Question

Ok.  wife bought a ceiling fan that does not have a remote control.Ok. wife bought a ceiling fan that does not have a remote control. Light is wired to switch and fan has to be manually operated by pull chain. I do not have the necessary wire to swap the switch for a smart switch. So. what are my options for making the fan and perhaps the light too a little "smarter"?  

Answer 1

May be an inline Sonoff but it's limited to on/off so not ideal if you have multiple speed options on your fan

Comments

@vasya any particular model I should look for?  

Answer 2

I would love a smarter ceiling fan in my bedroom

Answer 3

Micro relay in the fan housing, both light and fan will be smart

Comments

@glaze6 any brand names or models I should look at? Total noob here

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@detention there’s a ton of options on amazon. You just need one with 2 switches. I’d read the reviews it’s been years since I did my fans, probably superior options to what I used at this point.  

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This is the one I’d likely go with now. The devices are incredibly small and easy to wire. It’s really nice to be able to tell Alexa to turn on the fan and/or have them turn on at X temp or time of day.  

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@glaze6 I use a single relay Enerwave for my bathroom fan. there’s very little support, but it’s been rock solid. I really like that it comes with the wires to splice. (versus having to connect to somewhat flimsy little ports like Aeotec)

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I assume with all of these solutions you kind of run into a "smart bulb/dumb wall switch" scenario where you have to make sure no one flips the wall switch power off?  

Answer 4

Remote control module from Lowe's and the Bond

Answer 5

I'm not saying to do this, but some people have used the black wire as hot for one device (light or fan), white wire for hot for the other device, and ground wire as neutral (with a jacket on it). The light and fan would not be grounded but the switch would be. Again, not recommending because it would not be to code, but it works and shouldn't be a safety issue - there are lots of old houses with ungrounded light fixtures - table lamps aren't grounded either.  

Comments

It is a safety issue, as you create a current between your ground wire and your hot wire, which defeats the purpose. Any GFCI (if you have one on this line) would trip at this point. A proper installation would require replacing existing 2-conductor wire with 3-conductor wire (with red)

Answer 6

Inovelli is currently beta testing a z-wave Solution for this.  

Answer 7

I would add a relay in the fan. Depending on whether the light is part of the fan or separate and what the chain controls (just one, both) you can either add the relay on the AC feed or replace the pull switch. Worth checking the pull switch is on AC if you go this route, in the unlikely event it’s on the DC circuit then you’d need a volt free relay. There are even some relays that have a switched live input to detect when the wall switch has been toggled so that it works as normal.  

Answer 8

Inovelli is coming out with a canopy module/switch combo to control both the lights (dimmer) and fan (speed) only needing power at the fan and power at the switch the switch and module talk wirelessly to each other. It isn't released yet but hopefully in the next few months, things have slowed down due to Covid-19.  Also Home Depot has a zigbee option which can do the same although there is no switch but you can cover the existing switch with a remote option they have that is compatible with it. However I have 2 of those and they are the least reliable devices I have, but they are available now. I think this is it.  https://www. homedepot. com/. /Hampton-Bay. /206591100
https://inovelli.com/red-series-fan...wave/

Comments

I can't recommend the one from HD. Mine constantly falls off the network after the power surges, with the necessity to be completely removed via IDE and then re-paired back, and then also re-added back to all routines. If you just remove it from ST interface, it tends to leave children devices that become duplicates. This is just constant pain in the butt, if you ask me.  

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@ias0 I agree, that's why I never put the 3rd one up, I have three of the Inovelli's on order as I expect them to be much more reliable since they are coming from a company that lives for Smart Home products.  

Answer 9

Use Bond, run the wire, use a relay or wait for inovelli double switch to come out. I wouldn't do any electrical work that isnt to code

Answer 10

Was considering getting a bond for my living room ceiling fan and light that does have a remote already but is not hooked to a wall switch already but wasn't sure if I could make the fan I posted about capable of being controlled by bond since it does not have a remote

Answer 11

The link was from 2016, but home depot still has it.  

Answer 12

Even though it says its "Wink" compatible and not smartthings it's still smartthings compatible?  

Answer 13

Sonoff ifan03

Answer 14

I am looking over the sonoff ifan03 as it was recommended a few times in here. the box looks kinda big. how do you hide it if it doesn't fit in the fan housing?