Fan & Light Switch (Project Hurricane)

[Eric_Inovelli]

@gbsmith

@Eric_Inovelli, this is both awesome and frustrating… in that I have to wait to get my hands on it! The marketplace really needs a new fan control. The only common Z-wave FCs I see out there are the GE and Honeywell, and I think they are the same product under the hood (Jasco).

Haha, yeah I know – this has been a request that I’ve heard even before I started Inovelli and was just tinkering with home automation. I’m surprised no one came out with it tbh. So we’re pretty excited!

@gbsmith

Also, where does OpenHAB2 fit into this? The previous line of Inovelli products seemed to play quite well with OH2. Any reason to think this won’t?

Yeah it should work with OH2 – Eric M. who is a literal wizard when it comes to coding will work with whomever over there to make sure it works as he did with the prior versions. Same goes for Hubitat, SmartThings, and there’s one other one but I can’t think of it off the top of my head (similar to OH2).

@gbsmith

The aforementioned units seem to hover around $45.

Saved the best question for last… so those switches mentioned above by GE/Honeywell/Jasco are Fan only switches. Since this one (Project Hurricane) is a fan + light (which also has to include a module), it will be a little more expensive than this. On top of that, the tariffs have not helped at all and I’m hoping by the time this launches those will be sorted out, but who knows. We’re still working on pricing, but I can assure you we will maintain our promise to keep things affordable.

For a fan only switch, we did start this project which will be released after Project Hurricane, which is located here: Fan Switch | Project Windy City - ON HOLD

@gbsmith

Another thing that crossed my mind. A lot of houses like mine have separate fan and fan light switches in the wall. Replacing that with this single switch will leave a hole. While that can be blocked off with a filler plate, it would be cool if there were another (paddle switch sized) useful device that could occupy that space on the switch plate. Something like a combo temp/humidity/motion sensor or similar? (Or perhaps just a HAL-9000 style eye? )

Yeah definitely – my house is a bit weird in that some rooms have separate light/fan switches whereas others only have one. What you could do in this situation is use the standalone fan switch (mentioned above) along with either a dimmer or On/Off switch.

Or we could go the HAL-9000 style and start producing something like the Eye of Sauron Fibaro produces (https://www.amazon.com/Fibaro-FGMS-001-ZW5-motionsensor-Multisensor-FGMS-001/dp/B01KOGDETI)

Stuff of nightmares right there!

@mgreenb561

If you had switches that could pop in, similar to how circuit breakers pop into a panel.

Ah sorry @mgreenb561, I meant to respond to this in another thread (I think it was you). Yeah I personally love this idea. I’m curious on the logistics and certifications (whether UL will allow it) but it seems like Swidget was able to come up with an in-wall outlet that is exactly what you’re talking about (I remember seeing them via a Z-Wave Newsletter or something and thought, “dang, that’s an amazing idea”): https://swidget.com/