Control4 to Caseta or RA2?

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06-19-2020, 10:45 PM
Elvis

Control4 to Caseta or RA2?

I got a deal on a Caseta Smartbridge Pro that I knew would integrate into Control4, so I bought it and some dimmers and switches and installed them in our lake cabin. The HomeKit integration is so nice, my wife decided she could live with the look of the Caseta dimmers. Now we are in our new (2005ish build) house and I have set up some of the Control4 system, mostly the remote for the TV. I was about to invest in C4 lighting but the excellent results with Caseta, and the price, made me reconsider. So I have the Smartbridge Pro installed along with our master bedroom, two Serena shades, coffee bar, and our master closet with an occupancy/vacancy sensor. I'm up to 17 devices already, and she wants more Picos by the bedside tables. I made up a spreadsheet and it looks like to do the house I will be close to 70 devices, assuming we don't buy anymore automated shades. I also wanted to put Caseta switches in the boat house as I can see being able to remotely turn lights on and off down there very nice. . . . . Should I reconsider something like RA2 or RA2 Select over Caseta? We have several 3 or 4 gang locations where engraving would sure be helpful, and I hated to give that up leaving C4. . . . . Appreciate any advice. . . . . Let me add that I had great luck selling a lot of the C4 equipment and right now I'm looking seriously at the new Savant remote to replace the C4 NEEO/SR-260. . . . How do the Lutron systems play with Savant? Thank you.
06-20-2020, 01:23 PM
randyc

Quote:

Originally Posted by Elvis

I got a deal on a Caseta Smartbridge Pro that I knew would integrate into Control4, so I bought it and some dimmers and switches and installed them in our lake cabin. The HomeKit integration is so nice, my wife decided she could live with the look of the Caseta dimmers. Now we are in our new (2005ish build) house and I have set up some of the Control4 system, mostly the remote for the TV. I was about to invest in C4 lighting but the excellent results with Caseta, and the price, made me reconsider. So I have the Smartbridge Pro installed along with our master bedroom, two Serena shades, coffee bar, and our master closet with an occupancy/vacancy sensor. I'm up to 17 devices already, and she wants more Picos by the bedside tables. I made up a spreadsheet and it looks like to do the house I will be close to 70 devices, assuming we don't buy anymore automated shades. I also wanted to put Caseta switches in the boat house as I can see being able to remotely turn lights on and off down there very nice. . . . . Should I reconsider something like RA2 or RA2 Select over Caseta? We have several 3 or 4 gang locations where engraving would sure be helpful, and I hated to give that up leaving C4. . . . . Appreciate any advice. . . . . Let me add that I had great luck selling a lot of the C4 equipment and right now I'm looking seriously at the new Savant remote to replace the C4 NEEO/SR-260. . . . How do the Lutron systems play with Savant? Thank you.

You could put a second Caseta system in the boat house. Of course you would need network access. In the Caseta world it would be a 2nd home. Switching between homes in Caseta is a little cumbersome so it would depend on how frequently you need to switch. I believe Control4 will talk to both systems at the same time.

Savant generally works pretty good with RadioRA 2 and HomeWorks. I'm not sure how it would work with retail systems like Caseta and RA2 Select. I have heard some grumbling about Savant. It requires a MAC to program. Since the rest of the automation world uses PC you have to have a 2nd computer or run something like Parallels. Manufacturers are continuously updating operating systems and firmware. I believe Savant is the only one that charges for these updates.
06-22-2020, 01:03 PM
SDR-Mike

Control4 works great with Caseta/RA2 Select. The Composer can actually add multiple SmartBridges to a single director, so you may want to consider keeping the Control4. Would just need network down at the boathouse for the second SmartBridge. I agree on the NEEO, there's been a lot of issues with the form factor- pretty but lacking features. The SR-260 is a rock, works awesome. Downside to C4 is the HomeKit integration- needs additional parts and programming.
Here's my take on C4/Lutron as I do both. It's harder for the C4 programmer to add and identify all the Lutron devices. Making C4 keypads work Lutron is easy after that. It allows for multiple bridges. Only time I switch to C4 lighting is when I need to expand or boost my Zigbee mesh.
06-30-2021, 11:14 AM
DMoney

Quote:

Originally Posted by Elvis

I got a deal on a Caseta Smartbridge Pro that I knew would integrate into Control4, so I bought it and some dimmers and switches and installed them in our lake cabin. The HomeKit integration is so nice, my wife decided she could live with the look of the Caseta dimmers. Now we are in our new (2005ish build) house and I have set up some of the Control4 system, mostly the remote for the TV. I was about to invest in C4 lighting but the excellent results with Caseta, and the price, made me reconsider. So I have the Smartbridge Pro installed along with our master bedroom, two Serena shades, coffee bar, and our master closet with an occupancy/vacancy sensor. I'm up to 17 devices already, and she wants more Picos by the bedside tables. I made up a spreadsheet and it looks like to do the house I will be close to 70 devices, assuming we don't buy anymore automated shades. I also wanted to put Caseta switches in the boat house as I can see being able to remotely turn lights on and off down there very nice. . . . . Should I reconsider something like RA2 or RA2 Select over Caseta? We have several 3 or 4 gang locations where engraving would sure be helpful, and I hated to give that up leaving C4. . . . . Appreciate any advice. . . . . Let me add that I had great luck selling a lot of the C4 equipment and right now I'm looking seriously at the new Savant remote to replace the C4 NEEO/SR-260. . . . How do the Lutron systems play with Savant? Thank you.

Control 4 lighting is so much better, alot more functional as well.