It seems the blue fan switch has a lot of great features, but most don’t matter to exhaust fans that have a single speed. Additionally, it only works with AC not DC exhaust fans.
If you’re only going to control exhaust fans, is the upcoming on/off switch a better choice? Is there any reason to get the fan switch instead?
The On/Off switch is a better fit for a bathroom exhaust fan IMO. Since the goal is to evacuate moisture as quickly as possible, you want the fan running at full speed, so an on/off makes sense. You still have the full set of extra capabilities like timers and the like. Additionally, some using the newer Panasonic Whisper series fans encountered issues controlling it with the fan switch.
Can you expand on the Panasonic Whisper series issue? I just got one of those fans and have a blue fan switch being delivered tomorrow that I plan(ned) to use to control it. I actually came here to ask if anyone has come up with a home assistant automation that runs an Inovelli switch like one of those timer switches where you press on to increase the time on and the side LEDs would indicate time remaining. I actually ordered a few of the on/off switches, another one would control the vent fan in the water closet where a VOC sensor would be a lot more interesting than humidity.
Sure. IIRC, the issue was with the WhisperGreen model. I think the WhisperChoice worked for at least one user. Here is the thread:
I’ve got the WhisperWarm, but know that I can’t use the Inovelli for the heater part so I was just planning to use it for the vent fan function which uses a separate switch. Any comments on the odds of that being ok? Looking at the install instructions the WhisperWarm FV-0511VH1 I’ve got (which doesn’t have a light) has 4 wires - one black for vent, one black for heat, white neutral, and ground. It doesn’t have a humidity sensor. Nothing is powered all the time. The motor does come on slowly. I’m not looking to control fan speed, simple on/off.
I think all the Panasonic exhaust fans are DC, so this won’t work properly.
If you want to try it and remove doubt that it will be a problem, turn it on for a minute, then off for ten minutes, then come back and try again.
That’s a good point. The WhisperWarm that @sprior is enquiring about does have a DC fan and so it’s not compatible with the fan switch.
@Bry I thought that since I was not planning to do any speed control with the switch, strictly on/off that I’d be ok even with the DC motor. No?
Unfortunately, no. There is a lot of confusion surrounding the on/off function of the dimmers and fan controls. For both of those, setting the switch in the on/off mode uses the switch’s dimming or speed control circuitry. So on/off for the fan switch really means on/off for AC fans only, because that is what the switch is rated for.
On the other hand, the under-development On/Off switch is a true relay-based switch which does not have any dimming or speed control circuitry. So that would be the properly-rated switch for a DC fan.
There is some history here. Inovelli originally wanted to design combination switches where the on/off function was a true relay based solution. Unfortunately, that didn’t work out development-wise, but the on/off function was left in, as it does have some uses as long as the switch is controlling a load that it is rated for.
Ok thanks, I guess I’ll return these switches. What’s the current guess on the ETA for the new switches? Also I’d love to be able to use a smart switch for the heater function of the WhisperWarm but that heater is I think between 1600-1700W, would the new switch be able to handle that?
Out of curiosity, do you have #12/12 GA wiring running between the switch box and the fan? In other words, is it on a 20A breaker? That’s a hefty heater load.
I don’t guess, lol. According to the product page, the switch is currently undergoing certification.
If you look at the specs for the switch, the resistive load (i.e heater) spec is 15A. So using that spec, yes. 1700W @ 120VAC = 14.1 amps. IMO, you’re pretty much right on the edge, but within the published specs.
Just double checked, the heater is 1600W and it’s on a 20A dedicated circuit. The WhisperWarm is replacing a heater that came with the house and is being installed by an electrician so everything should be legit. The vent and heater functions are on separate 110V switches and I was initially planning to use a smart switch just for the vent function, but nice to know when these new switches come out I can use it for both.
So just to confirm, the Panasonic whisper value will NOT work with the Blue FAN switch?
It seems like the DC motor may convert the AC input power to DC first, so trying to understand if the switch will work in this case.
I am okay to operate at single speed only.
This thread has all the details of several of us trying to troubleshoot it. The specific post I linked to has my excessively-detailed steps to consistently reproduce what seemed to be an intermittent issue (but you bought an Inovelli switch, so maybe you like excessive detail 
)
I don’t understand all the electrical details of why it doesn’t work, but it’s something along the lines of “the capacitor that’s included in the switch and necessary for AC Ceiling Fan speed control is always part of the circuit, no matter how it’s configured, and under certain conditions it does some electrical thingy that makes certain DC exhaust fans not work”. It’s a hardware issue that cannot be fixed in software.
I’m playing in a space where things like “turn on the lights in the closet so the roomba can see where it’s going” and “turn on the in-floor heating in the bathroom only on mornings that the bed reports it was slept in that night” - excessive detail is appropriate
