Smart home - fan switches

[LivinLOS]

So I am doing some experiments in my current home, prior to a newbuild which will be ground up smarthome set up. 

 

I am playing with hue lights, alexa voice, nice home media net and video distribution etc etc. I am still experimenting at this point and am not locked into google home or alexa for the voice control and likely zigbee on switching.

 

One thing I want is voice control of my fans (I have an IR output solution for air co). I need it to have a physical fall back switch / hardware for non techies mother in law etc to be comfortable with. 

 

Does anyone know of any multi speed wall mount switch, which is alexa controllable ??

[Langsuan Man]

All I can tell you is that in my house in the US I had to give up the idea of "voice" controlled switches because the remodeled house I bought did not have a three wire system (ie. negative / ground)  Don't know enough about Thai wiring to know if the same problem would occur here 

 

Was able to use the Phillips Hue light system since the wifi control is in the lights themselves and all they need is a "hot" receptacle 

[KittenKong]

This mentions ceiling fans though I dont see how it could control the speed as well as the on/off as the speed is dictated by the actual fan unit not the control.

 

https://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B01EZV35QU/ezvid02-20

 

One more, same caveat:

 

https://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B008HUWWOC/ezvid02-20

[LivinLOS]

On 11/20/2018 at 2:23 AM, Langsuan Man said:

All I can tell you is that in my house in the US I had to give up the idea of "voice" controlled switches because the remodeled house I bought did not have a three wire system (ie. negative / ground)  Don't know enough about Thai wiring to know if the same problem would occur here 

 

Was able to use the Phillips Hue light system since the wifi control is in the lights themselves and all they need is a "hot" receptacle 

I dont see how the grounding has any effect on what I am talking about. 

I am seeking a replacement wall switch to run my fans (4 speeds usually) which has google home alexa or zigbee compatible control skills. As the switch will be controlled by the voice sometimes the switching needs to not be hard switched between speeds but be an up down / dimmer style arrangement. 

Theres a bunch online, just wondering if anyone has successfully converted existing fans to voice control without going the IR reciever and IR blaster route which would be another way of tackling the same problem (how I am doing my aircos in fact). 

[Langsuan Man]

14 hours ago, LivinLOS said:

I dont see how the grounding has any effect on what I am talking about. 

The lights receive power from the outlet that they are screwed into, since it is always "hot"  The switches on the other hand must have a separate way of obtaining power that is not always on, they do this with the neutral line to provide power to the circuit so that when the switch is turned on the connection is made ( I mis-spoke above, when I stated negative / ground, I should have stated neutral / ground)

 

I am not an electrician, I can just tell you what won't work from my experience in the US, which may not apply to the electrical system here in Thailand 

 

 

[LivinLOS]

So how do you have a fan speed switch that doesnt have multiple lines is my point. 

I see no way a multi speed output switch can operate on simple 2 lines. only on / off. 

I am seeking feedback on switches like this 

https://www.banggood.com/400W-10A-WIFI-Smart-Wall-Switch-Ceiling-Fan-Controller-Touch-Panel-Work-with-Alexa-Google-Home-p-1294004.html?

With these beyond the mere hardware it depends on the abilities of the alexa skill Google home or if they have good zigbee controls to integrate.. Does the control need to be a 'turn the fan to 3' or does it have to be 'turn the fan to 50%' etc etc.. How many speeds does it support between 1 - 100.. Actual user stuff like that. 

 

Its the detail review / user reports I am trying to find. 
 

[Langsuan Man]

Here are five reviews, Google is your friend:

 

https://wiki.ezvid.com/best-wifi-ceiling-fans?id=adw&gclid=CjwKCAiAiuTfBRAaEiwA4itUqOW7tOVLqYM1ndaR7yzytxwHuO2uOmEZvPR6tgMVyP9JZ3pNbGBWJBoCjPsQAvD_BwE

[recom273]

I dont see how the grounding has any effect on what I am talking about. 

I am seeking a replacement wall switch to run my fans (4 speeds usually) which has google home alexa or zigbee compatible control skills. As the switch will be controlled by the voice sometimes the switching needs to not be hard switched between speeds but be an up down / dimmer style arrangement. 

Theres a bunch online, just wondering if anyone has successfully converted existing fans to voice control without going the IR reciever and IR blaster route which would be another way of tackling the same problem (how I am doing my aircos in fact). 

Did you have any luck with an intelligent voice activated aircon? How did your quest for a fan controller work?

I’m running 2 Mitsubishi remote control fans in conjunction with a couple of Broadlink RM minis - 500b on ebay, they are working well. You can set up scene to increase the power, by one step, as I’m sure you are aware.

Remote control fans seem to be unpopular, intelligent aircon seems to be slow to take off.


Sent from my iPad using Thailand Forum - Thaivisa mobile app

[LivinLOS]

23 hours ago, recom273 said:

 

Did you have any luck with an intelligent voice activated aircon? How did your quest for a fan controller work?

I’m running 2 Mitsubishi remote control fans in conjunction with a couple of Broadlink RM minis - 500b on ebay, they are working well. You can set up scene to increase the power, by one step, as I’m sure you are aware.

Remote control fans seem to be unpopular, intelligent aircon seems to be slow to take off.


Sent from my iPad using Thailand Forum - Thaivisa mobile app

 

https://sensibo.com/

 

I have been using a cheaper IR blaster but am not pleased.. These will be my next purchase. 

 

Currently I am just beginning with these things, my plan is to lean whats worth doing, and how it works, before a full housebuild which will have what I want done from the start. So my current stuff is all a bit patchwork, testing etc. 

[recom273]

On 11/30/2018 at 10:30 PM, LivinLOS said:

https://sensibo.com/

 

I have been using a cheaper IR blaster but am not pleased.. These will be my next purchase. 

 

Currently I am just beginning with these things, my plan is to lean whats worth doing, and how it works, before a full housebuild which will have what I want done from the start. So my current stuff is all a bit patchwork, testing etc. 

A broadlink RM mini will do that for 500B, they are pretty reliable, they really seemed to have stepped up their pre-programmed remotes, however I am unsure if you can control via a voice assistant - I have to program the fans as TV remotes. 

 

They are worth looking at if you are in the experimental stage.

[LivinLOS]

Good info.. Thanks.. 

 

At that price I will order a pair to play around with.. 

[SooKee]

Currently experimenting with this too.

 

I use the Broadlink RM Mini 3 to control the living Room aircon and the TV.  Was going to use it for fans also but getting LOS to all devices is a bit problematic just because of the room layout.  As it stands I have a couple of smart plugs for the fans and just use the on / off commands.  The Broadlink will control the fans I just can't get LOS to all 4 devices.

 

Also playing with lighting.  Was going to opt for Phillips Hue but pricey here, 7,000 for 3 bulbs and a hub so I'm playing with a few Yeelight bulbs at around 600 each.  Seems to be working well so far.  They have built in wifi chips operating on 2.4 Ghz.  Downside MIGHT be that the 2.4 signal isn't strong enough for the bedroom.  Keeping a watch on it.

 

The Hues use their own hub with a mesh network, they have quite a few more device options too (Go lamps etc) but I want to see if I actually end up using them before I invest more heavily.  The Hue hub allows a lot more bells and whistles (like geo fencing) but it may be stuff I don't need and I can buy 3 Yeelights for the cost of one Hue.

 

Handy to be on the way home and being able to turn on the air con, purifier and lights for when I reach.

 

There's a sale starting on Lazada on the 10th until the 12th so I might pick up a few more bits if the prices drop.

 

The Google Home Mini I use a LOT.  For TV and main music listening it fires up the Shield and it's attached soundbar.  For casual music listening and the news the Mini is fine.  Use it much more than I thought:

• Setting (if needed multiple) cooking timers
• Adding stuff to shopping list
• Creating reminders on the fly to watch an advertised TV programme
• Setting alarms
• Creating calendar events
• and of course room control.