Research profile · last verified 2026-08-20

Inovelli Blue Series Smart Fan/Light Canopy Module (VZM36)

Compiled by SmartHomeWorkflow Research · Inovelli · Switches & Dimmers · ~$55 (at time of research (Inovelli's own store) — never treated as a live price)

Exactly which product this is^[1]

Model number: VZM36
Generation: Not established
Region this page covers: Not established
Also sold or listed as: Not established

“Not established” means we have not sourced that detail yet — not that the product has no model number, generation or regional variant. We publish the gap rather than filling it.

Compatibility

Ecosystem	Support	The catch
Amazon Alexa	PartialPartial support — see the catch^[2]	Only via an Amazon Echo model containing a built-in Zigbee radio, which acts as the hub. Inovelli lists 'Amazon Echo (requires compatible version)' but publishes no dedicated Alexa setup article, so feature depth is undocumented.In Amazon Alexa you also need: a Zigbee hub
Google Home	Doesn't workVerified: does not work with this ecosystem^[4]	Absent from Inovelli's published platform compatibility list and from its help centre, and the module carries no radio Google Home can reach. Recorded as none on the basis of a curated manufacturer list that omits it, not an affirmative 'not supported' statement.
Apple Home	Doesn't workVerified: does not work with this ecosystem^[4]	Absent from Inovelli's published platform list, no setup documentation exists, and the device carries no Matter or HomeKit radio. Recorded as none on the basis of a curated manufacturer list that omits it, not an affirmative statement.
SmartThings	WorksWorks with this ecosystem^[2]	Requires a SmartThings hub with a Zigbee radio; Inovelli publishes a dedicated setup article.In SmartThings you also need: a Zigbee hub
Home Assistant	WorksWorks with this ecosystem^[2]	Inovelli publishes setup articles for both ZHA and Zigbee2MQTT; requires a Zigbee coordinator.In Home Assistant you also need: a Zigbee hub

Protocols: ZIGBEE^[1]

Needs before it works: Yes, a Zigbee hub is required for smart control. One nuance: Inovelli documents direct Zigbee binding between a Blue Series wall switch (VZM31-SN or VZM35-SN) and this module, which it describes as near-instantaneous and able to operate without the hub once configured — but a Zigbee coordinator is still needed to perform the initial pairing and binding. Hub-free operation is a post-setup state, not a hub-free product.^[6]

What it can do^[9]

You can tell it to

On/off
Brightness
Fan mode

It reports

Not established — we could not confirm this from vendor documentation

Whether each platform's automations and routines can use it — not just whether its app shows it.

What it does	Alexa	SmartThings	Home Assistant
On/off	? not stated	✓ routines can use it	✓ routines can use it
Brightness	✓ routines can use it	✓ routines can use it	✓ routines can use it
Fan mode	? not stated	✓ routines can use it	✓ routines can use it

Platform documentation: Amazon Alexa — automation engine ceiling (eight terms observed; residue inconclusive by refusal) (2026-09-01), Home Assistant — automation engine ceiling (2026-08-29), SmartThings — automation engine ceiling (2026-09-01)

Listed capabilities are what we could establish from vendor documentation. An ability missing here is unestablished — not necessarily absent.

Subscription reality^[15]

✓ Works without a subscription: Yes.

Vendor account required: No — no vendor account is involved.^[10]

No subscription appears on the product page or anywhere in Inovelli's help centre. Inovelli is a local-control hardware vendor.

Maintenance reality

Works without the internet: Yes — the core function runs on the device or your home network. A vendor cloud may still be involved in remote access.^[7]
Installs inside the ceiling fan canopy, not a wall box. 1 in D x 3 in H x 2.13 in W. Four-wire connection: line, neutral, fan (red), light (blue). Fan motor 1.2 A max; light 300 W incandescent / 150 W LED / 100 W CFL. Neutral is recommended but not mandatory per Inovelli's wiring documentation — the hard requirement is constant 120 V power, without which the module cannot reach the hub. Zigbee range up to 100 m line-of-sight to the nearest node.
Security updates: No security-update support date is on record for this model yet. We haven't yet checked whether Inovelli publishes one, so this is a gap in our research — not a statement about the manufacturer.

The catch

AC motors only — Inovelli states DC motor fans are not supported, which excludes a large and growing share of modern ceiling fans. It is also not a wall switch: it installs inside the fan canopy and adds smart control to an existing fan without replacing the wall switch, so it does not change what the wall switch does.

Who it's for

SmartThings, Home Assistant, Hubitat, and Homey households with an AC-motor ceiling fan who want independent smart control of fan and light without replacing the wall switch — particularly where the fan is on a single switch loop. Not a fit for DC-motor fans, Apple Home or Google Home households, or anyone wanting a wall-box device.

Sources & method

Numbered sources below back the facts marked with the matching number above. This is a research profile: compiled from manufacturer documentation, certification registries, and published testing — we state facts, not verdicts, and we have not physically tested this unit. How we work →

Where these facts come from

No mark: Everything on this page without a mark comes from the people answerable for it: the manufacturer, the platform's own documentation, or a certification register. That is the standard we hold ourselves to.
Seller's spec sheet: This fact comes from a retailer's or a reviewer's specification listing instead of from the manufacturer. A few compatibility answers still rest on one, and we are replacing those with the maker's own word as we find it. The date is when we last checked, because these listings change without notice.
Someone's observation: This fact comes from an owner, a forum, or a community project — someone with the product in front of them rather than the company that makes it. Worth knowing, and not the same as the maker saying so.

Below is every source behind the facts on this page, numbered so you can trace any one of them. Each is quoted in the source's own words, with the date we last read it — we keep the wording exact rather than tidying it, so you can check what was actually said.

16 numbered sources· read them in the source's own words

[1] inovelli.com product page 'Zigbee Blue Series Smart Fan/Light Canopy Module' — Read on the maker's own site, verified 2026-07-26
Backs: Price, Protocols, Product identity
[2] help.inovelli.com collection 6789311 and articles 8665225, 9134788, 9269523 — Read on the maker's own site, verified 2026-07-26
Backs: SmartThings compatibility, Home Assistant compatibility, Amazon Alexa compatibility
[3] help.inovelli.com article 8665269 'Blue Series Fan/Light Canopy Module Wiring Schematics' and article 8551325 (parameters) — Read on the maker's own site, verified 2026-07-26
[4] Absence check: inovelli.com product page platform list and help.inovelli.com collection index — Read on the maker's own site, verified 2026-07-26
Backs: Google Home compatibility, Apple Home compatibility
[5] inovelli.com product page with active purchase flow; help centre maintains current setup documentation, verified 2026-07-26
Backs: Market availability
[6] Scheduled re-verification, 2026-08-20. Every axis re-read at Inovelli's own product page for the Blue Series Zigbee Smart Fan & Light Canopy Module. ✅ PRICE unchanged at $55.00 and the product is in stock, with no discontinuation or successor notice. ✅ HUB SCOPE unchanged and still explicit: it "requires a Zigbee-compatible hub to operate", with SmartThings, Homey, Home Assistant (ZHA), Home Assistant (Zigbee2MQTT), Hubitat and Amazon Echo (compatible versions) named. ✅ The AC-motor-only constraint this record publishes is still stated on the page. ✅ SERVICE: Inovelli states "Firmware is always public and improved upon allowing your switch to be future-proof" — a maintained, openly published firmware line on a currently sold product. — Read on the maker's own site, verified 2026-08-20
Backs: Research status, Service status, Required hub or bridge
[7] inovelli.com, Blue Series Zigbee Fan-Light Canopy Module product page — Read on the maker's own site, verified 2026-08-18
Backs: Works without the internet
[8] inovelli.com product page, re-read 2026-08-20 during scheduled re-verification: $55.00, in stock, no successor or discontinuation notice. — Read on the maker's own site, verified 2026-08-20
Backs: Price, Market availability
[9] inovelli.com's VZM36 canopy-module page, read 2026-08-20, stating the capability as "Individual Control of Fan Speed and Bulb Dim Level" over separate "Fan & Light Wires", so the two loads are addressed independently. Platform list: "SmartThings, Homey, Home Assistant - ZHA, Home Assistant - Zigbee2MQTT, Hubitat, Amazon Echo", with "35+ Parameters" that "will only be accessible if your hub supports it" and "Hubs that support these features include: SmartThings, Hubitat and Home Assistant (ZHA & Zigbee2MQTT)". — Read on the maker's own site, verified 2026-08-20
Backs: Capabilities
[10] Inovelli Help Center, "Hub Platform Compatibility Chart" — "This article shows what Inovelli Products are compatible with the various hubs and border router platforms… If you do not see your hub listed, it is not officially supported by Inovelli customer service and you should reach out to the hub manufacturer… All of our products go through an extensive protocol certification process and, in theory, should work with another certified hub." The chart's three columns are "Blue Series (Zigbee) · Red Series (Z-Wave) · White Series (Thread / Matter)"; no Inovelli app, account or cloud service appears anywhere in Inovelli's compatibility story. — Read on the maker's own site, verified 2026-08-21
Backs: Vendor account required
[11] No source was read for this entry. It records how this record's existing evidence for its no-support ecosystem cells was classified, so a later pass reads the classification instead of working it out again. — Re-checked this against its sources, verified 2026-08-22
[12] https://inovelli.com/products/zigbee-blue-series-smart-fan-light-canopy-module (read 2026-09-09), Tech Specs: 'Power: 120V AC, 60Hz', beside 'Maximum Load Light (Watts): 300W Incandescent, 150W LED, 100W CFL' and 'Maximum Load Fan (Amps): 1.2A'. A canopy module wired into a 120 V fixture is hardwired, from the vendor's power spec. — Read on the maker's own site, verified 2026-09-09
Backs: Power source
[13] https://inovelli.com/products/zigbee-blue-series-smart-fan-light-canopy-module (read 2026-09-09) links no app store and names no Inovelli app, pointing at hub software instead ('SmartThings, Hubitat and Home Assistant'). The app's platforms stay unanswered, recorded as checked and not published. — Read on the maker's own site, verified 2026-09-09
[14] Record-keeping entry: this record's existing "not supported" answers for Apple Home and Google Home now name the platform-wide rule the reason rests on, 2026-09-15, verified 2026-09-15
[15] Inovelli's own store listing for the VZM36, read 2026-09-17. The buy box is an outright purchase with per-condition variants, verbatim: 'Blue Series • Zigbee Smart Fan & Light Canopy Module (AC Motors Only) $55.00 Shipping calculated at checkout' and 'Canopy / New - $55.00 Canopy / Open Box - Sold Out - $50.00'. 12,372 characters were searched for plan, tier, subscription, membership, monthly, per month, per year, recurring and fee. The single hit is the footer newsletter — 'Sign up for email and/or SMS updates on news, sales, and product updates ... check the specific lists you'd like to be subscribed to' — which sells nothing and gates nothing. — Read on the maker's own site, verified 2026-09-17
Backs: Subscription
[16] Two Inovelli pages this record already cites. Its own Blue Series Zigbee Fan/Light Canopy Module product page, read 2026-08-18, is where this record gets the fact that the module keeps working when the internet is down — a Zigbee-only radio, no WiFi and no vendor bridge. The Inovelli Help Center's "Hub Platform Compatibility Chart", read 2026-08-21, is where it gets the fact that no Inovelli account is needed: Inovelli's entire published compatibility story routes the buyer to a third-party hub. The date on this entry is the newer of the two., verified 2026-08-21
Backs: Service status

Compatibility and lifecycle information reflects the last-verified date above and can change without notice (firmware updates, cloud-service changes, discontinuations). It is provided as-is, for information — verify with the manufacturer before purchasing. Spot an error? Tell us and we'll fix it. Full terms: Terms of Service.

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