Electrical: Remote Fan and 3-way??????

[LD1]

Lets see what the brilliant minds come up with here.

background....wiring parents new house. This is log-home type construction so wiring is a PITA. We only ran 1 wire to where the ceiling-fan and light will mount in the lifing room. No chance at running another wire to that location.

So the dilema, we have ONE wire from the switchbox to the fan. How to control BOTH the fan and the light with that one wire?

Pretty easy, use a wall mounted remote fixture. BUT, would also like that light to be controlled from a second location (3-way). That way, that light can be controlled from the entrance from the garage as well as the front entrance.

So are there any of them remotes that are able to be used like a 3-way? I havent had any luck. Its not the end of the world if it cannot be controlled from 2 locations, but if it is doable, we want to do it, but just cant find much info on it yet.

I know the wall mounted remotes have a code that gets entered. What would happen if we set two of the codes the same and tried to control the fan/light with two remotes programmed the same? or would they just clash with eachother?

 

[grsthegreat]

you can get 2 remotes and code them the same fixture . they even make some brands where the remotes look like decora style switches and can mount under a coverplate in a cut in box ,.. thus look like a regular switch.

i have .. in the past... linked one fan/light to 2 remotes and also have linked 2 fan lights to a single remote control. not a problem.

 

[studor]

Can you run multiple wire between the two switches? If you look at three way switch diagrams sometimes you can figure out a way to run the wires between the two switch boxes rather than the fan. Failing that if the remotes have setable dip switches then they should work on the same fan/light without interference as the signal is momentary

 

[LD1]

Failing that if the remotes have setable dip switches then they should work on the same fan/light without interference as the signal is momentary

That is the conclusion I have come to. I thought the remotes sent a constant signal. I dunno why. I guess I was thinking the hardwire-like dimmer switches. Like the slide type. Where there is a definate on and off setting. And was wondering about one telling it to be on, and the other telling it to be off. But with the pushbutton type and the momentary signal, I think we have a winner.

 

[aczlan]

We have one of these in our bedroom. We had a similar situation with only one "hot" wire going to the fan (we replaced a light with a fan) but we wanted to be able to control it from the bed. Now we can turn on the fan (at one of 3 speeds) or turn on the light from either the wall mounted switch or from the wireless remote (which comes with a bracket to mount it on the wall). Has been working well for us in the ~9 months since I installed it. My parents had a similar setup in their bedroom in GA for years and liked it.

Aaron Z

 

[LD1]

Okay, my next question:

How do the fans hold up to the variable speed remotes? A typical 3-speed fan (according to my understanding) uses 3 seperate windings in the motor to control the speed.

I would "assume" that the variable speed controls (similar to a dimmer switch) is just varying the voltage to change speed. So how does that effect fan life? I know in industrial settings, no one varys voltage anymore they all use VFD's for this very reason.

Or does the remote unit work in some way in which it actually uses all 3 sets of windings?

 

[bdeboer]

Okay, my next question:

How do the fans hold up to the variable speed remotes? A typical 3-speed fan (according to my understanding) uses 3 seperate windings in the motor to control the speed.

I would "assume" that the variable speed controls (similar to a dimmer switch) is just varying the voltage to change speed. So how does that effect fan life? I know in industrial settings, no one varys voltage anymore they all use VFD's for this very reason.

Or does the remote unit work in some way in which it actually uses all 3 sets of windings?

I have an 8 year old 3 speed fan in my family room runs all winter and summer two different directions, no problems yet.

 

[MikeA57]

I put 2 remote controlled fans up in my Den a few years ago that work on a wireless remote and only require 1 wire to each of them. Separate controls for the fan, the lower light, and the upper light. The lights are also continuously dimmable by holding the up/down button down for an extended time. It's worked pretty well but recently one of the upper lights stopped responding to the remote. It stays on all the time. I haven't gotten up there yet to see what the problem might be.

 

[studor]

I've had remotes on two fans for quite a while now and no problems. Some remotes are not variable -- you set the fan speed and then the remote is on/off -- lights are on/off as well - others get pretty fancy (and expensive) to have about as many functions as your TV remotel