Caseta Wireless Fan Control

[Lynsy]

They definitely have everything they need. They've already got fan/light controller(MIR-LFQTHW-WH) , that is remote controllable via IR. It has a canopy installed device EXACTLY like the Insteon Fanlinc. They just need to add the RF control and "Caseta"/HomeKit capability to that switch/dimmer and they're done. I think that is what is baffling everyone, there is NO QUESTION they have all the parts, pieces, and know how. Wish I knew a good electronics engineer to reverse engineer the combo of parts and assemble everything together!

I think Lutron is close to having what they need for a wall mount Caseta fan control. Start with the PD-5NE dimmer electronics. Hardwire it for MLV operation. Add some output protection circuitry for driving a fan load. Modify the low end adjustment range to reflect fan control. Change the start condition to always start at high then drop down to the desired setting (give the fan time to ramp up to the desired speed while driven at full power). Change the engraving and software to reflect fan operation.
What am I missing?

[jbrown425]

I have set up my home with multiple Caseta dimmer switches. I also have a ventilation fan (120v/60Hz, 0.4 A motor current) installed in the ceiling of the top floor to help pull hot air out. It's got a wall switch that is ON/OFF. I bought the PD-6ANS-WH Caseta Wireless switch as opposed to the Caseta dimmer switch cause I was looking for a simple ON/OFF. But i'm wondering if I didn't get the right thing. When i pulled the existing switch out there's the ground wire and 3 other wires. The instructions for PD-6ANS-WH show the existing switch would have a ground and 2 wires along with a Neutral connection. I don't know what that means honestly. I know very little about all this but was still able to successfully install multiple dimmer switches but got stuck on this one. I'm just trying to figure out if the PD-6ANS-WH is the right product for this solution or if I should have bought the dimmer switch (no neutral connection required) and use it as an on/off switch with no dimming. Hopefully i'm making sense. Any help or insights would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

[OP_Hmnr]

Hi Jbrown, I recommend that people take pictures of things they are taking apart, so that they can put it back together again.
More information would be helpful. What color are the wires? Did the switch look normal (two screws only)? I am thinking the box may be feeding power to somewhere else so you would have a total of six wires (three black, and three white) plus grounds. Start with the neutral (white) wires are there three twisted together in the back of the box? Were two of the black wires tied together on one screw of the switch?
Good luck

[OP_Hmnr]

Hi Lynsy, The fan controller you suggested is a seven speed controller, probably switched capacitors. Those tend to be labeled as quiet because they keep the fan motor input waveform sinusoidal. Using a Caseta dimmer in MLV mode should work for the fan, but it could be much noisier because the fan motor windings can act like a speaker for the pulsed input waveform.

[SDR-Mike]

One of the hottest threads on these forums. I ran a survey to see what people would think on this thread: https://forums.lutron.com/showthread...seta-Fan-Speed

94% respondents identified as homeowners
68% replied mulitple controls on EACH job
18% replied one control on each job

61% felt it should be below $100, but I find that unrealistic, knowing the history of the radio fan controls from HW to RA@ and HWQS. I would love to see a $150 price point, or partnering with a fan company that would install or use Caseta as a proprietary control. I think if they don't do something soon, then we'll be left only with the Alexa/Siri/Google/IFTTT types of integration to make this happen. Goes against the sales pitch that no matter the status of your internet or router, the system will continue to work.

Results are here:http://www.surveymonkey.com/results/SM-L26P58FM

Safe to say that this is something that we want, whether we can push big blue into making it is another story.

[Lynsy]

Yes, it is a 7speed fan controller. But the power is not delivered directly at the switch for the fan and light. The switch is sending the signals to the canopy mounted device to handle the delivery of the fan power setting and light dimming levels based on the selections at the wall switch. Take the same device and have it controlled via clear connect instead of IR and they're there. This is just one way they could do it. This was originally, I am sure, to be an "easy way" for people to have independent wall switch control of fan and fan lights that weren't originally wired for independent control and eliminated the need to pull additional wiring. They could, like Insteon, enable the use of the canopy mounted device with or without a wall switch control if they chose to, as the hub could send the clear connect commands...and/or the wall switch, and/or a Pico.

[Lynsy]

NORMALY, a simple single pole switch will connect on the black wire to the load (your fan) and have a ground. The switch you bought has an additional wire to connect to nuetral (also known as common=white...usually) to enable it to complete the circuit for the switch and have power even when the switch is not "on". If you do not have a white wire present in your box return that switch and get a PD-5WS-DV (NOT TO BE CONFUSED WITH A NON-Caseta PD-5S-DV that LOOKS the same but won't connect to your bridge/HomeKit/Alexa) which doesn't have a neutral wire to connect, only the two black wires and a ground. This works by allowing a small amount of electricity to "bleed" through to complete the circuit and power the switch EVEN WHEN OFF! This should work fine for you (with your fan load). Note that the switch will come with a small device in the box with it so that if you were to connect the switch to low power LED lights it can be installed to keep them from lighting VERY dimly or flashing due to this "bleed" of power for the switch to work when off. That device would be wired in at the load point (e.g. In the llight or fan canopy) across the load=black and common=white wires...just as if it were the load. Basically it keeps that low voltage from reaching the load but still enables the circuit to be completed. Don't put a dimmer switch on your fan!!

I have set up my home with multiple Caseta dimmer switches. I also have a ventilation fan (120v/60Hz, 0.4 A motor current) installed in the ceiling of the top floor to help pull hot air out. It's got a wall switch that is ON/OFF. I bought the PD-6ANS-WH Caseta Wireless switch as opposed to the Caseta dimmer switch cause I was looking for a simple ON/OFF. But i'm wondering if I didn't get the right thing. When i pulled the existing switch out there's the ground wire and 3 other wires. The instructions for PD-6ANS-WH show the existing switch would have a ground and 2 wires along with a Neutral connection. I don't know what that means honestly. I know very little about all this but was still able to successfully install multiple dimmer switches but got stuck on this one. I'm just trying to figure out if the PD-6ANS-WH is the right product for this solution or if I should have bought the dimmer switch (no neutral connection required) and use it as an on/off switch with no dimming. Hopefully i'm making sense. Any help or insights would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

[OP_Hmnr]

I have ceiling fans in two bedrooms. I have both fans set to medium speed and then use a 3 speed wall mount fan control, since I don't like the highest speed settings on either fan. Both are quiet enough on low that they do not bother me. Both rooms are carpeted. Both fans are over 20 years old.
I used the iOS app SPLnFFT to measure the sound level holding my iPhone upside down one foot from the base of the fan.
Br#1: Craftmade 5 blade 48" diameter with an 18" down rod.
__Off: 27.2 dB(A)
__Low 27.2 dB(A) running at 44 RPM, slight tick at irregular times, probably a bearing defect.
__Med 28 dB(A)
__High 31 dB(A)
__HVAC 32 dB(A) for reference
BR#2 Casablanca 5 blade 48" diameter with a 24" down rod. Noticeable ac hum in low setting.
__Off: 26.7 dB(A)
__Low 27.0 dB(A) 15 seconds to get up to speed of 48 RPM
__Medium 27.3 dB(A)
__High 33.5 dB(A) Noticeable fan blade noise.
If I set fan and wall control to high I measure 49.7 dB(A)
As a test I wired up the fan to a PD-5NE Phase Selectable Dimmer. I paralleled a 40W incandescent light across the fan to control surges.
MLV mode leading edge:
__10% On, 32.5 dB(A) 27 RPM, definite AC buzz
__20% On, 35.3 dB(A) 47 RPM
__30% On, 39.2 dB(A)
__40% On, 42.5 dB(A) Noticeable fan blade noise.
__50% On, 43 dB(A)
__60% On, 43.9 dB(A)
__70% On, 45 dB(A)
__80% On, 46.2 dB(A)
__90% On, 46.5 dB(A)
__100% On, 46.7 dB(A)
I also tried the ELV mode, and got similar ac noise results on all settings.
Bottom line PD-5NE is not a good choice for fan control.
Switching in capacitors (which is what my wall control is doing) looks like the simplest approach to fan speed control.

[ajiuO]

I actually think they should just make a fan/Light controller canopy module instead of a wall switch. A wall switch will not help anyone who has a single switch to control the fan and light... so a canopy controller would offer much more flexibility... then you could just control it with 2 Pico switches... a person with 2 switches could just mount picos in their place and a person with 1 Switch could still mount two picos in their place.

[vipergts2207]

Is it possible to control a Hunter HomeKit fan with the Pico 4-button remote? I don't need to control fan speed or light dimming, just the ability to turn the fan and light on and off. I was hoping the two group control model would be able to control the fan and light as the two groups.