Zigbee Fan Canopy Module | Project Cheryl

Ok, cool, we just added this to the latest fan switch firmware and we’ll launch the 2-1 firmware when the engineer gets back from Chinese New Year – thanks for the suggestion :slight_smile:

Yes, it will temporarily change color and show you what speed the fan is on and then go back to the normal LED color.

You can also do this with two lighting loads which is kinda cool (so, this feature is not just exclusive to fan/light).

Yes, exactly how it’s set up :slight_smile:

Which one? The one @bobzer said he loves (cycle up and back down), or the one I suggested (off–>high–>medium–low–>off)? :laughing:

another featuure that would be great it’s flashing on the bar light the power of the fan when we press the button.
So whatever the kind of cycle, when we press the button we have the value of the new intensity, the light could be 1% to show off then 33% to show low, 66% to show medium and 100% to show high.

Hmm, I thought the Blue 2-1 wasn’t rated to be a fan switch. Does adding the canopy module allow the Blue 2-1 to be a fan switch?

Edit: I think I found my answer here, it looks like the Smart Fan Switch should be paired with this:

You can use the 2-1 without the load connected to control the canopy via binding. If you’re using the Fan Switch there isn’t a need for the canopy.

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The fan switch standalone would not be able to control a fan/light combo on a single switch though, correct? The canopy module would be better suited for that use case?

Yes. The problem arises when you do not have a 3-wire i.e. separate conductors for the fan and the light) between the switch box and the fan. So the fan switch alone can control a fan without a light, but when the fan has a light, then that’s a problem for the fan switch alone. So the module allows you to control the fan and light separately in this situation.

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Exactly what fan/light did you get in your daughter’s room? I am looking for that product and the only one I saw on Amazon was DC motor.

Not OP, but all the fans at Home Depot/Lowe’s I’ve seen were standard AC, AFAIK. We replaced all 5 fans in our house, and they wired in with their remotes to a canopy module just like this project.

If you are looking for AC motor fans, look at https://hunterfan.com . They have been in the business a long time. Their quality is excellent!

They have MANY AC fans in varying styles. You can buy direct from them.

I’m losing track to be honest lol.

@EricM_Inovelli – which cycles are available on the 2-1 and Fan Switch for Fan Speeds?

I believe it does this, but let me check. If not, great idea!

@EricM_Inovelli can you confirm?

Yeah I need to go back and find all the spots I said this because we ended up creating a workaround. Technically, yes, the 2-1 is not rated for fans and the Fan Switch is not rated for lights, so we were in a predicament.

What we’re suggesting now is to just tie the line and load together at the line terminal of the switches to bypass the load terminal to stay in compliance. In other words, initially, we recommended wiring the line to the line terminal and the load to the load terminal of the switches and use Smart Bulb (or Fan) Mode on either switch (which still will work), but the compliance issue would be if someone turned off SBM, it would put the switch out of UL/ETL compliance. You’ll use either switch as a remote now (by tying the line/load together).

Idk why I didn’t think of that earlier as that’s how our old Fan/Light Switch used to work.

Great question – this is the one I have in all my bedrooms:

Does that not create any problems with housing code? Definitely not my area of expertise, but I (maybe mistakenly?) thought code requires you to be able to turn off power to the load with the physical switch (so that if there’s an issue with the load you can cut power right there without having to shut off power at the circuit breaker box). Won’t this prevent you from being able to do that?

Yeah that’s a great question – I’d have to check with the NEC, but I know that when our old Fan/Light switch was made, UL approved it with the schematics that showed Line/Load tied together (there’s actually not even a load terminal on the switch itself). But idk if they take into consideration NEC guidelines.

I guess what you could do if this does make you nervous about being up to date with code, is wait for our On/Off switch to come out as you’ll be able to put the load in the load terminal and pull the air-gap if you need to.

Let me check my notes too because I had this same question with Philips and one of their, “Friends of Hue” partners who sell a kinetic switch and their instructions also instruct you to tie line/load together.

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If that’s the case, then none of my ceiling fans are in compliance anyway. When we bought the home in 2002 all the ceiling fans were powered from a single 20 amp circuit that runs a loop to all the ceiling fans (4 in all). The only way to control them was to kill the breaker or pull chains…which I later replaced with RF remotes…and also why I was super excited for the LZW36, and had two of them until the fan control died. The fans have been running with that wiring for nearly 22 years with no problem.

I presume this only works in Neutral setups? Those with Non-Neutral wiring will have to figure out some other workaround?

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What Eric is suggesting is that by tying the line and load together, you are making the switch a scene controller with no load. If you non-neutral, then you have power originating at the fan box with 2 conductors (ignoring the ground) running to the switch box. So in this case, at the fan box, re-wire to send the hot over the black and the neutral over the white. Connect those to the line and neutral terminals on the switch and you have the same thing.

I should have been clearer: I’m talking about not having a neutral at the switch (2 wires, line and load). The main floor of my house was built in the 50s. Haven’t checked yet to see if there’s a hot within the fan boxes.

No, I understood exactly what you were saying. I understand that you have a switch loop. Re-read my post and if it’s not clear I can draw it out for you.

If you’re non-neutral at the light switch then there has to be a hot at the fan, or it wouldn’t work. :slightly_smiling_face:

AFAIK, in the US for lighting and receptacles, there is no switch requirement for EVERY device in the NEC. You are required to have one switched device (light or receptacle) for each habitable room, kitchen, bathroom, etc. The exception for lighting devices is fixtures that have a ballast, and require a switch or other disconnect device for service. (NEC 210.70 and 404).

Of course, your local AHJ may dictate otherwise.

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There are two modes. The first is multi-tap and the second is cycle. You can find more in the description for firmware 1.05: Blue Series Fan Switch Firmware Changelog | VZM35-SN - Switches / Firmware Discussion - Inovelli Community. The cycle mode off>low>medium>high>off. Kind of like if you were pulling the chain on the fan. I actually use the feature to control some Zigbee bulbs in the room and it works great there too. @bobzer the LED bar will temporarily show the level of the fan when using this feature.

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