alanchow Posted May 5, 2020 Share Posted May 5, 2020 Hi guys, We are starting a series of informational newsletters that we have named SMART HOME PRO TIPS. We will send this out through our Control4 mailing list in hopes that we can pass on the knowledge and educate both integrators and consumers about which products to choose from and what to do to create the ultimate smart home! In our first issue we talk about how easy it is to integrate ceiling fans with Control4 using technology from Bond and BIg Ass Fans. If you arn't subscribed to our newsletter you can view the first issue via the following link. https://mailchi.mp/chowmainsoft/smart-home-pro-tips-easy-ceiling-fan-control4-integration Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Elvis Posted May 6, 2020 Share Posted May 6, 2020 (edited) Hi Alan, I am planning on using two Minka Slipstream fans in the boat house with a Bond Bridge. What I don't understand is how this helps integrate with Control4 physical switches or fan controls? Would I use a C4 fan controller or configurable keypad or ?? We liked what we had in our old house, which was one dimmer for the fan light, and one fan speed controller for the fan. (GE Z wave and Vera) These worked great because the fan speed controllers remembered the last speed, so tapping them on turned the fan on to the last speed selected. This is what I want both in the house and in the boat house. Edit: We had one Minka fan at the old house. We had it on one switch and used the remote to change speed/direction/light. The problem was that when we turned it off with the physical switch, when we turned it back on it was like it had to boot up. It would eventually come on to the last setting, but the delay was great enough that when someone hit the switch and nothing happened, they assumed they had the wrong switch and flipped it back off and tried another switch. Not satisfactory. Want to avoid this. Thank you. p.s. thanks for the newsletter. great idea. On 5/5/2020 at 1:51 AM, alanchow said: Hi guys, We are starting a series of informational newsletters that we have named SMART HOME PRO TIPS. We will send this out through our Control4 mailing list in hopes that we can pass on the knowledge and educate both integrators and consumers about which products to choose from and what to do to create the ultimate smart home! In our first issue we talk about how easy it is to integrate ceiling fans with Control4 using technology from Bond and BIg Ass Fans. If you arn't subscribed to our newsletter you can view the first issue via the following link. https://mailchi.mp/chowmainsoft/smart-home-pro-tips-easy-ceiling-fan-control4-integration Edited May 6, 2020 by Elvis Added paragraph about previous Minka Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lippavisual Posted May 6, 2020 Share Posted May 6, 2020 Integration with B.A.F. or using the Bond, doesn't require high voltage control. Therefore, if using either of these, you can use configurable keypads to program your fan speed and lighting controls. If wiring fans traditionally, and want control of both fan speed and lights, then you will need at minimum a 14/3 electrical wire at the fan from the jbox (shared ground/neutral with 2 Hot). You would install a dimmer to the fans light lead only for lighting. Install the fan speed controller to the fans motor lead. This applies only for fans that use AC power motors and also bypasses the use of the external remote control that usually comes with them. Elvis 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Elvis Posted May 6, 2020 Share Posted May 6, 2020 1 hour ago, lippavisual said: Integration with B.A.F. or using the Bond, doesn't require high voltage control. Therefore, if using either of these, you can use configurable keypads to program your fan speed and lighting controls. Not sure what B.A.F. is but I do plan to use the Bond Bridge. Sounds like wiring it hot (on all the time) and using the wireless keypad is the way to go. All on one switch. Or use the remote. I might have them wire it to an essential on/off switch in the storage room so I can shut it off if the Bridge is not responsive. Thank you. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lippavisual Posted May 6, 2020 Share Posted May 6, 2020 B.A.F.= Big Ass Fan (brand) If using the Bond, you must install the RF module that comes with the fan. That's how the Bond will control it. Then you can use C4 control or the remote that comes with it. The state of the fan will be shown as well when using the supplied remote. Good luck! Elvis 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Elvis Posted May 6, 2020 Share Posted May 6, 2020 1 minute ago, lippavisual said: Good luck! Thanks, I'm going to need it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alanchow Posted May 6, 2020 Author Share Posted May 6, 2020 If you are going to invest in a Minka fan get one of the Minka-Aire Smart Fans. This has Bond technology built in. Just install the fan and the driver and you're ready to rock and roll. https://www.minkagroup.net/smart-fan/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Elvis Posted May 7, 2020 Share Posted May 7, 2020 Yeah, I was going to but the Slipstream moves the most air. Do I miss anything with the Bond bridge, other than $99? 29 minutes ago, alanchow said: If you are going to invest in a Minka fan get one of the Minka-Aire Smart Fans. This has Bond technology built in. Just install the fan and the driver and you're ready to rock and roll. https://www.minkagroup.net/smart-fan/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alanchow Posted May 7, 2020 Author Share Posted May 7, 2020 4 minutes ago, Elvis said: Yeah, I was going to but the Slipstream moves the most air. Do I miss anything with the Bond bridge, other than $99? you will lose bi-directional feedback if you use the original remote as the Bond Bridge only sends RF. It doesn't receive it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Elvis Posted May 7, 2020 Share Posted May 7, 2020 3 minutes ago, alanchow said: you will lose bi-directional feedback if you use the original remote as the Bond Bridge only sends RF. It doesn't receive it. Well that matters. From this below, I misunderstood to think I'd get feedback... eh. May have to give up some CFMs to get the smart fan. 4 hours ago, lippavisual said: B.A.F.= Big Ass Fan (brand) If using the Bond, you must install the RF module that comes with the fan. That's how the Bond will control it. Then you can use C4 control or the remote that comes with it. The state of the fan will be shown as well when using the supplied remote. Good luck! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bmarshall Posted May 11, 2020 Share Posted May 11, 2020 So the Minka smart fans that connect to wifi only require the Bond Home Controller driver and not the $99 rf hardware device? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alanchow Posted May 11, 2020 Author Share Posted May 11, 2020 46 minutes ago, bmarshall said: So the Minka smart fans that connect to wifi only require the Bond Home Controller driver and not the $99 rf hardware device? That is correct. It already has bond built in. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
THE L1ZARD KING Posted May 25, 2020 Share Posted May 25, 2020 When using the Chowmain Bond driver, is there anyway to reduce the number of fan speeds the C4 UI shows? My fans display 7 speeds but my fans only support 3, the Bond bridge identified them correctly as well. Using Composer HE I can only set the default on speed and don’t see any other knobs to turn. So far I just automated around it, any speed greater than 3 just sets the speed back to 3 (high). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
msgreenf Posted May 26, 2020 Share Posted May 26, 2020 When using the Chowmain Bond driver, is there anyway to reduce the number of fan speeds the C4 UI shows? My fans display 7 speeds but my fans only support 3, the Bond bridge identified them correctly as well. Using Composer HE I can only set the default on speed and don’t see any other knobs to turn. So far I just automated around it, any speed greater than 3 just sets the speed back to 3 (high). No way to change that. I talked to Alan about it when bond came out. The number of speeds can't be dynamic in c4 so he had to set it to 7 to account for everything Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
THE L1ZARD KING Posted May 26, 2020 Share Posted May 26, 2020 Thanks for the confirmation Mitch. Glad I didn’t miss anything. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jakelay Posted June 27, 2020 Share Posted June 27, 2020 Quick question on the Bond driver. Are you able to control the lights in the fan and see the light states in C4? I know the last state issue can make this unreliable but I am usually in the rooms when the fans are running and the lights are on/off so I don’t need that as much. I didn’t see any lighting icons in the the photos I’ve seen from the driver so wanted to verify. Also, can the driver operate fan direction/reverse? Was originally planning on a fan controller but now rethinking just leaving the RF modules in the fan and using a keypad dimmer instead to control the fan and lights via the driver and just pop a switch in for the ‘dummy’ light switch in the gang. This way we wouldn’t have to remove the RF module and rewire anything. The fan light in one of the rooms is our main overhead light so we would want to be able to use the Bond to control the light and the fan via keypad buttons. Thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alanchow Posted June 27, 2020 Author Share Posted June 27, 2020 29 minutes ago, Jakelay said: Quick question on the Bond driver. Are you able to control the lights in the fan and see the light states in C4? I know the last state issue can make this unreliable but I am usually in the rooms when the fans are running and the lights are on/off so I don’t need that as much. I didn’t see any lighting icons in the the photos I’ve seen from the driver so wanted to verify. Also, can the driver operate fan direction/reverse? Was originally planning on a fan controller but now rethinking just leaving the RF modules in the fan and using a keypad dimmer instead to control the fan and lights via the driver and just pop a switch in for the ‘dummy’ light switch in the gang. This way we wouldn’t have to remove the RF module and rewire anything. The fan light in one of the rooms is our main overhead light so we would want to be able to use the Bond to control the light and the fan via keypad buttons. Thanks! The driver provides fan speeds and on/off lighting control on all navigator user interfaces. It also provides 0-100 light dimming for smart by bond fans. it does not map other functions to navigator but all commands are accessible within programming. As such your programmer will need to map additional commands (like direction) to an experience button pressed or other programming event. Keypad button control is easily achieved as well as keypad bindings are available. the driver does provide Bi-directional control / feedback from the states that bond tracks internally. For bond bridge this is essentially one way but for smart by bond fans it is true two way (ie you can use the smart by bond remote and Control4 will feed back). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jakelay Posted June 28, 2020 Share Posted June 28, 2020 1 hour ago, alanchow said: The driver provides fan speeds and on/off lighting control on all navigator user interfaces. It also provides 0-100 light dimming for smart by bond fans. it does not map other functions to navigator but all commands are accessible within programming. As such your programmer will need to map additional commands (like direction) to an experience button pressed or other programming event. Keypad button control is easily achieved as well as keypad bindings are available. the driver does provide Bi-directional control / feedback from the states that bond tracks internally. For bond bridge this is essentially one way but for smart by bond fans it is true two way (ie you can use the smart by bond remote and Control4 will feed back). Great - thanks so much! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lukas.polivka Posted June 28, 2020 Share Posted June 28, 2020 On 5/26/2020 at 2:04 AM, msgreenf said: On 5/26/2020 at 1:56 AM, THE L1ZARD KING said: When using the Chowmain Bond driver, is there anyway to reduce the number of fan speeds the C4 UI shows? My fans display 7 speeds but my fans only support 3, the Bond bridge identified them correctly as well. Using Composer HE I can only set the default on speed and don’t see any other knobs to turn. So far I just automated around it, any speed greater than 3 just sets the speed back to 3 (high). No way to change that. I talked to Alan about it when bond came out. The number of speeds can't be dynamic in c4 so he had to set it to 7 to account for everything They could create separate versions with 1-7 speeds (or whatever numbers make sense)… Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alanchow Posted June 28, 2020 Author Share Posted June 28, 2020 2 hours ago, lukas.polivka said: They could create separate versions with 1-7 speeds (or whatever numbers make sense)… We did that in the last version already. We got a bit impatient waiting for Control4 to implement dynamic speeds so we forked the driver. Just select the one with the speed that suits not as elegant but it works lukas.polivka, msgreenf and THE L1ZARD KING 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pounce Posted June 28, 2020 Share Posted June 28, 2020 Anyone know how to source a Bond Bridge Pro? https://bondhome.io/products/bond-pro/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
msgreenf Posted June 28, 2020 Share Posted June 28, 2020 Amazon Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pounce Posted June 28, 2020 Share Posted June 28, 2020 39 minutes ago, msgreenf said: Amazon I don't see the pro version on Amazon. Got a link? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
msgreenf Posted June 28, 2020 Share Posted June 28, 2020 I don't see the pro version on Amazon. Got a link?Sorry. I was referring to the regular bond not the pro. Idk where to get the pro Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jakelay Posted June 28, 2020 Share Posted June 28, 2020 Well, thanks to this forum and all of you helping out I think I decided to go with bond and leave my RF fan modules (and 1 IR where I’ll put the bridge that’s centrally locates to all of the fans I want to control) in the fans. This way I can use the remotes to switch the fan direction, or the Bond app, if my dealer isn’t good with experience buttons (they have not installed a bond bridge yet - ugh!). I may reach out to someone for remote help to set this up after we get the system up and running and work out the bugs with our installer. So if I go this route, should I just get a mechanical switch for the ‘dummy’ light switch that is being bypassed to the RF/IR modules for the fan lights and then get a keypad dimmer instead of what I was going to do - a dimmer switch for hardwiring the lights and a fan controller for the fan control? This would seem to give me more options for programming if I’m just going to use the Bond setup. Can a keypad dimmer be installed where the fan toggle switch is now instead of a fan controller (ie will it handle the fan load)? Thanks again! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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