Review: Inovelli Blue Series Zigbee Fan Switch (VZM35-SN)

[Sarah_D]

I finally pulled the trigger on the Inovelli Blue Series Zigbee fan switch after seeing it mentioned a few times in this community, and I wanted to write up my honest experience now that it's been running for a while.

What it actually is

The VZM35-SN is an in-wall fan switch, not a canopy module. It replaces your existing wall switch and gives you variable fan speed control for AC fan motors, though it's not compatible with DC motor fans. If your fan also has a light kit, this specific switch won't handle that. Inovelli's line has a separate Fan/Light Canopy Module for fans that need both fan and light control from one device.
Inovelli
Inovelli

Installation

This is an in-wall install, and a neutral wire is required for proper operation
ZWaveProducts
If you're not comfortable with electrical work, I'd second Inovelli's own recommendation and get an electrician involved
Max load is rated at 2.5 amps, and Inovelli specifically says not to run more than two identical fans off one switch, and not to exceed that resistive load
Inovelli Help Center
It is not rated for lighting loads like LED, CFL, or incandescent, so don't try to sneak a light circuit onto it

Pairing and hub compatibility

Paired cleanly on my Zigbee2MQTT setup through my SLZB-06M. Inovelli confirms support across SmartThings, Home Assistant ZHA, Home Assistant Zigbee2MQTT, Hubitat, and Amazon Echo, so compatibility isn't a concern regardless of what you're running.
Inovelli Help Center

Speed control in Z2M

This is where the switch earns its reputation. Because it implements the actual Zigbee Fan Control cluster rather than just basic on/off commands, it exposes real discrete speed levels instead of just a single toggle. In Z2M this shows up cleanly as a proper fan entity with distinct speed steps, not the flaky pseudo-dimming you get from some cheaper AC fan controllers that just chop the sine wave.
Alibaba

The parameter depth is the real story

This is the part that separates it from generic Zigbee fan modules:

There's a Breeze Mode feature that cycles between Low, Medium, and High to simulate natural airflow, and the same mechanism can be flipped around into a "Wind Down Mode" that ramps the fan down from High to Low over a set time
Inovelli Help Center
There's a Fan Module Binding Control option that lets you use the config or favorites button as a binding endpoint, handy if you want a second physical control point without adding another device
Inovelli Help Center
Overall the switch ships with dozens of tunable parameters, which is more than I've seen on any other Zigbee fan device

Zigbee mesh impact

Since it's mains powered it acts as a router on the mesh. After adding it I checked my network map and it picked up a solid LQI link back to the coordinator, and it's now sitting as a hop point for a couple of battery sensors nearby, similar to what I've seen with other in-wall Inovelli switches.

A few caveats

If your fan has an integrated light, this specific switch is the wrong pick. Look at the canopy module instead
Neutral wire is mandatory, so older homes without one at the switch box are out of luck unless you can pull new wire
This works with Inovelli's own Aux Switch or another Inovelli smart switch for multi-way setups, but it will not work paired with an existing dumb switch, so plan your wiring accordingly if you have a 3-way setup
Inovelli

Bottom line

If you want proper multi-speed Zigbee fan control with real automation depth rather than a basic on/off relay, this is the switch to get. The parameter list alone makes it worth the price over cheaper alternatives, and the fact that it plays nicely with Z2M and ZHA without quirks or custom converters made setup painless. My only real regret is not doing this years ago.