Lighting & Ceiling Fans

[bedelman]

I'm installing ceiling fans in several rooms of an old house, and considering upgrading ceiling fans in other rooms.  Two key goals: Energy-efficient lighting and wall switches with separate fan and light controls.  We don't need dimmers on the lights.

Initially I was hoping to use 1-gang switches that control both fan and light.  Home Depot offers several options.  We would prefer switches that look more like standard lights -- standard toggle switch for the lights, small slider for fan (like Lutron Skylark 100399013).  An integrated switch like Lutron Skylark Combination (100059262) would also be OK.  But of course these require 3-wire cabling, and in at least one room in our home, it will be quite difficult to replace the standard 2-wire cabling with 3-wire.  And it's not easy to find a Combination switch that is compatible with energy-efficient lighting (no dimmer on the light switch).

As best I can tell, the 1-gang integrated switches all require batteries in the switch (example: Hampton Bay Ceiling Fan Wall Control, 202801200).  Why is that?  Installed into the wall, with connection to house A/C, wouldn't it be easier and more reliable for them to use the house electrical supply?  Seems annoying to have to replace those batteries, even every few years.  And how about reliability?  These will be primary lighting for some key rooms of our home. So hard-wired controls seem more sensible and more reliable in the long run.  Ultimately we find these a bit funny-looking -- not the style we prefer -- though they do accommodate our 2-wire installation which is clearly an important plus.

Suggestions appreciated!

[Chris_HD_CHI]

Hello bedelman.  Welcome to the Community!

It sounds like from a functional standpoint that you have found just what you need.  Aesthetics aside, maybe I can help to answer the "why" from your question below:

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bedelman wrote:

...As best I can tell, the 1-gang integrated switches all require batteries in the switch (example: Hampton Bay Ceiling Fan Wall Control, 202801200).  Why is that?  Installed into the wall, with connection to house A/C, wouldn't it be easier and more reliable for them to use the house electrical supply?  Seems annoying to have to replace those batteries, even every few years.  And how about reliability?  These will be primary lighting for some key rooms of our home. So hard-wired controls seem more sensible and more reliable in the long run.  Ultimately we find these a bit funny-looking -- not the style we prefer -- though they do accommodate our 2-wire installation which is clearly an important plus...

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If you look at this particular ceiling fan wall switch, it looks like a remote control stuck on to a wall.  That's because it is.

The "off/on" slider is actually a typical wall switch that interrupts or passes through all power to the fan.  This slider requires the black power leads shown below in the diagram.  The other buttons are actually the transmitter portion of a remote control system.

The transmitter needs low voltage, low current DC power just like your TV, DVD or garage door remote control.  Using a battery to supply this DC power saves significantly on cost and space since there is no need to step down and rectify the AC house current.  In addition, it also precludes the need for a white neutral wire to complete the circuit that a transmitter running off AC power would require.  Many switch boxes do not have, (or need) a neutral.

As you can see from the wiring diagram above, this control switch comes with a remote control receiver which will need to be installed in the ceiling fan's canopy.  If you purchase a ceiling fan that comes with remote control capability, then the wall switch DIP switches will simply need to be set to match the existing fan's receiver.

The 2 diagrams above were taken from the installation manual for this particular switch.

You can find the pdf version of that manual here.

I hope this helps,

Newf.

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[bedelman]

Newf,

Thanks!  That's a compelling explanation of why the Hampton Bay Ceiling Fan Wall Control (202801200) is designed the way it is.  I can see how this reduces cost and simplifies installation.

Suppose I wanted to pay extra for the privilege of never needing to change batteries, and for the benefit of hard-wired reliability.  (Compare wired ethernet to wifi, wired phones to cell phones, etc.  I have never used a wireless fan switch, and they might be great, but I'd like to at least consider the wired alternative.)  Do you know any wall switches that would meet those criteria, i.e. no battery plus hard-wired reliability while still using a two-wire installation?  

Ben

[Chris_HD_CHI · Accepted solution]

Hi bedelman.

I am not aware of any.

A fan control switch that does not use wireless remote needs the extra wire to separate out the fan motor from the lights.  Since there is no receiver, this switch is directly connected to the fan wires, the pull switches on the fan must be left "lights on full + fan at full speed" so that the wall switch takes over.

I hope this helps,

Newf.

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[bedelman]

Just to close the loop on this -- I decided to go forward with replacing wiring to get a three-wire solution with high-quality separate wall switches.  In most rooms, the wiring was not as difficult as expected, though a bit messy.  Patching the holes was easier than expected.

[mmiller741]

I know this post was from a few months back, but I'm hoping I can get a little more information on the wall switch.

I bought the Hampton Bay wall switch remote to operate my Hampton Bay Southwind ceiling fan.  These fans came with a remote and sensor.  There are no pull chains.

I simply installed the battery and changed to dip switches to match the fan.  The light will turn on/off, but the fan will not work.  I did not connect it to AC power.

The install instructions say to wire one black wire to the AC black, and the other black wire to the black wire on the fan.  I cannot wire the second black wire to the fan without major drywall work, not an option. 

My question is, will this switch work wothout the second black being connected to the fan?

When replacing a light switch, what do I do with the white neutral wire?

Thanks for the help.

[WB]

This seems like the easiest solution using the existing wiring.

http://functionaldevices.com/pdf/datasheets/FL101.pdf