Anyone tried Lutron Caseta home automation products?

[HeavyDuty]

We met today with the electrician who did our new home, and he was recommending Lutron Caseta products for wireless control of stuff. Does anyone here have any experience with it?

[RJ]

Guess that depends on what your objectives are.

Will use of this product limit your ability to work with other smart devices in your home that use different protocols, or do you just want to control lights?

Home automation hasn't been well integrated by the industry, in my experience. I have a smart home with all of the following WiFi devices on different Apps/systems: Security cameras (Arlo), Appliances (Washer, Dryer, Fridge, TV; LG), Garage Door Opener (Liftmaster), Landscape lights (Atomi), Smart light bulbs and switches (FEIT), Fan (Hudson), Air Filter (Winix) and Thermostat (Honeywell T6 Pro). All of them have separate Apps, and were installed after the house was built using the low (2.4 GHz) side of my WiFi network.

Having built-in switches that are WiFi from the get go is fine if that is what you want, but the "smart" part of integrating them may need a WiFi bridge or controller to be installed as well.

I looked at the Lutron web site and didn't see how/whether they offer a bridge or integrating other devices or not, so it may be ok if all you are doing is to turn lights on or off on a schedule, or via a voice command (if you do the Alexa thing, I do not). Wiring a whole house for WiF switches might get a bit expensive, if you really only need a few of them set up that way.

Of course WiFi light bulbs from Costco are easiliy available at $5 apiece or so at Costco. Same for WiFi switches. The ones I have are from FEIT and work pretty well.

[HeavyDuty]

They will work standalone without being on your Wi-Fi, they communicate directly with each other on 431 MHz. (I’m an amateur radio operator, but I don’t do 70 CM weak signal.) A hub is available to be a bridge to your Wi-Fi so you can use Alexa or similar for voice control.

I don’t think they are a universal solution for me, but might be a component. I’m putting standalone timers on the outside lights to control them dusk -x to dawn +x, that’s four separate circuits. I’d put the Lutrons on a few lights that we would either like voice control (dimmer on the can lights in the living room and in the bedroom, on/off in the laundry room where you have your hands full and possibly for a few of the fans so you don’t have to look for the remote) and in one case adding a switch that will control one of the kitchen lights when we come in through the garage - that’s a design flaw, but we didn’t realize it until after the house was done. You can mount the Lutron “Pico” controller in a faceplate that is surface mounted or in an existing box, too.

It seems like a powerful system, and that a licensed electrician recommended it as being something he uses says something.

[RJ]

For both laundry room and kitchen under counter, I installed a Lutron SPST motion-activated switch. They work well. I like having the light come on going into the laundry room.

[luckyman]

I have 24 Lutron Caseata switches in my house, controlled with Apple HomeKit.

My stepson has a dozen+ Lutron Caseata switches in his house controlled with Google home.

They aren’t cheap, but they just work. They can be used by themselves, Or in conjunction with any of the big 3 home automation platforms. I don’t think either myself nor my stepson has ever had a single hiccup. The only challenge I know of was it can be tough to fit them in to existing boxes.