Fan control question

[roberthleeii]

I am looking at getting to bond hub to control several fans I am planning to buy as we redo our house.  I am confused how the bond works with the node server.  I really want to control the fan speeds with the isy but from what I read on the bond forum is that it mimics the remote that comes with the fan. If the remote only has a single fan button that cycles through the fan speeds not dedicated high, med , low buttons how does the isy control the fan speed with the bond hub. 

[Goose66]

The Bond Bridge is essentially just a gateway between a Wi-fi-based API and IR and RF remote control signals. What can be controlled on any given ceiling fan, fireplace, blind, or other device is a product of the design of the device and its remote. So if the fan is only controlled by one class of remote and that remote only offers a single button to cycle the speed of the fan, then that's the most that the Bond Bridge will be able to absolutely control. This is the case with the light as well,  which more frequently represents a problem. While most fans I have seen offer separate speed controls on the remote, the remote often time only offers a single toggle switch for the light. So there is not absolute control over the light state.

However, there are a couple of other considerations here:

1. While the remote that comes with the fan may only offer that one button, other remotes available for the fan may offer finer control over speed, light, etc., which means there are remote codes built into the fan controller onboard the fan that the Bond Bridge may be able to replicate to give you finer absolute control. Olibra has a library of codes available that can be downloaded to your Bond Bridge by specifying the FCC ID of your fan or remote, so you may enter the FCC ID of a very limited remote but get otherwise functional commands that the remote is not even capable of sending. You should investigate the capabilities of the fan and the available control/remote codes before purchasing.

2. For limited commands like speed and light toggle buttons, the Bond Bridge will (configurably) attempt to track the state of the device and provide "simulated" remote control buttons that allow you to do more absolute controls. For example, even though the fan in my bedroom only has a toggle switch for the light, I have enabled track state and the Bond Bridge  presents an On and Off button in the app (and through the API) to control the light. This really only works if ALL control of the light is done through the Bond Bridge (e.g., ISY control, Alexa control, BondHome app control), however, and if someone picks up the fan remote or uses the wall controller to change the status of the light, the Bond Bridge will lose the tracked state and it has to be manually reset. The way I get around this is the remote is kept in a drawer and the wall controller is kept behind a door panel, and I have Insteon switches and Alexa commands that control the fan through the Bond Bridge via the ISY and the Bond node server.

The Bond node server only exposes the commands that the Bond Bridge makes available in the BondHome app, whether the commands represent absolute commands/remote buttons available for the fan or simulated commands through tracked state. The node server itself doesn't do anything to track the state.

The one thing the node server does do is provide two different ways to access and set fan speed: for a multi-speed fan that exposes absolute controls for each speed, the corresponding node from the node server exposes a state (ST) value that is controllable like an Insteon dimmable switch or fan controller, i.e. is a percentage 0-100% and responds to On, Off, Brighten, and Dim commands. The node server mathematically converts the percentage into the absolute speed and sends it to the fan via the Bond Bridge (or vice-versa for status reporting). This allows the fan to be dropped into a scene with, e.g., an Insteon dimmer switch to allow easy wall control of the fan through the ISY/node server/BondBridge. The node also has a Set Speed command allowing you to set the speed of the fan, e.g. from the Admin Console or through a program, to a specific speed number between 1 and 10 (you have to know your fan's max speed number). This allows you to setup more precise control of the fan, e.g., through Insteon keypad keys and associated programs in the ISY.

My advice is, if HA control of the fans are a priority, then make sure the fans have the capability to be directly controlled. For DC fans (which I assume you are considering in a new remodel), the only way to control speed is through the remote and controller that comes with - using an AC dimmer like the Insteon Fanlinc just doesn't work. Having a fan with absolute control codes for both fan speed and light state is most desirable. Also, if the fan has more than one light, e.g. an uplight and a downlight, make sure those can be controlled separately. Whether the fan has it's own Wi-Fi interface or you end up using the Bond Bridge, choosing the right fan will give you the most options for integrating into your home automation system.

[vbPhil]

On 5/1/2022 at 9:48 AM, Goose66 said:

The Bond Bridge is essentially just a gateway between a Wi-fi-based API and IR and RF remote control signals.............

Having a fan with absolute control codes for both fan speed and light state is most desirable.

@Goose66is very correct here. I just bought a Bond Bridge and am not very happy with it. But, going into it I wasn't sure how well it would work anyway. I'm most happy with just a pull chain, non-remote fan and a Enlighten z-wave fan switch. This way you get absolute control over the fan and the correct status of the fan in ISY. 

• I had hoped that the Bond Bridge would control a Vornado IR, floor fan but, no. I guess the IR frequency is wrong. It would turn on/off a Dyson IR floor fan but wouldn't control the speeds, rotation or timer. When you "learn" an IR remote with the Bond Bridge it gives you only one toggle button to program. I choose the on/off button so that was all I could do with it.
• The other hope I had was with my Great Room ceiling fan, a Hunter Apache with SIMPLEConnect WiFi, RF control. The Bond Bridge didn't have the correct FCC ID code for that remote and suggested 2 codes that were close but not exact and only 3 speeds, not 4. Goose66 is right about the fan supporting more functionality than the remote provides but that does you no good if Bond hasn't written a template for that. If you have to "learn" a remote you won't be able to program that additional functionality. So, if your remote only has simple toggle on/off and up/down speeds that's all that Bond will do.
• The issue with Bond and ISY not in sync is definitely real. If your fan just supports toggle commands the ISY and the fan will never be in sync when you also use the fan remote or WiFi app. 
• Too bad I didn't see Goose66's writeup before my Bond purchase. Could have saved $100.