Hunter Fan Company Expanding Lineup of HomeKit-Enabled Ceiling Fans

[clnilsen]

I bought one of their HomeKit fans last year.... absolute junk. Speed not controllable in HomeKit, app is terrible. I basically use it as a dumb fan now.

 

[scottlitch]

I have 4 Hunter Symphony fans with their Simpleconnect tech along with thier proprietary in-wall switches which use RF to communicate with the fan. Do yourself a favor and get any dumb fan you want, then buy Lutron's Caseta fan control and Lutron's Caseta light dimmer. This is a better path. The Wi-Fi Simpleconnect uses can be spotty and by the time you buy the wall control for each fan, you could have got any fan you wanted and made it smart with Caesta products.

 

[rrandyy]

I have 4 Hunter Symphony fans with their Simpleconnect tech along with thier proprietary in-wall switches which use RF to communicate with the fan. Do yourself a favor and get any dumb fan you want, then buy Lutron's Caseta fan control and Lutron's Caseta light dimmer. This is a better path. The Wi-Fi Simpleconnect uses can be spotty and by the time you buy the wall control for each fan, you could have got any fan you wanted and made it smart with Caesta products.

Assuming the room is wired for a fan, right? Or do the casetas wirelessly communicate with the fans?

 

[ignatius345]

No thanks. I prefer the traditional ceiling fan interface: a chain you pull and wait about 5 minutes to see what it did.

 

[Dlucas10]

I’m interested in this as this could be a good step for automation. I’ve been doing automation for many years and starting to move some of it to Apple Home. So far things are working well.
I see lots of folks commenting about Lutron Caseta. I really like their stuff and it works extremely well. Their pico remotes are great for replacing 3-way switches! My only complaint with Caseta is the fan switch. I really wish they made one that can control the fan AND the light. I have Insteon switches just for this reason. I think it was a miss on their side. When my house was built they assumed people would be turning the fan on with the chain and the boxes only have enough room for 1 or 2 switches. If I was gonna install the Caseta then I’d need to make the boxes bigger to accommodate a switch for the fan and a switch for the light.

 

[firstpants]

I wish there were Homekit support for our Big Ass Fan.

Some do have support.

 

[iSayuSay]

I think it's great that more devices are working across Apple, Google, and Amazon but, can we stop trying to make everything smart? You still need to have the switch on for it to work. I get that if it's a voice command to change the direction, turn off the light or fan, etc but I strongly believe the solution is having smart light switches not smart products.

Like sure, make products semi-smart but let me turn them on and off from a switch. It's why I refuse to buy into Hue bulbs. Hue lamps, sure but the bulbs are stupid.

It’s always enough to have one smart element alongside your appliances flowchart. If you already use smart switches, then use regular bulbs or electric devices.

If you don’t want to install smart switches then go with smart appliances. Using smart switches together with Hue bulbs is indeed stupid, ineffective waste of resources.

 

[_Spinn_]

Looks pretty nice.

 

[Athoughts]

I installed the Cavera in my dining room. I am loving it, once I got it balanced. Only thing I wish they'd do was actually make it smart. Right now it's only, 'cool I can tell Google to turn it on." And I can't even put it on very low as it just goes to speed 2 instead of 1. I really want to be able able to have it turn on or off based on temperature in the room or if the AC is on so the fan could help circulate the air. I've yet to find a solution. It doesn't work with IFTTT and on Google Home I can only find the light to include it into scenes or whatnot. I'm at a loss of how smart it really is and if they have plans to increase the utility of it being smart. Just being able to turn it off or on by voice is fairly useless and only a gimmick.

 

[hipnetic]

My only complaint with Caseta is the fan switch. I really wish they made one that can control the fan AND the light. I have Insteon switches just for this reason. I think it was a miss on their side. When my house was built they assumed people would be turning the fan on with the chain and the boxes only have enough room for 1 or 2 switches. If I was gonna install the Caseta then I’d need to make the boxes bigger to accommodate a switch for the fan and a switch for the light.

I have a similar dilemma. I need to replace a dumb fan w/light in my sunroom and I already have Lutron Caseta stuff elsewhere, but I currently only have a single on/off switch/box in that sunroom.

I looked at Hunter’s site and their smart fans are too big and not styled to my liking.
Anyone have any suggestions?

 

[apple_iBoy]

Some do have support.

Which models?

 

[bigcat318]

How do you like ceiling fans in general?

I just moved to the Midwest where we use ac in the summer and central heat in the winter.

a few of the rooms, including bedrooms have fans. I’ve never been in a place with them.

I’m just not sure how to best use them? I feel like using the fans at night can dry out my nose?

Im no expert, but essentially the use of a ceiling fan can make you feel cooler in the summer by a few degrees, but it doesnt actually change the temperature, so running them while not in the room isnt as useful.

In the winter, reversing the fan spin can help circulate the warm air from being at the top of the room down to where people are to even it out.

Any apartment I have rented that didnt have a fan in the bedroom but had a spot for one, I have installed one. I really prefer sleeping with one on because I tend to get hot.

 

[bigcat318]

No need for a switch. Just use your voice. These days, they are installing fans in homes without physical switches.

We had them install switches for our fans and wish we had not done that. Then someone turns off the switch and the fan loses connectivity. More trouble than it is worth.

I recommend the little plastic switch guards you can buy on amazon or otherwise. I have used them for years to keep people from switching off lamps that had Hue bulbs in them. They make ones that can twist a bit so you can turn off when necessary but stops the accidental switch off that happens with guests.

 

[bigcat318]

What I would really like is for homekit to read my temperature sensor and automatically turn fans on if they reach a certain temp. Though I dont think this is currently possible.

 

[jerryk]

I have a similar dilemma. I need to replace a dumb fan w/light in my sunroom and I already have Lutron Caseta stuff elsewhere, but I currently only have a single on/off switch/box in that sunroom.

I looked at Hunter’s site and their smart fans are too big and not styled to my liking.
Anyone have any suggestions?

Big Ass Fans are nice, compact, and are silent and vibration-free even at high speeds. Not cheap, but well worth the money.

 

[jerryk]

I recommend the little plastic switch guards you can buy on amazon or otherwise. I have used them for years to keep people from switching off lamps that had Hue bulbs in them. They make ones that can twist a bit so you can turn off when necessary but stops the accidental switch off that happens with guests.

Thanks. I ordered some for our toggle switches from Amazon.