TheWizard Posted January 21, 2012 Posted January 21, 2012 Hello all! Here is my experience installing the new FanLinc (2475F) I just got yesterday from Smarthome. Someone suggested I write a review, so I decided to share my installation experience. I was pretty excited to get it. I've been looking at installing some home automation stuff for over a year and finally decided on an ISY-994i controller. Best Buy had them, and I had a bunch of gift cards to use. So why not! I'm kind of a newbie at this so hopefully the wording I used is correct. I have a 3 year old ceiling fan with a light (Harbor Breeze). When I originally installed it, I installed it with the included RF controller that controlled the fan (Off, Low, Med, High) and could dim the light. This RF controller has close to the same wiring and control scheme as the FanLinc. The four wires being: 1) White - Neutral 2) Black - Line 3) Red - Fan Control 4) Blue - Light Control Note on the Fan Speed: The fan is controlled by a "3-speed" motor (Off, Low, Med, High) by using the pull chain. I had this set to the medium speed so the RF controller's "high" setting would run the fan at the motor's actual medium speed and then proportionally down from there. The motor's high speed was WAY too fast for the room it was in. So for my FanLinc installation I left the motor's pull chain speed at medium. The FanLinc's Quick-Start Guide recommends using the highest fan setting. Don't forget to make sure the light is on also. In the Box: - FanLinc - 4 Wire nuts - Cable Tie - Quick Start Guide Wiring: The original power (Line) to the ceiling box was controlled by a wall switch. This switch was removed and I rewired the circuit so the power to the ceiling box was always hot. In place of the old switch I installed a 6-button KeypadLinc (KPL)(2486DWH6) without a load connected. I borrowed the idea from Smarthome’s FanLinc product page. The KPL’s large buttons control the light and the smaller scene buttons control the four fan speeds. Setup: Following the Quick-Start Guide included with the FanLinc: I linked Fan Speed High to KPL Button A. I linked Fan Speed Med to KPL Button B. I linked Fan Speed Low to KPL Button C. I linked Fan Speed “OFF†to KPL Button D. I linked all the FanLinc Light to the On/Off buttons on the KPL. I linked the KPL to the ISY and changed the "Buttons Grouping" so the A, B, C and D were all Mutually Exclusive. That way when I changed the fan speed the other staus light on the KPL would shut off. The light and fan operation worked perfect using the KPL. ISY Integration: I already linked the KPL to manage the buttons' grouping. Now it came time to try and link the FanLinc to the ISY. I was able to get light to link. It showed up as an "Unsupported Device 1:46". I'm able to set the Current State, On Level, and Ramp Rate. So that's good. I tried linking the Fan Speed settings, like I did with the KPL, but no luck. There may be a way to get a second group on the same address to link to the ISY, but that is beyond my knowledge at this point. I just got my ISY a week ago. Here are some extra pics: Size camparison with old RF controller Close up of buttons before install FanLinc INSTALLED!! The fan and light LEDs are red when the fan and light are off. The Fan LED will blink(green) at different rates depending on the speed selected. The Light LED will go solid green when the light is on. From what I can remember, all of the ceiling fans I've installed over the past 14 or 15 years (may be 10 or so) all had room for a controller to be installed in the fan's hanging bracket. Unfortunately, if you have a ceiling fan with the controller built in to the motor assembly, chances are the FanLinc won't work for you. If there are any questions about what I did please feel free to ask. And I hope this might help someone trying to install a FanLInc for the first time. Enjoy! -TheWizard UPDATE: 01-24-2012: After using the FanLinc for a few days there is one more thing I'd like to comment on. The LEDs on the FanLinc are bright. The canopy on my ceiling fan fits flat to the ceiling except I have a textured (orange peel) ceiling and the light from the LEDs "leak" through the space, so when the light is OFF the Light LED is Red and shows at night. So today I covered the LED holes on the FanLinc case with two small pieces of black electrical tape, I'll see how it works tonight when it gets dark enough to test. UPDATE: 01-25-2012: Black electrical tape worked!! Success! Just wanted to bring this to everyone's attention, if you are concerned about possibly having a red glow coming from your ceiling fan's canopy, there is a solution.
Teken Posted January 21, 2012 Posted January 21, 2012 Hello all! Here is my experience installing the new FanLinc (2475F) I just got yesterday from Smarthome. Someone suggested I write a review, so I decided to share my installation experience. I was pretty excited to get it. I've been looking at installing some home automation stuff for over a year and finally decided on an ISY-994i controller. Best Buy had them, and I had a bunch of gift cards to use. So why not! I'm kind of a newbie at this so hopefully the wording I used is correct. I have a 3 year old ceiling fan with a light (Harbor Breeze). When I originally installed it, I installed it with the included RF controller that controlled the fan (Off, Low, Med, High) and could dim the light. This RF controller has close to the same wiring and control scheme as the FanLinc. The four wires being: 1) White - Neutral 2) Black - Line 3) Red - Fan Control 4) Blue - Light Control Note on the Fan Speed: The fan is controlled by a "3-speed" motor (Off, Low, Med, High) by using the pull chain. I had this set to the medium speed so the RF controller's "high" setting would run the fan at the motor's actual medium speed and then proportionally down from there. The motor's high speed was WAY too fast for the room it was in. So for my FanLinc installation I left the motor's pull chain speed at medium. The FanLinc's Quick-Start Guide recommends using the highest fan setting. Don't forget to make sure the light is on also. In the Box: - FanLinc - 4 Wire nuts - Cable Tie - Quick Start Guide Wiring: The original power (Line) to the ceiling box was controlled by a wall switch. This switch was removed and I rewired the circuit so the power to the ceiling box was always hot. In place of the old switch I installed a 6-button KeypadLinc (KPL)(2486DWH6) without a load connected. I borrowed the idea from Smarthome’s FanLinc product page. The KPL’s large buttons control the light and the smaller scene buttons control the four fan speeds. Setup: Following the Quick-Start Guide included with the FanLinc: I linked Fan Speed High to KPL Button A. I linked Fan Speed Med to KPL Button B. I linked Fan Speed Low to KPL Button C. I linked Fan Speed “OFF†to KPL Button D. I linked all the FanLinc Light to the On/Off buttons on the KPL. I linked the KPL to the ISY and changed the "Buttons Grouping" so the A, B, C and D were all Mutually Exclusive. That way when I changed the fan speed the other staus light on the KPL would shut off. The light and fan operation worked perfect using the KPL. ISY Integration: I already linked the KPL to manage the buttons' grouping. Now it came time to try and link the FanLinc to the ISY. I was able to get light to link. It showed up as an "Unsupported Device 1:46". I'm able to set the Current State, On Level, and Ramp Rate. So that's good. I tried linking the Fan Speed settings, like I did with the KPL, but no luck. There may be a way to get a second group on the same address to link to the ISY, but that is beyond my knowledge at this point. I just got my ISY a week ago. Here are some extra pics: Size camparison with old RF controller Close up of buttons before install FanLinc INSTALLED!! The fan and light LEDs are red when the fan and light are off. The Fan LED will blink(green) at different rates depending on the speed selected. The Light LED will go solid green when the light is on. From what I can remember, all of the ceiling fans I've installed over the past 14 or 15 years (may be 10 or so) all had room for a controller to be installed in the fan's hanging bracket. Unfortunately, if you have a ceiling fan with the controller built in to the motor assembly, chances are the FanLinc won't work for you. If there are any questions about what I did please feel free to ask. And I hope this might help someone trying to install a FanLInc for the first time. Enjoy! -TheWizard TheWizard, That was an amazing write up and review! Thank you so much for taking the time to do the write up and also including all the excellent dimensional sizing on the graph. If you could please advise me of the following: Upon pressing any of the KPL buttons does the fan in fact react instantly?? Also would you mind providing us all the model number of this fan fixture along with a picture of the fan installed in its final resting place. Lastly, does this fan have a reverse function?? Regards Teken . . .
TheWizard Posted January 22, 2012 Author Posted January 22, 2012 TheWizard, That was an amazing write up and review! Thank you so much for taking the time to do the write up and also including all the excellent dimensional sizing on the graph. Thanks! and you're welcome FYI, the dimensions are in inches. Thought I would just mention that for clarity. If you could please advise me of the following: Upon pressing any of the KPL buttons does the fan in fact react instantly?? Also would you mind providing us all the model number of this fan fixture along with a picture of the fan installed in its final resting place. Lastly, does this fan have a reverse function?? I'm not sure by what your definition of instantly is, but the fan starts to spin up within 1 second after hitting the secondary scene buttons. So I'd say, yes. The fan is a Harbor Breeze 52" Halston II Brushed Nickel Ceiling Fan Model#00248, I got it at Lowes about 3 years ago. My house had wiring pre-pulled to install ceiling fans in certain rooms. The FanLinc fits into the mounting bracket and is covered by the canopy (thats the bowl looking thing at the ceiling). The fan does have a reverse switch on it. -ThWizard
LeeG Posted January 22, 2012 Posted January 22, 2012 TheWizard You will not be able to control the FanLinc Fan with the ISY as the FanLinc uses a separate Scene (Group) number for the Fan control which the ISY will not generate until support for that device is added to the ISY. Also note that the ISY is not aware of any Set button links created. The ISY will eventually overlay or erase the Set button links. Ditto on the extremely well done documentation Lee
TheWizard Posted January 22, 2012 Author Posted January 22, 2012 TheWizard You will not be able to control the FanLinc Fan with the ISY as the FanLinc uses a separate Scene (Group) number for the Fan control which the ISY will not generate until support for that device is added to the ISY. Also note that the ISY is not aware of any Set button links created. The ISY will eventually overlay or erase the Set button links. Ditto on the extremely well done documentation Lee Lee, Just found out about ISY overwriting the settings in the KPL. I was messing around with the settings on the adim console and when it wrote the the update to the KPL I lost the links I manually created on the KPL to the fan.... hehe. Hope ISY gets the device added soon. The light still works fine because it shows up as a device to the ISY. Thanks for comments. Very insightful and helpful. -TheWizard
Teken Posted January 22, 2012 Posted January 22, 2012 TheWizard, That was an amazing write up and review! Thank you so much for taking the time to do the write up and also including all the excellent dimensional sizing on the graph. Thanks! and you're welcome FYI, the dimensions are in inches. Thought I would just mention that for clarity. If you could please advise me of the following: Upon pressing any of the KPL buttons does the fan in fact react instantly?? Also would you mind providing us all the model number of this fan fixture along with a picture of the fan installed in its final resting place. Lastly, does this fan have a reverse function?? I'm not sure by what your definition of instantly is, but the fan starts to spin up within 1 second after hitting the secondary scene buttons. So I'd say, yes. The fan is a Harbor Breeze 52" Halston II Brushed Nickel Ceiling Fan Model#00248, I got it at Lowes about 3 years ago. My house had wiring pre-pulled to install ceiling fans in certain rooms. The FanLinc fits into the mounting bracket and is covered by the canopy (thats the bowl looking thing at the ceiling). The fan does have a reverse switch on it. -ThWizard Is the switch / pull chain for the reverse on the fan fixture itself? If not, do you believe you will be able to enable the reverse function via one of the KPL buttons. I ask because I am in the mist of deploying several ceiling fan fixtures through out the home. The key thing is knowing if the reverse feature is specific with the mounted unit. Or one needs to simply engage / pull / press the appropriate chains, buttons, what have you for the reverse to happen. Reversing will not be something I will be doing during the summer months. But, will be doing in the winter time, which I am currently enjoying now. Just trying to get a general idea of what needs to be done for the future. If I have to get up on a ladder once a season to enable reverse not a big deal. If it can be done remotely even better! BTW: Are you the same member *TheWizard* on GJ? Teken . . .
TheWizard Posted January 22, 2012 Author Posted January 22, 2012 Is the switch / pull chain for the reverse on the fan fixture itself? If not, do you believe you will be able to enable the reverse function via one of the KPL buttons. The pull chains are for 1) motor speed and 2) light. There is a slide switch on the side of the motor housing for reverse. Automating could be useful I also change mine twice a year when the weather changes. Don't think I'm the same "Wizard".
Teken Posted January 22, 2012 Posted January 22, 2012 Is the switch / pull chain for the reverse on the fan fixture itself? If not, do you believe you will be able to enable the reverse function via one of the KPL buttons. The pull chains are for 1) motor speed and 2) light. There is a slide switch on the side of the motor housing for reverse. Automating could be useful I also change mine twice a year when the weather changes. Don't think I'm the same "Wizard". The particular unit you have displayed here. Can the fan blades be adjusted also to allow more lift / push? Teken . . .
TheWizard Posted January 22, 2012 Author Posted January 22, 2012 The particular unit you have displayed here. Can the fan blades be adjusted also to allow more lift / push? Teken . . . No, only one pitch angle.
Tmc Posted January 26, 2012 Posted January 26, 2012 I have been wanting to add remote control of some of my "hardwired" ceiling fans for many years. I was also wondering why Smarthome didn't have something for Insteon control. So I was delighted to find out they now have the FanLinc. Since the SmartHome linking instructions were sketchey, I came here to the UDI Forum to see if I could learn anything because I would also want to add it to my ISY-99i. Look what I found! Wow, TheWizard, what a great write up! I learned some very important things here: 1. The ISY-99i can't control the FanLinc right now, but will in the future. 2. The manual FanLinc linking to the KPL isn't so hard and does work. 3. Don't add the KPL or the FanLinc to the ISY Devices list because ISY will eventually overwrite the KPL manual linking. 4. Be patient and wait for the ISY update. All good things come in time. Regarding the question about reversing the fan remotely, from what I have seen of the reverse switch schematics it usually reverses the wires to one of the motor windings downstream of the single power wire. This would take additional circuitry in the control module and input/output wires. I believe most modules avoid that complexity. I guess if you have to climb the ladder twice a year, at least all you have to do is slide the switch, not open the cowling. I have 2 FanLincs ordered. I think I'll make a little jig with 2 lights for loads and temporarily wire the FanLinc to them. Then I can manually link the KPL to the FanLinc with it sitting on the table and easily accessible rather than trying to stand on a ladder. After linking, I can move it to the actual fan location. Be careful if you have 120 vac exposed if you do this. Thank you to TheWizard for your great post! -Tim
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