I’m going to be install a whole house fan and wanted to see if I could find a way to control the low/high speed of the fan.
I already have an outlet in the attic and it has a standard 3 prong wall plug so I’m going to hook it straight up to an AEON labs smart energy plug in Appliance module that I already have.
The only problem is that the speed would to locked to high.
Does anyone happen to know of a Z-wave device that would be able to control OFF, LOW, HIGH?
If I can’t find anything I was just going to go with a AEON Smart plug I already have and just install an old fashioned Switch to the control the HIGH/LOW Setting.
http://www.homedepot.com/p/QuietCool-2-Speed-Control-Switch-IT-35000/206049248
Here is the whole house fan I’m getting:
Quietcool 3100
http://www.homedepot.com/p/QuietCool-Classic-CL-3100-Advanced-Direct-Drive-Whole-House-Fan-with-Dampers-QC-CL-3100/206047343
Thanks in advance for your help!
Think of this fan as as two motors in one, a low speed motor and a high speed motor. Each motr has it’s own Load(winding) wire You’ve got to switch power to the low speed wire, or the high speed wire. A three position Single Pole Double Throw(SPDT) Z-Wave switch doesn’t exist**, so you need to use two Z-Wave switches.
You could use two Aeon Labs Aeotec Z-Wave Micro Smart Energy Switch, 2nd Edition (DSC18103-ZWUS) each wired to power one of the Load wires to the motor. But, this is clunky and relatively expensive.
A more consolidated solution would be to use one either a Vision In Wall Z-Wave Micro Switch, 2 relay or a Enerwave ZWN-RSM2 Z-Wave Smart Dual Relay Switch Module to switch the two load wires.
The important thing to remember with this setup is that it is possible, even easy/likely, to have both relays on at the same time and this should never be allowed to happen. I’m unsure if it would seriously damage the fan, but it certainly is a possibility. Both Load wires should never be energized simultaneously.
To avoid both Loads being energized at the same time, I would manage the switching with PLEG, using logic that would not energize one relay, if the other was already energized. But, I would also create a couple of regular simple “safety scenes” that are triggered by the turn On of the relays. When a relay is turned on, the scene is triggered to immediately turn Off the other, regardless of its state.
**Edit: It seems that the Philio PAN07 can be used as a SPDT switch. I’ve never used this relay and don’t have a U.S. retailer that I can offer.
Thanks for the reply! I’ve realized that I could accomplish this with 2 relays, but as you mentioned there is risk of them both being turned on at the same time. Unless I can find a cleaner solution, I will most likely go with Plug in appliance module a long with an fashioned switch.
Can this product be used as a SPDT switch?
http://www.amazon.com/Enerwave-ZWN-RSM1S-Z-Wave-Single-Function/dp/B00JW0G1A2/ref=pd_sim_328_1?ie=UTF8&refRID=129PKKCMWR58DETMP14V
I’ve been studying the wiring diagram and it I’m unsure at this point. One thing I’m concerned about is whether all of the wires can carry the load necessary for the fan.
I’d appreciate you opinion on this. Thoughts?
No, that is a Single Pole Single Throw switch(SPST). It is the single relay version of the Enerwave one I pointed you to above.
Rated at 10 amps, it can handle the fan’s running load of ~3 amps. Being an inductive motor, the fan’s startup amperage will be far higher than 3 amps, but the relay should not have any problem.
Actually I would go for a FAIL-SAFE solution.
One that Controls a SPDT relay that controls energizing the HIGH or LOW speed winding.
One that provides power to the COMMON wire on the SPDT relay.
I would set the Normally Off contact of the Relay to be the mode you are most likely to use.
But you always use PLEG to put to turn off the SPDT relay when not in use.
You can also use PLEG with a temperature sensor in the house and OUTDOOR Temperature Sensor and WindowAlarmZones (Indicating Windows or door are open) to control the PLEG. You can also automate High/Low based on temperature difference from setpoint.
I do this at my house. FanIsOn when (OutSideTemp < Setpoint) and (InsideTemp < Setpoint) and WindowsAreOPen
You can control the Speed of the Fan as FANHigh when (InsideTemp - OutSideTemp > 5) and FanIsOn
FANLOW when (InsideTemp - OutSideeTemp < 5)
And BothOff when !FanIsOn
Thanks for the info. That’s good advice.
Any recommendations as to which relay to use?
I need something that can safely handle the current. Think I can find something at my local home depot or radio shack?
Edit, would something like this work?
http://comingsoon.radioshack.com/12v-dc-10a-dpdt-relay/2750043.html#.VacgpkLKl44
My plan is use that relay, hook the +/- to a 12V wall wart and hook that to an existing AEON Labs smart energy switch that I already have. I would hook the high speed wire to NC and the low speed wire to NO so that it defaults to High speed. Think that would work?
You want a110v coil on the relay so the zwave switch ca control it directly without a wall wart.
I would get one rated for 5-10 amps inductive load.
[quote=“RichardTSchaefer, post:7, topic:188084”]You want a110v coil on the relay so the zwave switch ca control it directly without a wall wart.
I would get one rated for 5-10 amps inductive load.[/quote]
Something like this?
http://comingsoon.radioshack.com/125v-ac-10a-dpdt-relay/2750044.html
[quote=“RichardTSchaefer, post:5, topic:188084”]Actually I would go for a FAIL-SAFE solution.
One that Controls a SPDT relay that controls energizing the HIGH or LOW speed winding.
One that provides power to the COMMON wire on the SPDT relay.
I would set the Normally Off contact of the Relay to be the mode you are most likely to use.
But you always use PLEG to put to turn off the SPDT relay when not in use.
You can also use PLEG with a temperature sensor in the house and OUTDOOR Temperature Sensor and WindowAlarmZones (Indicating Windows or door are open) to control the PLEG. You can also automate High/Low based on temperature difference from setpoint.
I do this at my house. FanIsOn when (OutSideTemp < Setpoint) and (InsideTemp < Setpoint) and WindowsAreOPen
You can control the Speed of the Fan as FANHigh when (InsideTemp - OutSideTemp > 5) and FanIsOn
FANLOW when (InsideTemp - OutSideeTemp < 5)
And BothOff when !FanIsOn[/quote]
Can you please elaborate more on the logic for WindowAlarmZones?
I currently have a DSC alarm with Envisalink and 12 window sensors, and I would like to put in logic using these sensors. Should I create a virtual switch that is turned on or off based on the windows being open or closed? Or is thing something that PLEG can handle directly?
I have my whole house fan installed now and for a fail safe I want make the whole house fan automatically turn off if either of these conditions hold true:
- All Windows are closed
or
- Someone turns on the whole house fan and all of the windows are closed.
Thanks in advance
The logic is straight Forward in PLEG
AnyWindowOpen Window1 or Window2 or … WindowN
FanPowerOff FanOn and (Not AnyWindowOpen)
Although I would let the thermostat in the house control the fan:
FanPowerOff FanOn and (Not AnyWindowOpen) or (InsideTemp < ThermostatSetPoint)
You can auto turn the fan ON as well with something like:
FanPowerOn AnyWomndowOpen and (OutsideTemp > 55) and (InsideTemp > ThermostastSetPoint)
[quote=“RichardTSchaefer, post:10, topic:188084”]The logic is straight Forward in PLEG
AnyWindowOpen Window1 or Window2 or … WindowN
FanPowerOff FanOn and (Not AnyWindowOpen)
Although I would let the thermostat in the house control the fan:
FanPowerOff FanOn and (Not AnyWindowOpen) or (InsideTemp < ThermostatSetPoint)
You can auto turn the fan ON as well with something like:
FanPowerOn AnyWomndowOpen and (OutsideTemp > 55) and (InsideTemp > ThermostastSetPoint)[/quote]
Thanks for the post and also for creating the PLEG plugin! I just bought a license.
I was able to get it all taken care of using PLEG. I have the Whole House Fan auto shutting off if it’s turned on and none my 13 windows are open OR if the heater is turned on. It’s working great. Thank you
Hello,
I am a total noob here, I just got a QuietCool Whole House Fan, much like the OP, but I have no idea how to automate it. My main interest is in turning it on and off and managing the speeds. I can live with one of those, like maybe the on/off for now. Is there still no single stitch to do all I need (I think you called it a “three position Single Pole Double Throw(SPDT) Z-Wave switch”)? If not, then is my best bet to buy an on/off zwave switch to turn the fan on and off and leave the speed at low for when I want to automate (or high if I leave it on for fewer hours)?
The idea of doing what you all did with relays and such is beyond my abilities, at least from what I can see. Any direction would be appreciated.