Smart ceiling followers—fashions with wi-fi distant controls and digital-assistant compatibility—are a comparatively new factor. But you’ll be able to nonetheless management a legacy fan for those who exchange your in-wall change with one thing like Lutron’s Caséta Fan Control. It’s not a reasonable choice, particularly for those who don’t have already got a Caséta bridge related to your router, however it’s a superb one.
The Caséta bridge isn’t required you probably have no intention of integrating this fan controller into your broader good house system, however most TechHive readers will. Lutron’s Clear Connect Wireless know-how is on the coronary heart of the Caséta product line, and it’s a strong competitor to the broader Z-Wave and ZigBee ecosystems. I contemplate these platforms broader as a result of plenty of firms construct hardware primarily based on Z-Wave and ZigBee tech, the place Lutron is the one supply of Caséta gadgets.
That stated, along with this ceiling fan controller, you should buy Caséta good plugs, in-wall dimmers and switches, and wi-fi distant controls to go together with them. Once you’ve gotten a Caséta bridge related to your router, you can too management Lutron’s line of Serena motorized window shades in addition to Hunter model good ceiling followers.
Lutron’s Caséta Fan Control is simple to put in, supplied your private home has a impartial wire.
Lutron has additionally made a powerful effort to make its gadgets interoperable with different good house merchandise, maybe most significantly with good audio system powered by Amazon Alexa, Google Assistant, and Apple’s Siri. You may combine Caséta gadgets with Nest Cams (if the digital camera detects movement, the bridge can activate Caséta-controlled lights); the Nest Protect smoke alarm (if smoke is detected, the bridge can activate lights and open your window shades); a number of manufacturers of good thermostats (temperature controls are built-in into the Lutron app); and even Sonos multi-room audio techniques (you’ll be able to create scene-based lighting with music).
As I discussed earlier, for those who don’t have already got one, you will want to buy a Caséta Smart Bridge together with your first Caséta product, which provides a not-so-trivial price (about $80 on Amazon). But the second-generation mannequin is HomeKit-compatible if that’s essential to you (and if it’s not and you have already got the first-gen bridge, there’s no must improve). The bridge can also be accessible in numerous bundles with Caséta lighting controls. Actually, shopping for one among Lutron’s Caséta starter kits is the neatest method to go, since you may get a starter equipment with an in-wall dimmer, Pico distant, and the bridge for about $90 on Amazon. Lutron sadly doesn’t at present supply this fan controller in any bundles.
Installing a Lutron Caséta Fan Control
Assuming your ceiling fan is already managed by an in-wall, single-pole change, changing it with the Caséta Fan Control is a cinch—supplied you don’t make the error of organising the fan itself beforehand. So, earlier than you flip the facility off and disconnect your present change, flip in your ceiling fan and use its chain to set its motor to its highest velocity. If you don’t do that, no matter velocity it’s at might be as quick as it can flip if you set up the brand new fan management. You may additionally must snap off among the new fan management’s facet sections for those who’re mounting it in a field subsequent to different switches or dimmers.
The management has three pigtails: A yellow wire for load, a white wire for impartial, and a inexperienced wire for floor. Attach these to the suitable wires in your junction field with wire nuts, push the wires again within the field, after which mount the management to the field. The line wire popping out of your junction field will get wrapped round a screw terminal on the fan management.
Michael Brown / IDGYou may want to interrupt off the tabs on the facet of the fan management for those who’re putting in it in a junction field alongside different gadgets.
You’ll want a rocker-style change plate cowl within the occasion you’re changing a toggle-style change, however you don’t essentially want to purchase Lutron’s pretty-but-pricey Claro snap-on cowl (which provides the advantage of hidden screws). Please notice the Caséta Fan Control operates the fan solely, so in case your fan additionally has a lightweight, will probably be managed individually. And if the fan is managed by a three-way change as a substitute of a single-pole, you’ll additionally want Lutron’s Pico Remote and Pico Wallbox Adapter (you’ll be able to read the details on that here).
The Caséta Fan Control has 5 buttons: The giant buttons on the prime and backside flip the fan on (at full velocity) and off respectively; two triangular buttons within the center improve and reduce the fan velocity (in 4 increments); and a spherical programmable button within the center memorizes your favourite fan velocity. A column of 4 LEDs glow to point the fan’s present velocity. These are darkish when the fan is turned off, in order that they don’t add to your room’s gentle air pollution.
Michael Brown / IDGLutron’s smartphone app provides the identical controls that you just’ll discover on the gadget itself.
Once put in and built-in together with your digital assistant of selection, the best method to management your ceiling fan is to speak to your good speaker. I assumed I might do this the identical means I management my good lighting controls, through the use of proportion values (e.g., “Alexa, turn the fan on at 50 percent.”) But the Caséta Fan Control solely acknowledges on, off, low, medium, medium-high, and excessive—simple sufficient to recollect when you get used to it.
If you don’t have a sensible speaker, otherwise you simply don’t wish to discuss to it, you’ll be able to management your ceiling fan with Lutron’s diminutive Pico Remote. It has the identical 5 buttons because the in-wall management (and there’s an elective bracket accessible that permits you to dock it to a junction field within the wall), however it’s fairly costly ($30 at Amazon) and its small dimension makes it very simple to lose observe of.
A worthwhile funding in indoor consolation
You can purchase a brand new good ceiling fan for as little as $250 lately, however it’s an entire lot simpler to swap out a wall-mounted change than to switch a whole ceiling-mounted fixture. And the fan you already personal may be of upper high quality. The Lutron Caséta Fan Control is of very prime quality, it’s supremely simple to put in, and when tied to the Caséta bridge and a sensible speaker, it can develop into an integral a part of your good house system even when don’t use different Caséta merchandise.
I exploit a Vivint Smart Home system, for instance, and have Leviton Z-Wave fan controls for among the ceiling followers in different rooms in my house. But since I usually use voice instructions to regulate followers, it doesn’t matter that the Caséta fan management isn’t built-in with the Vivint Sky management panel or the Vivint smartphone app. And once I do management the fan from the wall, the velocity buttons on the Caséta fan management are far superior to the skinny bar on the Leviton management.
The Lutron Caséta Fan Control is a bit expensive—and the Pico distant is silly costly—however it’s a high-end gadget that delivers comfort in spades.