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[EnderMarvolo]

Good morning. New to the forum, and hoping to get some help. My wife and I just purchased a house and we are moving in in a few weeks. During the inspection it was pointed out to us that two rooms have a ceiling fan/light with only the pull chains for each fixture. The hallway in between those two rooms also has a light on a pull chain, and one by the front door as well. A coworker mentioned x10 to me, but he did not know to much about it, and I wanted to figure out if there is a way to get some switches in the room, especially with kids on the way. Being that the house is old and full of plaster, I would prefer to not have to dig in to place a conventional switch on the wall, and would prefer a wireless x10 solution.

My question to anyone can help is this....

Is there any way to use a slimline switch with a wireless module to control the ceiling fan/light? I'm sure that there is but it would be nice to know what I need to buy, and the basics of how I go about setting it up. Also, from what I can tell in reading the forums so far, fans are harder to control, so if there is a way to only control the light that is fine too; I can just use the pull string for the fan.

Thanks,

Barry

[dave w]

You can use a Slim Line Switch with a X10 transceiver to convert the RF signal from the SS to PLC for the homes powerline. You could try and tuck X10 wire in modules for light  (XPDF) and the fan motor (XPFM ON-OFF only) up in the fan canopy.
http://www.x10pro.com/pro/catalog/receivers.html#wire

However the Smarthome FanLinc would give you fan speed control. The FanLinc will respond to X10 commands, but if you go FanLinc, I would drop X10 all together and use Insteon for control of the Fan Linc.
http://www.smarthome.com/2475F/FanLinc-INSTEON-Ceiling-Fan-and-Light-Controller-Fixture-Module-Dual-Band/p.aspx

[EnderMarvolo]

The FanLinc will respond to X10 commands, but if you go FanLinc, I would drop X10 all together and use Insteon for control of the Fan Linc.
http://www.smarthome.com/2475F/FanLinc-INSTEON-Ceiling-Fan-and-Light-Controller-Fixture-Module-Dual-Band/p.aspx

I would not be opposed to that as trying to jump systems often seems to complicate things. However, if I do use Insteon, do they have a wall switch that I can just stick to the wall similar to the slimline switch? The main goal is to avoid cutting holes in the plaster.

[Brian H]

The Fanlinc is Dual Band so it can receive Insteon RF commands directly from a RemoteLinc. If close enough. They say up to 50 feet.
There are a few different models depending on the number of buttons. FanLinc would use two. One for the light and one for the fan speed. So the single button model would not be an option. Light must be of an incandescent type.
Also they do make a tabletop stand and electrical box mounting frame.
Has a rechargeable battery from a USB port or USB wall charger.
http://www.smarthome.com/_/ProductResults.aspx?Ntt=remotelinc

[bkenobi]

Can the FanLinc handle any type of fan motor (is it universal)?  I'm just wondering if EnderMarvolo needs to make sure that the fan motor is compatible with FanLinc prior to attempting to set the fan's speed.  If the fan is only switched on/off, it should be fine.

[EnderMarvolo]

The Fanlinc is Dual Band so it can receive Insteon RF commands directly from a RemoteLinc. If close enough. They say up to 50 feet.
There are a few different models depending on the number of buttons. FanLinc would use two. One for the light and one for the fan speed. So the single button model would not be an option. Light must be of an incandescent type.
Also they do make a tabletop stand and electrical box mounting frame.
Has a rechargeable battery from a USB port or USB wall charger.
http://www.smarthome.com/_/ProductResults.aspx?Ntt=remotelinc

My plan would be to go with the six button switch that insteon makes so that I am able to get full use out of the remote. I just want to make sure I understand, but are you saying that I would not even need the module that I plug into an outlet because fanlink would talk directly to the switch, even if it is up in the fan case?

Thanks again!

[Brian H]

In theory the Fanlinc has a RF receiver in it as it is a Dual Band device.
If the FanLinc was close to the RF distance it can receive and the fan's metal shell shielded it. It may not talk directly from the RemoteLinc to the FanLinc.