Don't forget to make sure the chains are set to HIGH when you install the smart switch! As to fan controls.Īs the comments allude to, a fan requires a special fan speed controller instead of an ordinary dimmer regular dimmers may burn out prematurely, cause the fan to hum most annoyingly, or even damage the fan itself due to overheating. However, most fan controllers aren't too picky otherwise, and will work with any fan where you have to wire the light kit and fan motor to separate wires on the remote, or fans that ship without a remote for that matter, just pull chains.

While some of these fans may be available with 'smart' features out of the box, they don't lend themselves to integration with any sort of broader ecosystem of smart devices. Some newer fan designs use a DC fan motor, driven by an integral speed controller as a result, they don't play nicely with third-party controls. The other issue you'll run into is that you will need to be somewhat careful when you shop for fans.

Be careful when you shop for fans, though! Finally, you'll want to arrange your wiring so that neutral is available at the primary control location, if not all control locations this is important as smart switches generally require neutral to power themselves properly. To go along with this, you'll also want to have two switch gangs available at all control locations you plan to operate the light and fan from that way, you can use separate devices for light and fan control, instead of limiting yourself to combination controllers. You're on the right track with running separate switched hots for the fan and lightįirst off, you're definitely on the correct track with running separate switched hots for the fan and light having only one switched-hot at the fan location limits your options quite severely.

Smart ceiling fan control switch