Toilet Fan Isolator Switch how to smart?

[brummydave]

most new fans will be quieter now than one made in 2003, and use less power too. if you are going to replace yours then make sure it's the right type. Flats are notorious for having long vent pipe runs and require centrifugal fans rather than axial. Some brands are better at pushing air as well.
A fan with a built in humidity sensor is nearly always cheaper than a standalone sensor, which always baffled me.
For either option, you'd only use the permanent fan supply not the switched one and let the humidity sensor do it's thing.

Appreciate this isn't a smart option, but it is one that works.

 

[brummydave]

Lastly, if you're a fan of playing with tech, check out these guys. They do almost every sensor going, in systems that can do what you need!

https://www.rfsolutions.co.uk/

 

[mrbob123]

Hi Geoff ,
your absolutely right! Funny you mentioned that , Ive got to admit I do have one of those already in the toilet for night times...!! As everyone started by making me feel silly for even bringing up the question , didn't mention it earlier... Aha.
I just replaced the light switch with a smart one and got me thinking about what more I could do. I can't really do any automations until I get remote control of both the lights and the fan seperately due to the humidity. All the other lighting in the flat is automated by light and motion sensors.

Thanks brummydave , looks like we have come full circle!!! This is exactly what I originally had in mind! Apologies , I meant receiver and not switch. I already have some Sonoff wireless 13a smart relays/switches, and was going to use one of them, but when I opened up the isolator switch , I couldn't really understand the wiring.

How would I wire in the receiver to the existing isolator switch?


Getting confused between the colours! Presume the black must be the neutral (but there are two lines there) and perhaps the blue maybe as being the live to the fan? So the receiver would then take in both black wires and the blue and the outputs would be where the existing wires are going? I'm probably way wrong on that... Aha

EDIT: Apologies brummydave , didn't see your other two posts. Thanks very much for the link , that looks great and will definetely check out what they offer!

I got these zigbee humidity and temp sensors from China a while ago for £5 that do the trick. That's funny re seperate being more expensive! Your right in terms of the fan. Had a look at it and it looks like it is sideways rather than what I would have expected. Caked in dust/muck and think the foam I falling apart. Will need to probably replace the foam at minimum now I've opened it up. It's almost indistinguishable from the dust!!

And your receivers would still work to make it smart! I've got a RF hub so can learn and control any RF device. So would still work well!

 

[brummydave]

Hi Geoff ,
your absolutely right! Funny you mentioned that , Ive got to admit I do have one of those already in the toilet for night times...!! As everyone started by making me feel silly for even bringing up the question , didn't mention it earlier... Aha.
I just replaced the light switch with a smart one and got me thinking about what more I could do. I can't really do any automations until I get remote control of both the lights and the fan seperately due to the humidity. All the other lighting in the flat is automated by light and motion sensors.

Thanks brummydave , looks like we have come full circle!!! This is exactly what I originally had in mind! Apologies , I meant receiver and not switch. I already have some Sonoff wireless 13a smart relays/switches, and was going to use one of them, but when I opened up the isolator switch , I couldn't really understand the wiring.

How would I wire in the receiver to the existing isolator switch?
View attachment 14095

Getting confused between the colours! Presume the black must be the neutral (but there are two lines there) and perhaps the blue maybe as being the live to the fan? So the receiver would then take in both black wires and the blue and the outputs would be where the existing wires are going? I'm probably way wrong on that... Aha

Eek. Don't presume anything! As others have said, an amount of testing/cable tracing is always a good idea before making changes.

In lighting (and fans) almost any colour could be used for anything. Neutrals, switched and permanent lives, cpc etc. This is especially relevant when old and new colours are in place. You know that blue was line and is now neutral, and black was neutral and now line?

Looking at your pics I'm guessing the isolator has double input cables as they're looped in and out?
You'd want to have the receiver on the output side of the isolator though otherwise the fan won't be off when the switch is (for cleaning etc).

 

[Fleeting]

You can clean along the top of that door frame while you are up there.

 

[mrbob123]

Eek. Don't presume anything! As others have said, an amount of testing/cable tracing is always a good idea before making changes.

In lighting (and fans) almost any colour could be used for anything. Neutrals, switched and permanent lives, cpc etc. This is especially relevant when old and new colours are in place. You know that blue was line and is now neutral, and black was neutral and now line?

Looking at your pics I'm guessing the isolator has double input cables as they're looped in and out?
You'd want to have the receiver on the output side of the isolator though otherwise the fan won't be off when the switch is (for cleaning etc).

Thanks brummy Dave!!
I like experimenting and it's fine with low power stuff. But ofcourse I understand the risks with mains and high voltage which is why I decided to post on the forum and not mess with it until I was either confident I knew what I was doing or that I would need to call someone else...!

I just googled about the colours and saw that there was an old and new scheme. When was the change? Probably after 2003? In which case I'm probably on the old ones.

I do have a high voltage multi meter. Surely I could use this to figure out the right connections? Maybe turn the isolator switch off , see which loses connections and then turn it on and see the 240v which would be across the output? What would be the recommended way to go about it?
And yes Fleeting when this is all done , ill do some dusting aha.

 

[Murdoch]

Problem with humidity sensors is that they don’t detect smells

 

[Richard-the-Ninth]

The switches for this system aren't wired in. They are battery powered, the battery charged with kinetic energy every time the switch is operated. (Hence the name).

Sorry, that statement is in error. Quinetic say there is no battery

With a press of the Quinetic Wireless Switch, enough kinetic energy is generated to create and transmit a radio signal to the Quinetic Wireless Controller

No battery, no wiring to switches and no limits.

 

[brummydave]

Ah silly me. Thanks for pointing it out!.

 

[mrbob123]

Ah silly me. Thanks for pointing it out!.

Makes them even more impressive imo! Must be the value of RF still and being super lower power maybe.

Soooooo what about this?
Turn of the power at the fuse box. Then if I got my multimeter out and put it in continuity mode I should then be able to safely test which pair of wires break continuity when the isolator switch is flicked? Would that work and be safe?

 

[brummydave]

Makes them even more impressive imo! Must be the value of RF still and being super lower power maybe.

Soooooo what about this?
Turn of the power at the fuse box. Then if I got my multimeter out and put it in continuity mode I should then be able to safely test which pair of wires break continuity when the isolator switch is flicked? Would that work and be safe?

sounds ok i think, but hard to be sure without being there in person!