Uh, what did I order?

My fault I suppose for not reading up more, but I just received my fan and light switch combo, and it’s not what I thought it was at all. I was kind of shocked to find a 2nd component that needs to be installed. The main product page doesn’t show or even mention that piece. I thought I was buying a combo switch (2 switches in 1) to save room in the 3 gang box which is what I needed. I’m not sure I understand the point of this thing. Is it for people that don’t have proper ceiling fan wiring in the home? I guess I need to send it back, what’s the process to start that?

For your first question, yes. It is for ceiling fans that have only 1 or no controlled lines going to them from the box. In many cases these are retrofits from fans that did not have lights or lights that were not fans, or even sometimes newer installs to replace the need to run the extras wires.

As for returning it, I am sure you could submit a support ticket, unless there is a better way (I have never had to return something):

I sent them an email. I’m sure returning will be easy. I would suggest making the product page a bit clearer though as I can’t imagine I’m the first to make this mistake. There is nothing there that says it’s for a special use case. It just looks like any everyday combo switch. I didn’t watch the video or read the manual, but generally I’ve never had to do those things prior to purchasing something.

Hey @waffles2 - a bit confused by your post. The switch is exactly as you described it - a combo switch (2 switches in 1) if you have one line coming down from your ceiling fan it hooks up into the single switch and controls the fan/light together so that you don’t need two separate switches. The 2nd component (I’m assuming you’re talking about the canopy module) goes up into the canopy of your fan and is wired up at the fan on your ceiling. This is how the switch is able to communicate with your fan and light.

What was your idea of what you were receiving? Just curious as to what you thought it would be. We can definitely make some edits to the page to make it more clear. When you hover over the item to click into it, it does show the two different components it comes with - I understand it would be different though if you went to the page directly.

image

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I assumed it was more like the switch below.

This is the style I thought I was buying

These allow 2 separate switches in a single gang box. My house is already wired with 12/3 wiring so I have a wire for both fan and light in place and wouldn’t need this type of switch. I have a 3 gang box with 3 switches currently. 2 different lights were wired to one of those switches. I was trying to squeeze 4 switches into this box so those 2 lights could be independently controlled so I wouldn’t have to rip out the 3 gang box and convert it to a 4.

It’s on the wish list

I will give him 1% credit that the canopy module could be presented in the cover image:
image

However, I’d expect to pay return shipping if I didn’t read the documentation to understand what I was buying upfront. It’s very very very clear what this device is if you spend a minute or so looking at the features/descriptions.

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I assume they will charge me for shipping as thats whats outlined in their return information. Which is also why the dimmer switch I just ordered to replace this unit is coming from Amazon. We live in a world where the big boys make things easy. I know its hard for smaller companies to do that, but when the price is nearly the same I’ll go with the easier option.

Anyways, I’m not trying to start an argument on whos at fault here, but here’s all the text I found on the product page. Which part did I miss?

For use with AC Motors only. Requires Neutral. Ceiling fans only.

Alexa or Google Home?

Smart speakers are NOT Z-Wave hubs so they won’t work directly with any Z-Wave devices. But you can use a compatible Z-Wave hub with smart speaker integration to control your dimmer with voice control. These include the Fibaro hubs, Hubitat, SmartThings, Vera, and Wink.

Still confused? Get in touch!

@waffles2 Just because you have wiring for a separate fan and light switch doesn’t mean you need to use it. I don’t believe what you’re looking for exists anywhere on the market, at least not to my knowledge.

I had the same setup as you. I simply capped off the extra wire in the box and also in the canopy and then wired the fan/light combo switch in where I wanted it and put the canopy module in the fan. It’s quite simple to do. Your only other option will be to run 1 light switch and 1 fan switch, which won’t solve your dilema of freeing up a space in your 3 gang box.

OK gotcha!

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I briefly considered keeping it, but decided against it. The gain that I was going to get for that extra switch in the box was very minimal so it wasn’t worth the effort of rewiring a ceiling fan to me. I’ve got a regular Inovelli dimmer coming to replace the Inovelli On/Off switch in one of the spots. This will be good enough.

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@waffles2 is this more of what you were looking for?

That looks more like what I was looking for yes. Unfortunately I have a phobia about having mismatched switches in the house lol. It’s fine really, I’m good. If Inovelli ever comes out with their own version, I’ll possibly buy one. :slight_smile:

Well I guess it does exist out there! I’m with @waffles2 though, hate having mismatched switches. I do like how this can be controlled via association. I know the LZW36 can be as well, but the dimmers/switches can’t control just the light. :frowning:

Well it’s not exactly the same. The Zooz gives you a relay that can control the fan load but not the speed like the Inovelli can. I have both types of wiring in my house for fans(some where I have separate light/fan wiring… and some where the wiring doesn’t even go to the switch and the switch is a totally separate cirucit). I ended up just using LZW36 for all of them since putting a module in the canopy is easy…

I’ve never really had a desire to control a ceiling fans speed. Low works fine and actually many of the fans stay reversed. Medium and high are just too much for me. We like to keep the air moving, but don’t need a wind chill from it. But I will say the tech does sound pretty cool for those that would use it

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It would usually be a good idea to check out wiring schematics before you purchase, and the instruction manual has the two components clearly shown.

I thought I was the only one who made that mistake :slight_smile:

I agree with @waffles2 - it was not obvious to me that the switch controls a fan and a light in the fan, not another light(s). Maybe it’s because my current fan doesn’t have a light and I’m not even sure if you can have a smart light in a fan.

Anyway, I decided to keep those switches (ordered 5 of them) and will try to reprogram them so that they control smart lights in the same room, not the fan light. I hope it’s possible to achieve with a Smart Light mode.

I agree with the complaint. I wasn’t going to comment, but there are too many excuses being given. The product page should clearly show how it operates. A nice graphic showing the wall switch and fan module with the RF communications indicated should be on the page somewhere.

Saying anyone looking at the product needs to read the manual is a lame excuse. Lots of products end up that way, but it’s poor marketing when the manufacturer doesn’t describe how a product works on the product page. You should be able to easily tell there is a fan module just from reading the product page. If you want to know the specifics of a parameter setting, then sure look at the manual.

On a similar note, the fancy video shows the LED strip for the fan having a nice linear ramp from a little bit on the bottom being illuminated to the whole strip being illuminated. It doesn’t actually do that either. It should show the 3 steps.

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Thanks for the suggestions!