Joining in to add that this started happening to my fan switch as well. It’s ~2 years old. Hoping for a resolution to this soon!
This fan speed controller can set the fan speed to 33%, 66%, or 100%. As far as I know, those steps cannot be changed.
Before these, I had 4-speed controllers, which were better for finding the ideal balance between maximum airflow and minimum fan noise. The sweet spot varies depending on the size of the fan, and I use both large fans and typical smaller room fans so I miss the 4 speeds.
The capacitor hum discussed here is an audible vibration that can get worse as an electrolytic capacitor starts to fail, so you should not hear any sound from the speed controller unless it has this issue, usually years into its life. At least mine don’t, and I have 12 of them. The buzzing does seem to change slightly when changing the fan speed, but the issue is the failing capacitor in the power circuit, not the LEDs. I replaced the capacitor in one of mine, and it is now completely silent.
“if the fan will stay quiet” - If you are referring to fan coil noise, then all I can say is that I don’t hear any on my fans.
As for the LED bar, it is very configurable. Not only can you set LED intensity based on on/off state, but also change its color.
For example, these are my settings for a bedroom:
On
color: blue (170)
intensity: 50
Off
color: blue (170)
intensity: 4
At night, I programmatically set on intensity to 2, and off intensity to 1 so that I can still see them, but not have them light up the room.
Snippet from Home Assistant’s device configuration page:
Inovelli products have the best configurability I’ve seen in smart home switches, dimmers, and fan speed controllers over the past 12+ years of automating my own home and helping others with theirs. I love their hunger for user feedback, and their openness about their company and products.
One of my 2 affected switches has now stopped working (the one which 2 weeks ago also made sound when LEDs are completely off).
Observations:
- it is still visible in zigbee but any attempt to turn it on with the switch or remotely fails.
- it does not make any sound anymore
My hunch is that the capacitor now completely broke.
I can live with the switches making sounds but them stopping to work completely is a different story.
All, for those that have reached out I am working on things in the back ground. I have not forgotten or lost site just a lot on the logistics side to work with. Thanks for the patience!
I wanted to circle back here after getting some time to take a deep breath and reassess what I’m seeing with my switches. For the fan switch I mentioned, I’ve listened to it for long enough to know that it isn’t always humming/whining; there’s a decent chunk of the day where the fan is still running and there is no whine from the switch. It may be related to time of day, but I haven’t been logging when I’ve heard the sound. Additionally, I’ve noticed that one of my 2-in-1 blue dimmers has started doing it, too. It is a less used switch, so I’m not sure if it occurs all of the time or just a fraction. The switch is in single-pole mode, but I am wondering if something related to the wiring could be off, e.g. connected to neutral for the wrong branch? I have an older house, so there were wires from different branches in the same gang box, but usually only a single bundle of neutral wires that I assume tie into a single branch. What would be the best/easiest way to troubleshoot? I am not an electrician or an electrical engineer, so my comfort level with cracking open switches and replacing capacitors is almost zero, and I’ve got small kids in the house that make finding time for complicated processes scant.
@roblem - If you have a brand-new VZM35-SN, you can swap it in and see if the buzzing goes away (the easiest approach). If you have more than one VZM35-SN, including at least one that doesn’t buzz, try swapping them. Whether the buzzing follows the VZM35-SN or stays with the load should help narrow down the cause.
You can also wire the buzzing unit to a power cord (inside a plastic single-gang box for safety) and plug it in (different circuit) to see if it still buzzes. It might help to connect a suitable load, but another VZM35-SN I just checked produces a high-pitched whine even without a load, while some of the other 11 I have don’t whine or buzz at all. The one I repaired was buzzing before, and dead silent after.
To rule out the possibility of interference (EMI) on the mains causing or contributing to the problem, make sure no motors (HVAC blowers, compressors, fans, power tools, etc.) are running in the house while you’re testing. That said, I haven’t noticed any EMI-related issues with mine.
Initial troubleshooting should aim at determining whether the problem follows the VZM35-SN or stays with the load. I always keep a spare on hand for this kind of troubleshooting, and to avoid having wires sticking out of the wall while waiting for a replacement to arrive.
Anyway, I really don’t think the issue has anything to do with your house being “old,” although a problematic load can certainly cause trouble. When LED bulbs first started coming out, I experienced all sorts of issues, including one particular brand that caused my Z-Wave motion dimmers to freeze (the same ones LTT Linus hated, hint hint). The manufacturer was able to reproduce the problem after I shipped them the two offending bulbs, and they eventually fixed it by improving the EMI protection.