Experience with GE 12730 Z-Wave Smart Fan Control

[mapeter]

I had purchased two Insteon FanLincs only to realize that they are too big to fit between the mounting bracket and canopy.  Since I don't need to worry about controlling a light, I am considering the GE 12730 Z-Wave Smart Fan Control (http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00PYMGVVQ/ref=cm_sw_su_dp).  I don't have Z-Wave on my ISY 994i/IR Pro, but am willing to buy the module.  Has anyone used this device or have experience with a similar, wall-mounted device?

[kohai]

I had purchased two Insteon FanLincs only to realize that they are too big to fit between the mounting bracket and canopy.  Since I don't need to worry about controlling a light, I am considering the GE 12730 Z-Wave Smart Fan Control (http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00PYMGVVQ/ref=cm_sw_su_dp).  I don't have Z-Wave on my ISY 994i/IR Pro, but am willing to buy the module.  Has anyone used this device or have experience with a similar, wall-mounted device?

http://www.amazon.com/GE-12730-Z-Wave-Smart-Control/product-reviews/B00PYMGVVQ/ref=cm_cr_pr_viewopt_kywd?ie=UTF8&showViewpoints=1&sortBy=helpful&pageNumber=1&filterByKeyword=isy

 

There's a review there on the amazon listing that mentions someone using it with the isy.

[mapeter]

Thanks kohai for pointing that out.  I guess it is time for me to jump into the world of Z-Wave.

[PurdueGuy]

It will probably show up as a dimmer, but after checking out the review that mentioned ISY, it isn't for the fan control.   The review is for "Lighting Control Duplex Receptacle" which is the basic GE Z-Wave outlet.

 

I don't like how Amazon is showing reviews for different items under 1 listing.   I think it comes down to the seller listing them under one type, with different "styles" or "sizes" which are, in fact, completely different items.  I feel those types of things should be used for different colors or sizes, and not completely different products.

[kohai]

It will probably show up as a dimmer, but after checking out the review that mentioned ISY, it isn't for the fan control.   The review is for "Lighting Control Duplex Receptacle" which is the basic GE Z-Wave outlet.

 

I don't like how Amazon is showing reviews for different items under 1 listing.   I think it comes down to the seller listing them under one type, with different "styles" or "sizes" which are, in fact, completely different items.  I feel those types of things should be used for different colors or sizes, and not completely different products.

Good catch.

[stusviews]

That happens often on Amazon. It's often combined reviews from the same seller for similar products. Awaiting delivery

[stusviews]

Installed and working. The GE Smart Fan Control shows up as a dimmer in the ISY and behaves as a dimmer for an incandescent load. There's a small rectangular blue LED at the bottom right which remains lit when the switch is off. Pleasantly, for us, that's the color of the light bars I use for fan SwitchLincs and Keypad buttons that control fans have blue diffusers.

 

The LED is unlit when the fan is on, but serves as an indicator when changing the fan speed. The LED blinks for 10 seconds at a 2 second, 1 second or half second rate for low, medium or high, respectively. The speed is changed by holding the top or bottom of the paddle. This is somewhat inconvenient as you need to be viewing the LED to see when the speed changes.  If the top is tapped when the Fan Control is off, then the speed is set to the rate it was at when last turned off.

 

Setting the Fan Control to the various speeds indicated 10% for low, 53% for medium and high was at 100%. I found that anything from 1% to about 30% resulted in low speed even though it dimmed the incandescent load appropriately. That's exactly the way a FanLinc behaves.

 

I added the GE Fan Control to a scene that has a KPL button as a controller. The button does control the fan. Holding the button also controls the speed. Like most Z-Wave devices, the Fan Control does not report it's settings unless queried. (There's a rumor that the patent held by Lutron for 2-way Z-Wave communication will expire this year.)

[mapeter]

I installed mine yesterday as well.  Since this is my first time with Z-Wave, I also installed the Z-Wave dongle in the ISY and two Gen5 sirens.  My ISY is in the basement and the fan control is on the second floor in the master suite.  From what I have read, I decided buying two sirens from the beginning would be a wise choice.

 

Physical installation was easy enough, but this switch is big.  It reminded me of the old, huge X-10 switches with the screw down leads.  I have pictures below to show its size relative to an Insteon SwithLinc.  I had to snap off three heat fins on one side since I was installing it in a double-gang box.

 

The fan control is about 15 feet away from the nearest Gen5, in another room across the hallway.  Unfortunately, I had to plug the Gen5 into an outlet under the switch to get the ISY to add it.  Once it was added, I was able to move the Gen5 back to its original location.  I am assuming this is a nuance of Z-wave.

 

Pressing and holding the paddle on the switch and watching the blue LED is a fail in my opinion.  It would have been much better if the switch made a chirping sound as it changed speeds on the fan.

 

Enter Alexa - Fortunately, I will be using the Amazon Echo to change the speeds.  In addition to the usual on/off, I am able to tell Alexa to "set ceiling fan to fifty percent" (or 25%, or 100%).   I have also created programs for high (100%), medium (50%), and low (25%) -- "turn on ceiling fan low".  If you use the word "to" in the phrase, "turn on ceiling fan to low", Alexa gets confused".  Using "turn up" and "turn down" worked in my initial testing, but stopped working when I was doing a demo for the wife.  Alexa heard the command properly, but the ISY didn't do anything -- no biggie for me however.

 

It is a bummer that the control doesn't report its speed unless queried.  I also noticed that the reported percent for medium and high was all over the place when using the paddle to adjust the speed and then doing a Query from the ISY.  Below are the values reported by the switch after using the paddle to change the speed.

0% - Off;   1% - Low;   40%, 42%, 44%, 58% - Medium;   100%, 69%, 84% - High

--Andy

 

 

[jasont]

Was wondering if the ISY was able to read the property of the switch to disable the blue light.

 

Thanks!

[mapeter]

I don't see that option in the ISY Console.  It may require the upcoming 5.0.3 release.

[stusviews]

You'll have to search for Z-Wave configuration parameters. Here's what a quick search found about the  GE blue LED.

[jumon]

I'm having some issues controlling my GE Smart Fan Control through REST and wondered if people in this thread have any issues with the ISY detection of this device.  I suspect something might be up since I get a strange drop down with no text for the percentage of dimming (I guess) in the ISY Console.  Link to picture of how this looks: https://postimg.org/image/kh767fg67/

[ScottAvery]

The percentage outputs are virtual readings reported from the device or actually a variable voltage output?

 

I recently bought the updated version of this and have found the fan speeds set at the paddle to be too low.  The fan is a Faniamation Palisade with 2 motor heads that total 1.5 amp draw.  Medium barely moves, much slower than a normal low setting, good for visual ambiance but not for airflow.  Occassionally medium starts out at high, enough power to get it moving, then slows down.  Other times it isn't enough inrush current to start the motor so I have to turn it by hand.  The actual low setting does nothing at all.

 

The manufacturer claims it will support two identical motors but it has not worked for me as yet.  I did not add it to my ISY yet since it has failed my test at the wall.  Would adding it make any difference?

 

I was hoping to avoid putting two Insteon Fan Lincs in it and hoping they stay synched. 

[ScottAvery]

The new model is GE 14287, still made by Jasco

[ScottAvery]

Jasco answered my query stating the output is fixed.  Their answer seems inconsistent with claims that users have put a light fixture on the output and had smooth ramping of the light level.

 

COuld I remove resistors from the device to increase output?

[jkosharek]

I am running isy 5.0.14, I can add the fan control, and it adds as a dimmer.

How do get this registered as High,Med,Low,Off device? 

[Bumbershoot]

1 hour ago, jkosharek said:

I am running isy 5.0.14, I can add the fan control, and it adds as a dimmer.

How do get this registered as High,Med,Low,Off device? 

I don't know that you can.  You can adjust the fan levels in your ISY by adjusting the on level percentages:

0% = off

1% to 49% = low

50% to 99% = med

100% = high

I've been doing this since I installed it, and it's been very reliable. 

[iseeyou]

For some reason when i add the GE 14287 fan control it shows up as ZW002_1-Multilevel Switch and Fan Control(key 1) and Fan Control(key 2), not as a dimmer. and the controls are very hit or miss, sometimes it turns on/up the fan and sometimes it tells me request failed and that it cannot communicate with the fan control and to check my connections. Any suggestions?

 

[lilyoyo1]

4 hours ago, iseeyou said:

For some reason when i add the GE 14287 fan control it shows up as ZW002_1-Multilevel Switch and Fan Control(key 1) and Fan Control(key 2), not as a dimmer. and the controls are very hit or miss, sometimes it turns on/up the fan and sometimes it tells me request failed and that it cannot communicate with the fan control and to check my connections. Any suggestions?

 

Is this your only zwave device?

[asbril]

8 hours ago, iseeyou said:

For some reason when i add the GE 14287 fan control it shows up as ZW002_1-Multilevel Switch and Fan Control(key 1) and Fan Control(key 2), not as a dimmer. and the controls are very hit or miss, sometimes it turns on/up the fan and sometimes it tells me request failed and that it cannot communicate with the fan control and to check my connections. Any suggestions?

 

I have 4 of these switches and they work without any issue. As Lilyoyo1 asks, if this is your only Zwave device then it may explain your issue. For Zwave to work best, you must have several (non-battery) devices to get you a well working mesh network. Others in this forum only have a Zwave lock and then have ongoing communication issues.

The more Zwave devices, the better your network. Some use Zwave extenders but I recommend to use plug-in devices (or even better wall switches) . These extend your network and actually serve a purpose, such as controlling a light. Make sure to get Zwave Plus devices.

[iseeyou]

Yep this is my first Zwave device. I needed four more fan controls anyway, just wanted to test the GE fan control to see if it had any of the annoying fan motor hum before I bought any more. Thanks for the help

[asbril]

57 minutes ago, iseeyou said:

Yep this is my first Zwave device. I needed four more fan controls anyway, just wanted to test the GE fan control to see if it had any of the annoying fan motor hum before I bought any more. Thanks for the help

I have never had a motor hum in the four years that I have had these switches. Make sure to perform a Heal Network after you add a Zwave device, as this will improve  your mesh network. As I mentioned earlier, make also sure to get the latest Zwave Plus model.