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I have a bathroom extractor fan that is currently hooked up to the light switch with an overrun timer which means it must have a separate always-on live connected.

I want to replace with extractor fan without a timer but in addition to being connected to the light switch I also want to connect it to a smart switch that I can turn on/off whilst the light is off.

I know I could just get an extractor fan with a humidistat but I'm looking to hook it up to my smart home so I can ensure it only comes on when certain conditions are met.

So my question, is it as simple as just wiring in both lives or do I need some sort of controller? Looking for an OR type operation. If the light is switched on OR the smart switch is on, then the extractor fan should be on.

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  • Why two switches? The smart switch has a toggle in the front if it and can be used as a normal switch when not being operated remotely. Some may even have a lock&in-this-state manual control if that's your concern, though I haven't gone looking for that feature.
    – keshlam
    Commented Mar 26 at 2:07
  • @keshlam - see edit
    – Cheetah
    Commented Mar 26 at 10:30
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    That smart switch has an input for a switched-hot. That means that you can use your existing dumb switch to send a signal to the smart switch and have the fan only be hooked to the smart switch.
    – Bart van Ingen Schenau
    Commented Mar 26 at 11:03
  • Note that using the "three way" input on a smart switch may require some juggling of connections, it may not be a smart three&way but a three-way with input from a remote physical switch. Read instructions carefully when installing. (Building a true smart three-way wouldn't cost much more, but would cost more.)
    – keshlam
    Commented Mar 26 at 13:20
  • Why do you want to use a smart switch here? Why not just put the light and fan on separate switches and use a timer switch for the fan (e.g. Lutron MA-L3T251HW-WH)? I don't really see a use case for a smart switch.
    – Huesmann
    Commented Mar 26 at 14:57

1 Answer 1

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You should be able to wire the dumb switch in parallel with the smart switch

If your smart switch is anything sane, then wiring the dumb switch across its LINE and LOAD terminals should get you the OR behavior you desire. (I cannot guarantee that this will work for any specific model of smart switch, though.)

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  • See edit for the smart switch I have.
    – Cheetah
    Commented Mar 26 at 10:30

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