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How to wire garage exhaust fan to humidity sensor/fan control and ventilation controller

Home Improvement Asked by WaconiaLaker on December 25, 2020

I’m installing this exhaust fan in my garage. I also want to install this garage ventilation controller, which is triggered when doors open and by temperature.

I also want to install a humidistat/switch which is trigger automatically based on humidity and/or manual switch and Air Cycle mode which automatically turns ON the ventilation fan for a set period of time and repeats the cycle hourly.

I can bring power in to either the exhaust fan, humidity sensor/control or ventilation controller. How should I wire?

The way I understand it, they both are basically just single pole switches, so I should run them separately with power feeding each switch, leading to fan?

One Answer

While it's OK to have switches in parallel...

While putting switching devices in parallel is not a common way of wiring a house, there is nothing in Code that forbids it, and it is done in other cases as well (such as multi-location occupancy sensor control). However, such a configuration comes with caveats; most importantly, you'll need something to serve as a disconnecting means so that you can manually turn this fan off in case it needs servicing. If you don't care about what else is on this circuit, then the circuit breaker will serve the purpose, though.

... you need to be careful when you do so

Even with the issue of a disconnecting means addressed, you still need to be a bit careful with switches in parallel, to avoid inadvertently creating a looped or paralleled neutral situation, which can be read as violating NEC 300.3(B)/310.10(H).

How to wire this

As a result, I would wire this by using a two-gang box at the power source location with the vent controller taking up one of the gangs, then running a new-style (neutral included) switch loop to where the humidity sensor goes and wiring that switch loop in parallel with the vent controller; this can easily be done by using black for always-hot, white for neutral, and red for switched-hot at each location, then connecting matching colors together. You can then run switched-hot and neutral to the fan from whichever box is more convenient; just tape the switched-hot to the fan from black to red to make the colors match nicely. This does rely on the breaker as the maintenance disconnect for the circuit, but provides neutral at both locations, as is required by the fan controller and humidity sensor you specified, and means that either device can command the fan on.

Answered by ThreePhaseEel on December 25, 2020

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