This one fan automation has me stumped, Pico Fan Relay?

Shared Power

I thought I might have a easy solution to automate the above wiring sketch for our Kitchen Fan/Light using Inovelli's Blue Switch and Fan Canopy Module. The problem I quickly ran into was finding that the fan's A/C power is downstream from a ceiling track light fixture. I cannot get this power moved to the fan first because of the position of the ceiling rafters. We light having both the track lights and fan lights powered on by the Zooz Zen26 switch.

Inovelli Solution

I purchased the Inovelli Blue Series Smart Fan Switch and Blue Series Smart Fan Light Canopy Module. I th ought we could live with the module only controlling the fan motor power/speeds when the power to a Fan/Light would be on. When power to the fan is turned off at the switch, the Inovelli blue canopy controller would be offline. T

The final blow to this design was that the Blue Series Smart Fan Light Canopy Module is too wide by ~0.20" and will not fit within the Hampton fan/light ceiling cover's place for a controller module. The module's dimensions are : Depth = 1" (2.54cm), Height = 3" (7.62cm), Width = 2.13" (5.41cm).

Your Thoughts are Welcomed

  1. Perhaps their is a pico Z-Wave or Zigbee relay that can installed in the fan's canopy area that provides an open/close to the A/C fan motor wire? Here are some pico sized relays that I found, if you know of any others that can perform 120 volt relay open/close, please comment below.

Well you already have the Inovelli fan module, so it's a bummer it doesn't fit the canopy. Can you return them?

I approached this differently when we had an AC fan motor. I bought the Caséta fan controller that doesn't need a canopy module. Then I added a double-gang plate and a pico to control smart bulbs in the fan. Of course this meant running another line to the fan with constant power for the bulbs. This was easier in our former 1920s house, than running another line to the switch box would have been.

Some suggestions for you might be to find a larger canopy if possible, or change to a DC fan.

When we moved into the new house, we chose a nice looking fan, but it has a DC motor. Nice and quiet, but this meant that my Inovelli Red Fan/Light controller canopy module couldn't be used. The fan has an RF remote, so I bought a Broadlink RM 4 Pro and captured the codes with @tomw 's driver. The nice part about an RF controlled fan rather than IR is that I can have the RM4 Pro in another room and it still works fine.

I still use my Inovelli Fan/Light switch, but it's only as a button controller for the fan and light. For the track light, you could add a Caséta Pico to a double-gang plate (if you have Pico buttons). If you don't have Lutron Pico switches and buttons, that's a very nice addition to your smart home that you'll never regret.

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So I did a little online research and found this.

hamptonbay-3-speed-ceiling-fan-switch-wiring

So I get this idea. Get two Zen52 multi relays. 3 of the relays replace the speed switch and one relay for the lights. I looked at my own hampton bay pull chain fans and the enclosure looks big enough. Then you have to make a rule for your button presses to cause the relays to step through the various wiring combinations.

Maybe switch poles 2 and 3 on one relay and pole 1 on another. Then the rule would only allow control of the relay with 2 and 3 on it if the relay on pole 1 is off.

Maybe get a Zen51 single relay for the track lights.

Your wall switches would act as a master on off.

I have not done this myself and only offer this as something to be considered given your skill and confidence levels as it is not a turn key solution and relies on assumptions I have not tested.

In my case I replaced the wall switch on/off switch with a Levition ZW4SF and set the pull chain to high and removed the extension chain. That solution does work perfectly. As a bonus it changed my 3 speed fan to a 4 speed.

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Lowes and Home Depot carry universal canopy brackets. Bring the Inovelli module with you and check them to see if it will fit in these universal brackets and if so use it instead.

I had to do this years ago.

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  1. Keep Inovelli Blue Canopy module. It will give you very smooth fan speed control in a Dimmer Mode with @bertabcd1234 driver and of course, a dimmer for the fan lights.
  2. Add a small inline dimmer (or relay if dimming is not needed) module for the track lights.
  3. Use a multi-button scene controllers in both locations.
  4. Rewire all fixture to provide uninterrupted power in each location for the device in fixture.
    This is a key point - power must be uninterrupted in each fixture.
  5. Use an RM (or whatever you like) and create a set of rules for controlling all your devices.
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