A few months ago I added an Enbrighten 58446 / ZWA4013 Fan Switch to my Zwave network. After the fact, I discovered that Zwave JS lacked the config info for this device and simply added the switch as a light rather than a fan.
The config info for this device has since been integrated into Zwave JS but no amount of re-interviews have fixed the device entry. Shouldn’t Zwave be able to resolve such errors without the need for deleting/re-adding the device? Or am I missing a step someplace?
The device file in Z-Wave JS doesn’t have any effect on whether it’s a light or fan entity in HA. That would need to be configured in HA via integration code.
There is a nearly 4-year old feature request to support it, however. https://github.com/zwave-js/zwave-js/issues/1328.
Thank you for the clarification. Based on this, would it be wrong to infer that removing/re-adding the device won’t fix the problem?
Kind of a strange circumstance considering this device is merely an upgrade to the Z-wave Plus predecessor that works just fine.
Re-including won’t fix anything. It requires code changes.
It’s not really because Z-Wave Plus V2 dropped the fan device type (explained in the issue) so it’s impossible for HA to know it’s a fan without hard coding a case specifically for your device.
Z-Wave classic: no fan device type
Z-Wave Plus: added a fan device type
Z-Wave Plus V2: removed fan device type
If Z-Wave JS encoded this into it’s device DB, HA (and all other software) could use that instead. As it stands, every application needs to handle this difference based on the model.
Can’t say I understand the logic behind this evolution. If I can’t have my newer fan switches work as intended, I might as well go back to the old 500 series fan switches and call it a day.
The switches still function the same way. The only difference is the entity type in HA. You can still control it, right? Who said they can’t work as intended? Code changes in HA can solve that.
If you want to understand the logic behind the specification changes, then you’ll have to ask the Z-Wave Alliance why they made the change. The rest of us that don’t make decisions just have to go with it. It is what it is.
Technically, yes, I can control the fan with the new switch but only for on/off functionality. I cannot control fan speed as advertised which calls into question the viability of these new switches altogether.
And to be clear, my confusion about the specification change wasn’t directed at you or the Home Assistant community. It was merely a natural reaction to something that makes no sense.
The light brightness will control the fan speed. You can even make a fan template with the light entity if you’d like to configure 3-speeds (except some users claim the fan speed is “infinite” so they prefer the brightness percentage control).
Eventually someone might fix it in HA (almost a one line change).
Gotcha. I don’t understand it either.