I’m struggling to get this combination to work. The fan has a “smart” or slow start so it doesn’t just kick on right of way. I installed the fan controller and it seemed to work a few times, but it’s sporadic. Most of the time it won’t spin up… I’m wondering if it’s something about their smart start etc.
So I’m using the Whisper model from Home Depot. It spins up every time with the on/off mode. Been running for almost a year (beta unit) with an old school vent fan and this new whisper one for like 5 months.
Your using the fan and not the regular 2 in 1?
What settings do you have? I thought I had it in on/off with no ramp.
On zigbee2mqtt
Not sure either. Just pulled and swapped back to dumb switch.
I’ll get it on my bench in a bit and play with the settings…
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It’s odd that it works then it doesn’t. Wondering if zigbee2mqtt is changing a setting… but all my settings look logical
@signbit is having a problem with a WhisperGreen as well. @harjms is running a WhisperChoice. I was wondering if the DC motor was the issue, but @harjms has a DC motor (but wired to a beta switch).
Perhaps the control boards between the two models are different. Or something changed between beta switches and production switches.
Inovelli is discussing @signbit’s issue with the manufacurer.
So I’m not crazy…
Not at all! I also sent Eric a message about my experiences with the Whisper but on the beta switch. Perhaps the manufacturer can narrow down an issue that way.
Or my fan was made on a Tuesday-Thursday.
Lol… that’s the exact behavior I’m having with mine.
This is a neutral wire install right?
Correct. With neutral
I’m using Panasonic WhisperFit fans (FV-0511VF1) with the Blue Fan switches, which work fine.
Are you certain it’s wired right? (Line and Load connected to the right leads)
Are you using one with a humidity or motion sensor?
Do you have a neutral wire connected to the switch?
Neutral is wired. Yes wired correctly. No humidity sensors or anything.
Mine is the WhisperGreen FV-0511VKSL2
I’m guessing that there are some differences in the control circuitry between models.
So far, the WhisperFit and WhisperChoice have been reported as compatible. The WhisperGreen has been reported as not working. (@efaden and @signbit)
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I have a Panasonic WhisperChoice exhaust fan and a Blue Fan Switch that I’ve been meaning to install in there. I’ll try and get it in tomorrow and let you know how it works on my end. My switch will be from this first round of orders, so not a beta switch.
The Panasonic exhaust fans can have quite complicated wiring. I just installed one that has seven wires in it, all for different purposes. 3 are related to the integrated light, but even discounting that, it’s still a 4-wire fan. The first thing I’d recommend doing for troubleshooting is making absolutely certain which wires are which, and how you’re connecting the inovelli switch. This will require testing with a multimeter.
Panasonic has a 9-year-old youtube video explaining the wiring. The way they handle the light/night light has changed since the video, but the fan parts are still accurate.
On mine, (excluding the light wires) the wires in the fan (in the junction box attached to the top of the fan) are:
- Neutral (white). This is the only one that’s simple.
- Constant hot for the fan (Black). This powers the electronics which handle things like delayed start, automatic start based on plug-in humidity/motion sensors, and multi-speed for constant low-speed ventilation. It also powers the fan.
- Dry contact 1 (red)
- Dry contact 2 (also red, indistinguishable from dry contact 1).
The two dry contacts are not suitable for any AC voltage on them. They are only supposed to be either connected to each other or disconnected, using a dumb switch or a dry contact relay (which inovelli doesn’t make). I remember metering them an I think what I found was that one of them was connected to the AC neutral and the other had a small DC voltage on it, applied by the electronics of the fan, which got pulled down to neutral when the dry contacts were closed.
If you have a setup that runs constant power to the fan, then dry contacts to a dumb switch, you will not be able to replace that dumb switch with an inovelli switch. In my house, I’m actually putting relays on all the “constant” hots for my bath fans, so I can monitor power consumption and cut off the fan if I really want it off, even when the built-in humidity sensor would otherwise have it on.
I can confirm that when wired to the “constant power” wires of the Panasonic WhisperGreen Select FV-0511VKS2, my VZM35-SN Inovelli Blue Series Fan Switch works exactly the same as a dumb switch on those conductors would, using the default, out-of-the-box configuration (exhaust fan). This is true with no modules installed, and also with both the humidity sensor and multi-speed modules installed. The behavior in those cases is different, but is exactly what the (complicated) manufacturer documentation says will happen.
I compared it to another one I have of the same model in a different bathroom, which has a hard relay on its power conductor. The only difference I observed was that on both fans, about 6 seconds after I turned the power on, the fan moved about 1/16 of a rotation, then stopped, but on the fan connected to the inovelli switch the direction of rotation was backwards, while the one on the hard relay rotated forwards. In both cases, about 10 seconds after I turned the power on, the fan started slowly spinning up to full speed, in the normal, forwards direction.