broadlink Limitations: It does not support many of the RF frequencies used by, for instance, certain Hampton Bay fans (e.g., 302.739 MHz). It also does not support rolling codes, which are common in newer garage door openers and some security-focused, higher-end shades.
Bond Advantages: It is designed specifically for fans, fireplaces, and shades, offering a wider 300-450 MHz range.
Overlap: Both devices work well with standard 433 MHz and 315 MHz devices
Thank you, @chrisbvt . I do appreciate the response. I had looked up the same information using Google, and was hoping someone had some "hands-on" experience after using both. I should have been more specific in my question.
I use both -- Broadlink 4-minis (IR-only) for a couple seasonal window fans, and Bond for the single ceiling fan we have (small house).
Bond for just one fan may be overkill, but zero regrets -- it's been a perfectly reliable system for many years now, and I'd happily pay that price again for how easy it is to set up/manage/use, and its overall reliability.
My Broadlinks have also been just fine overall for several years now, but compared to Bond, it's a much finickier and opaque setup.
Though I have no concrete reason for saying this, I simply don't have the same overall confidence in BL as I do Bond.
I'd a thunk you coulda found a remote, somehow, somewhere.
Of course, this seems much cooler.
Lately I bought an extra remote for an adjoining room for a radio from the known mfr rep in the States.
Remotes are an Achilles heel.
Your average TV needs one to work nowadays.
