Ceiling fan control switch

[Tom]

Hi, I would like to install a ceiling fan control switch that uses two separate switches for control of fan speed and light kit. The current installation has the fan and light kit on a single on/off wall switch and uses manual chain controls. The wall box has 3 wires: black (hot), neutral and a ground (a bare copper wire).

In the instructions for the new wall switch it appears that an additional (hot) wire is required for the separate control of the fan and light.

Is there a way to perform the install using current 3-wire (black, white, ground) installation?

Thank you All,

-Tom

[RBM]

Not with that control. You'd need a control that uses a receiver which gets mounted in the fan canopy. That combination control that you have will probably cause the fan to hum anyway

[John Grabowski]

I recently installed a fan for a customer that had all fan/light functions from a wall switch controller. It wasn't a remote control and it only required two wires (Plus ground) to the fan from the switch. I was surprised to see that the fan itself only had two wires (Plus ground) on it. The fan would not operate without the controller. The controller did require a neutral to operate though. I forget the name; it was something like intellifan. I don't recall where she bought the fan.

You can also buy remote control kits at Home Depot that work with most fans. You would just install the module between the electrical box and the fan brace (Usually a tight squeeze) and put batteries in the remote control.

[trader4]

I recently learned in another thread here that these do exist in some fans. They have an intelligent controller in the fan, so that commands for speed, direction, light, etc can be sent down one hot/neutral pair. Of course that requires a new fan. But, depending on how hard it is to run another wire, that may still be a good option.

Or, there are universal wireless remotes that can be added. I think they have a wall bracket too, so you can keep the remote at a spot on the wall if you want.

[RBM]

That's how all Casa Blanca "Intellitouch" fans work, although they don't require a neutral. The receiver is built into the fan

[John Grabowski]

That's the name I was trying to remember: "Intellitouch". Maybe I was wrong about the need for a neutral on the controller.

Thanks Roy.

[Tom]

Thank you all for comments.

It sounds like I have a few options.

1. Get a remote control for my current fan.
2. Buy a new fan and a corresponding wall controller that uses a

2-wire, i.e. black (hot), white (neutral), ground.

1. Rewire the wall to fixture with a 3-wire, i.e. black (hot), red (hot), white (neutral), ground.

Some follow up questions:

1. How difficult is it to rewire the wall box to ceiling fixture connection? Since I have not done it before my first thought is to buy a 3-wire attach it VERY securely to one end of the currently installed wire and pull on the other end :) Is this a very insane idea? For example if the two wires get stuck somewhere in the wall I will have a major problem.

1. Just out of curiosity. Can I use the black(hot) and white(neutral) wires as both hot and use the ground as a neutral (return)? This way I guess I could have a "poor man's" 3-wire connection to my fan fixture. Again, it seems that it should work, but I guess it could be dangerous. Any thoughts?

Thanks,

-Tom

Tom wrote:

[Phisherman]

Use regular romax and run it along side the exisiting wire. This should not be too difficult if you have attic access and the walls do not contain insulation. If necessary you can use a stiff wire or a fish tape. Both wires inside the romax are "hot" and are wired though the wall switch. Use a magic marker and color the white wire black in both the ceiling and wall boxes. Do not bother the existing wiring. It is probably (should be) stapled secure to the 2x4s anyway.

The (bare) ground should never be used as the neutral. The ground wire inside romax should only be used for grounding purposes. As I stated above, you can use a white wire as a hot wire if it is colored black or taped. Some electricians don't even mark a white wire as hot, and that doesn't follow the NEC.

[RBM]

Your most practical solution is probably to buy a retrofit transmitter-receiver set up. Keep in mind what John said about shoe horning the things into the canopy. They are often a wicked tight fit