Can a homeowner use RA2 Select?
- I want to upgrade the old manual Maestro dimmers in my home, both for LED support and automation support.
- When I started looking it seemed that I was being encouraged (by Lutron) toward Caseta as the homeowner solution. But after looking I conclude that I much prefer the ergonomics of the Maestro dimmers to the Casetas. But those aren't supported by the Caseta system. At first I had the feeling that the Maestros were the past and Casetas were the future for automation.
- After more looking I discovered RA2 Select and RadioRA2. But Lutron seems to be trying to exclude homeowners from these systems. That certainly seems appropriate for RadioRA2, but it appears to me that RA2 Select is no harder to install and program than Caseta is. Lutron seems to actively be discouraging homeowners from this line. I finally sent a query to Lutron support about it. They said I certainly could buy the stuff from one of their recommended suppliers. But their list of suppliers seems out of date. The only one wthin 50 mi that is noted as handling RA2 is out of business. OTOH it appears I can simply buy the equipment on Amazon.
- Is it common and supported practice for homeowners to install and program RA2?
- Is the equipment available to homeowners at reasonable (not ripoff) prices?
- Is the phone app for RA2 Select the same one as for Caseta? (I think so but am not certain.)
- One more thing: How does one enter paragraph breaks into posts here? The closest I can find is to use lists.
Works great for homeowners
Yes, I have an RA2 Select and use it with the RA2 switches and dimmers ($140-150sh ea, no matter where you buy them), though I assume you can use the less expensive Caseta dimmers. You can also buy the less expensive Caseta Homebridge Pro (limited to 50 devices), whereas the RA2 Select can support 100 devices. You can use multiple bridge pros, but they would be independent implementations and could get messy depending on how you use the system.I think the equipment is all available on Amazon, or likely many online electrical suppliers. In my case there are a couple of local electrical supply shops that sell the Lutron stuff over the counter.https://www.prolighting.com/brands/l...a2-select.htmlThe app is what you'd expect, very easy. Automations are limited, but meet my needs. I've made a conscious choice to take the KISS (keep it simple stupid) method to automation, because everything that's automated needs to be supported.The irritating limitation of RA2 Select is that it doesn't support Lutron keypads. It supports the various versions of PICO remotes, but they aren't as attractive and are very limited in functionality.This system for me has lived up to its reputation of being rock solid.