How to: Raspberry Pi Controls Ceiling Fan with Radio Waves

Raspberry Pi Controls Ceiling Fan with Radio Waves

Raspberry Pi
(Image credit: River's Educational Channel)

Some of the most fun Raspberry Pi projectscome with a warning label and this is one of them! River's Educational Channel recently shared a project in which a Raspberry Pi is used to control a ceiling fan using radio waves. This is an impressive project from beginning to end but be cautious if you choose to remake it yourself at home. Certain radio frequencies may be illegal to use without a proper license.

After capturing the fan remote's signal and decoding it, the Raspberry Pi could be used in its place to issue commands to the Pi. An antenna is connected to the GPIO is  used to transmit signals to the fan.

Because of legality concerns, certain radio frequencies need to be avoided. This was resolved by adding a filter to remove the unwanted and illegal bands.

Raspberry Pi

(Image credit: River's Educational Channel)

Not only were the makers successfully able control the fan from a Pi but they also developed a custom GUI that can be accessed using a smartphone or PC. This GUI is pre-programmed with common light and fan settings.

Check out Tom’s Hardware list of best Raspberry Pi projects for more impressive work from the maker community.