I know it’s too late in the process for any changes to this product, but I’ve only recently discovered inovelli products (thanks to the hubitat live episode) and just discovered this thread. I hope comments here can still be considered for future products or revisions.
I’d also prefer a stand alone module that installs in the fan canopy, similar to the Hampton Bay module. With that type of device, you don’t have to worry about whether the fan and light are wired to a single switch or two separate switches, or whether there is a neutral wire to the switch box. All the wiring needed is sure to be right there above the fan. This also allows the customer flexibility in choosing the type of switch they want to use. By all means, make a switch designed to control the fan module, even to pair to it directly if you want, but don’t make the fan module dependent on the switch. By doing so, you really limit the potential use cases for the product.
Another thought - The Hampton Bay module has both a zigbee radio and a seperate RF radio for their remote control. You could do something like that in v2 - include both a z-wave radio for using the fan module in a stand-alone setup, and the 2.4ghz RF radio for use connecting to your switch. Then offer the fan module for sale by itself as well as bundled with the switch.
I hope that gives you something to consider for future versions/products.
Can I just say I’m loving this company. Brand New to home automation (was in a smaller first I knew I was eventually moving out of previously, so never took the plunge). Got the for pack of red series dimmers and hubitat elevation and have been very happy to far.
This fan control though… I’m psyched. I was looking for something for a while as my go to, for exactly the reason someone mentioned earlier… Old houses never have two switches… ceiling fans didn’t exist when they ran electric to swap out the gas lamps (true for my last house, possibly not this one but close). I’m lucky the room I’m looking at first has neutrals in both the switch and ceiling box. The old house was nothing but switch loops. But I should be on board for version 1 when it comes out!
Also, while I see the allure of a zwave module in the canopy, I’d like to voice my support for the currently planned design. I’ve gone with zwave dimmers rather than bulbs because my rule is I need to be able to still turn my lights on even if I screw up my home automation network (i.e augment don’t replace). Nothing makes for an angrier spouse than the lights not turning on because “that computer geek stuff off yours isn’t working”. So I kinda of like the proprietary RF link between the switch and the canopy as long as it’s unique per pair such that I can use these in multiple rooms without interference?
Until I saw this post I was looking at the insteon fan controller… Would have put be in their proprietary automation scheme and still would need configurations working properly or the light wouldn’t turn on… So that was going to be non ideal… Very glad I saw this… Definitely holding out for the beginning of the year!
Wondering if this or something else is the product I’m needing. I have a switchbox with 2 switches and no neutrals. one switch controls the lights on the porch and the other goes to the living room ceiling fan that also has the lights. so one wire goes to outside lights and one to inside light/fan combo.
I want to control to lights inside. control of the fan would be a plus but not needed. Is there a way to achieve this now (sans rewiring) or would I need to wait for the v2 of this?
My thoughts were maybe a zwave micro switch in the fan box for the lights and another for the fan with the smart switch on the outside light line and set it to leave the power on (put outside lights on a motion detector?) and use the scene controller function to switch the inside lights and fan? but then what do i do with the inside switch? i don’t want any post-it notes or switch covers.
Welcome to the forum! Glad to have you as a part of this community.
Right now, you can do this with a Dimmer Switch to control the light. They were designed for use in a non-neutral scenario. For the fan control, you would be interested in project windy city. Project hurricane is designed for people who have 1 switch to control the light and the fan.
My house has the same setup as you so I cannot wait for Windy City more than this personally.
I literally lol’d at your geek stuff comment. My wife says I have the dumbest smart house cause I am always testing stuff there. Oops. ha ha.
Welcome to the community though!
P.S. Our Ilumin bulbs work off a direct association with the switch so if the automation network goes out, you can still function your lights. However the Hubitat hub runs locally so you should be good to go there.
Right now, if done in Z-Wave for the module too, it would cause an interference I believe. This is why we went with RF. Our initial though too was that people with the current RF module’s would be able to not have to swap out their old one but I don’t think that was the case.
FWIW, I’d much prefer having the wall button controller be nothing but a scene controller or multilevel switch that didn’t actually control any loads, and then all the load control happens in the ceiling module.
THAT SAID, such a setup would be more or less useless for anyone who can’t create associations in their hub (Wink etc). I know back in the olden days (z-wave gen1 products) you could create an association between two products with a pairing procedure (IE put one thing in ‘learn’ mode, then push the button on the second thing). Not sure if that’s still a supported part of the Z-Wave protocol since now hubs can direct associations. It would also mean a more troublesome install for less technical people as you couldn’t ship the two pieces pre-paired from the factory, you know at least some people will install the thing and bury it in their ceiling without reading the manual and then RMA it when it doesn’t work the first time they push the button.
That is my situation - 1 switch to control both light and fan - with no neutral. I mentioned the other switch (which goes to a light outside - also no neutral in box) as more information as that my open more options with scene controllers and such.
@EricM_Inovelli, @anon14959390 - Will this v1 switch have the same compatibility with smart bulbs, as your dimmer does, or will it cut power to the light when the light portion of the switch is off? Iftge answer is no, is this something that can e added via the OTA update or require upgrading to the v2 version?
Will you have separate channels for the RF module so that multiple switches and fans can co-exist? IE – switch 1 should control light1+fan 1 and switch 2 should control light2+fan2 – if they are close together, we wouldn’t want switch 2 to inadvertently cause fan/light1 to turn on or off…
Also – if you need a beta tester that uses OpenHab 2 let me know… I need at least 4 of these things, and I’m pretty sure I have the right things to upgrade firmware if needed.
Hello, love the company and all you guys are doing, especially this one!
I have one question, will there be an opportion to add an auxiliary switch with both the fan and light? In one room in my house I have a three-way setup right now using a Lutron device that seems similar to this one but no z-wave.
I have 2 switch, single gang. I had recently run 14/3 to get separate switches for the ceiling fan & light. Is this still the right product for this situation?
I know eta requests are generally frowned upon but how soon out (approximately ) is the no neutral version? I am wanting to get my single switch fan\light included in my home automation setup but the fan and no neutral are creating issues. I have considered putting a relay in the attic where the neutral would be and then adding a no neutral dimmer in scene control mode to the other switch in the box (controls a different light - outside porch light). But I really don’t want to add extra complications.
I only heard about your company a couple of weeks ago when I got my first Z-wave plus hub and a few different vendors’ dimmer switches (including the Red Series) to try out.
I’m just catching up on the forum discussions and I’m excited about Project Hurricane. I initially saw the Project Windy City topic, thinking that was all you had on the roadmap, but this is actually what I want I have light fixtures with a single switch with load/line/neutral that I want to replace with fan + LED light combos, so the single switch solution is ideal.
Some comments/questions:
I live in a condo building with about 60+ WiFi SSIDs points visible, with a mix of 2.4GHz and 5GHz, and an unknown number of client devices from my family and neighbours. Because of the distance from front to back of each single-floor unit, 2.4GHz tends to work better, and many of my neighbours have some sort of repeater or multi-AP solution due to “WiFi issues” they experienced after moving in. I glanced through this long thread and noted some discussion about this as only being an issue with an “insane” number of devices. Am I close?
Along the same lines, given the short distance to neighbouring units, if my neighbours had similar fan/light combos with Project Hurricane or close enough RF modules, I estimate that considering ceiling height, floor depth, and wall thickness in the rooms where I want to install this, I would be installing within about 12-15 feet of three neighbours’ similar installations (above, below and to one side). If they were standing with an RF remote next to our wall, they’d be within 6 feet or so through a double dry-wall. How secure would the pairing between Project Hurricane RF module and switch be, from interference, and from accidental/deliberate control by someone else on the other side of the drywall from my rooms?
We’re about to purchase at least one fan with LED light, and possibly another couple later. Can you provide some sense of dimensions of the ceiling module and what we should look for in a fan? My wife has been researching a fan + LED light combo based on fit with the overall “modern” style of our interior decor, but we’re thinking about waiting until you launch this product Some guidance here would help regarding showstoppers. Some examples:
and many more I won’t include. That just gives you a sense of the options and possible limitations. The list will narrow to something with a DC motor and dimmable LED that works with your product, but let’s just say it’s an ongoing discussion at home
Some come with their own remotes, and I don’t know how “standard” that is (i.e. interoperable). I’ve never installed a fan before, so I’m somewhat ignorant of what’s out there (in terms of internal operation).
Thanks in advance. It’s so great to see product development happen in the open like this, with customer involvement.
I have the desire to help beta test this switch, one location is in my office where the WAF can be eliminated . I would just remove my Zigebee Hampton Bay fan setup, for what I hope is a better solution in this product.
What is the final design look like for wiring wise? It looks like initial designs started with wiring going in to switch (like existing dimmers) but the final design shows pigtals?
What is the reason for using pigtail wiring? I notice other fan/light switch does the same as well and it sucks since it requires using bulky wire nuts that don’t work nicely with stranded wires.
Also would this work in a case where fan and light are separate (ie 2 loads/lines) or is it specifically designed for 2 loads sharing a single line?
Guys! These look really sharp and if they’re anything like the dimmers, they’ll be well worth waiting for! If you need any additional help, feel free to add me to your long list of beta testers.
. I would just remove my Zigebee Hampton Bay fan setup, for what I hope is a better solution in this product.