I have two (ca. 30-year old) Hampton Bay ceiling fans with associated lights mounted in spare bedrooms. These fans were equipped with Hunter (Model 22798) universal fan-light control modules (i.e., remote controls) at original installation. Recently, both fans stopped working. A little troubleshooting revealed the control modules to be the culprit. Control modules for both fans have been removed, and fans are currently powered through a single-pole wall switch (switch boxes do have a neutral wire), and the pull cords. I am considering options to add remotes, or wall-mounted controls, and have been considering the Inovelli blue switch and/or canopy module.
I have also recently, begun to explore home automation using Home Assistant. I have a functioning HA system using Zigbee2MQTT, and have managed to get a couple of devices working. However, as a HA newb, I’m a little intimidated with (as depicted on the internet) configuration steps for the Inovelli switch.
Based on my above description, will the Inovelli Blue switch and/or canopy module work for my situation? If so, will both switch and canopy module be required? Is configuration through HA required for operation? Or, can the switch/module simply be ‘paired’ and function properly? Any wisdom/opinions you can provide are greatly appreciated.
The Blue switch and canopy module will definitely work in our case. Since you only have a single switch in the switch box, I’m guessing you only have a 2-wire running between the switch box and the fan, hence the need for the canopy module.
The way this works is that the switch will be powered but will not have a load. Instead, you’ll send the hot and neutral unswitched to the fan box to power the canopy module full time. The switch will act as a scene controller without a load.
There are two ways that the switch can control the canopy module (and therefore the fan motor and the fan light(s). The most common is to use Zigbee binding. This requires HA (or another hub) initially but after it’s set up, the switch and module communicate directly. There are people here that can assist you with Z2M and binding.
The 2nd way is to use automations through the hub. This is not the preferred method and can be kludgy.
Thanks Bryan,
I’d really like to have this clear in my head before investing. If I understand correctly, I’ll connect the incoming power (black wire) with the load (black wire) to my fan. Then the neutral and load wires connect directly to the canopy module giving full-time power. However, you also state that the switch is powered. I assume neutral and power as well. Is the strategy to ‘pig-tail’ these off of the existing romex?
So if I understand correctly, you have an incoming hot and neutral at the switch box. You will connect that hot and neutral to the line and neutral terminals of the switch. That will power the switch.
To send the hot and neutral to the fan box to provide constant power to the canopy, you can use the second set of holes on on the switch’s line and neutral terminals, doing away with the need to pigtail. But the concept is the same.
If you have Romex or a fabric sheathed cable and there is a ground, you will do the same thing for the ground terminal.
I would encourage the choice of a canopy module with a 2-in-1 dimmer with bindings so they’ll work the same with or without the hub. I had never tried Zigbee bindings before this, but I knew it was the best way to go. Especially if you only have a single gang available to control both the fan and the light.
I think the bindings are tricky, and the documentation Inovelli provides for it is incomplete. They show the concept, but not the full implementation of the bindings.
Here is a post where I explained how to correctly do the bindings for two different setups. 1 switch, 1 module, and 2 switches, 1 module. I think you’ll find my binding instructions useful.