For years I have searched high and low for a smart ceiling fan controller that did everything I wanted, was easy to set up, and wouldn’t be absurdly expensive. There are a number of products on the market that may meet one of my requirements, but certainly none that met them all.
I recently discovered Bond, a brilliant product that allows you to connect up to six RF or IR controlled ceiling fans without ever touching your existing hardware! You “connect” your fan to Bond by teaching Bond with your existing fan remote controllers. Once Bond knows how to control your fans, you will be able to control them via the Bond app, or through Alexa or Google Home voice commands.
Soon, Bond won’t be limited to just ceiling fans. They are currently working on controlling gas and electric fireplaces, window air conditioning units, motorized shades and garage doors.
After seeing all of this, I was truly excited about Bond. I have five ceiling fans with remotes and I’ve often said that it would be nice to be able to turn them all on at once by voice or app. My true smart home nirvana, though, is having a home that reacts to conditions and acts accordingly. When it gets too dark out the lights turn on, when there is no one in a room, the lights turn off, if no one is home the heat lowers itself, and this should extend to fans as well. With that in mind, the developers at Bond have already created an IFTTT channel that will let Bond communicate easily with your other smart devices. This allows your fans to be triggered by your thermostats, smart cameras or motion detectors. Even the outside temperature could trigger your fans if you want.
I’m looking forward to getting my hands on one of these to test in my own home. This could be the wifi fan controller of my dreams!
For more about Bond, check out their website here. Bond is available for $99 on Amazon.