Caseta to replace every switch or some other method to the madness that is lighting..

control

In my new place between picos and dimmers I am at 26, so nowhere near the 50 limit, however after getting all of my main areas outfitted with caseta dimmers I am now starting to think of the edge cases and was wondering from folks here what you typically see....caseta everywhere it can go, or are typical installers usually installing them in targeted locations.

For example I have a no smart lighting control in bathrooms policy, and then there are the locations where it makes little sense or is challenging (closets with LED strip lighting, floodlights, single exterior fixture lights in the back of the house)

Just wondering what most are doing/seeing with these devices

Thanks

I'm an electrical contractor. I've never installed Caseta in a bath or closet. I rarely install them in bedrooms except the master. Sometimes floodlights and exterior lights make sense to use Caseta as security lighting and set it up on a schedule. If you're using LED floods, make sure they are dimmable or use a switch.

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Originally Posted by 3D Design

I'm an electrical contractor. I've never installed Caseta in a bath or closet. I rarely install them in bedrooms except the master. Sometimes floodlights and exterior lights make sense to use Caseta as security lighting and set it up on a schedule. If you're using LED floods, make sure they are dimmable or use a switch.

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Thanks, I currently have them in the master, the master closet, and my kids bedroom so I can remotely turn off the lights. I also have them on the over the garage lights as well as the front door and the front porch recessed lighting.

I have two back lights (deck and patio) that I am on the fence with as they are just wall fixtures and don't provide much light, as well as a back yard flood light that I am not sure if the bulbs are dimmable nor do I know if there is any value in outfitting it with a caseta.

If most folks don't bother with those lights then that is good that I am at least in line with that and can save some money.

I've done homes where every light in the house is controlled, including the attic and crawl space. It is more common to use what you call a targeted approach. The first target is what I call "common areas." This would be kitchen, dining, living, halls, stair, etc. I do include the master bedroom, bath and closet. If we do 1 thing in a room, I like to do it all. Nothing quite as aggravating as turning a room off then having to go turn the lamp or sconce off.

I like to include all of the exterior lights. It is helpful for security - if you hear something, you can turn the outside lights on and not have a dark space in the back yard. It is also helpful so that a seldom used light doesn't get left on for 3 days!

The 2nd target would be the secondary areas. If you have kids at home you may want their rooms on the system. If the other bedrooms only get used once or twice a year, it may not be worth it.

If you set your mood (evening, entertain, etc.) and find you frequently turn other lights on/off, they would be good candidates to add. You should be able to hit evening and not touch other lights except on rare occasion.

When I planned our full home remodel I did all controls with Caseta. The only exceptions are the fan controls in the bathrooms, since those are humidity sensors.

I'm slowly doing this in our new home. I also have a targeted approach. If the switches were more reasonably priced I'd probably do more, but I'd be close to the 50 limit on the hub. FYI Lutron, that is a limiting factor for Caseta. I have Casesta dimmers in the common areas like upper/under cabinet lights, foyer lights, and soon overhead can lights. I have Caseta switches on the exterior front lights. On our old house I had those programmable switches in the switch box but they are such a pain to program. The Caseta switches are so easy to program on/off times it is worth it. I will put them in the master. Not sure yet about the master bath. In other places I use smart bulbs that work directly with the Echo Plus device (with built in bridge). The Phillips Hue works well with Echo and doesn't need a wifi connected server to operate. It is also smart enough to turn on/off with the switch on the fixture. I have some smart plugs that turn table lights on/off but they are connected through an app and I will eventually replace them with something direct.

I set up some Echo based Routines that turn on foyer, living, kitchen, and master bedroom lights when my wife comes home and says "Alexa, I'm Home" and also have a routine for 'bedtime' and 'night light' "I'm leaving" Really nice to avoid walking all over the house to turn things on and off.

I just wish Lutron would provide more Caseta devices (like a ceiling fan control) and drop the prices. I recently bought 6 Caseta dimmers at $100 a piece. Ouch Lutron. Drop the price and you'll sell more. The Plug is way too big and needs a redesign. The hub needs to support more than 50 devices. The dimmers need to return to the last dimming state like the Maestros did. After I installed my first Caseta dimmer that was a major disappointment. This is almost as dumb as the Hue bulb when you tell it to turn on to 50%... to goes to 100% then dims. Duh Phillips. Common sense much?

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Originally Posted by Texas_Smarthome

I'm slowly doing this in our new home. I also have a targeted approach. If the switches were more reasonably priced I'd probably do more, but I'd be close to the 50 limit on the hub. FYI Lutron, that is a limiting factor for Caseta. I have Casesta dimmers in the common areas like upper/under cabinet lights, foyer lights, and soon overhead can lights. I have Caseta switches on the exterior front lights. On our old house I had those programmable switches in the switch box but they are such a pain to program. The Caseta switches are so easy to program on/off times it is worth it. I will put them in the master. Not sure yet about the master bath. In other places I use smart bulbs that work directly with the Echo Plus device (with built in bridge). The Phillips Hue works well with Echo and doesn't need a wifi connected server to operate. It is also smart enough to turn on/off with the switch on the fixture. I have some smart plugs that turn table lights on/off but they are connected through an app and I will eventually replace them with something direct.

I set up some Echo based Routines that turn on foyer, living, kitchen, and master bedroom lights when my wife comes home and says "Alexa, I'm Home" and also have a routine for 'bedtime' and 'night light' "I'm leaving" Really nice to avoid walking all over the house to turn things on and off.

I just wish Lutron would provide more Caseta devices (like a ceiling fan control) and drop the prices. I recently bought 6 Caseta dimmers at $100 a piece. Ouch Lutron. Drop the price and you'll sell more. The Plug is way too big and needs a redesign. The hub needs to support more than 50 devices. The dimmers need to return to the last dimming state like the Maestros did. After I installed my first Caseta dimmer that was a major disappointment. This is almost as dumb as the Hue bulb when you tell it to turn on to 50%... to goes to 100% then dims. Duh Phillips. Common sense much?

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Lutron has several systems.
Caseta - 50 devices (retail, DIY)
RA2 Select - 100 devices (retail, DIY)
RadioRA 2 - 200 devices (dealer, PRO)
HomeWorks - 10,000 devices (dealer, PRO)

I like the concept but my complaint has always been the upgrade path. Other than RA2 Select (a recent addition) to RadioRA 2 there is no upgrade path short of removing the entire existing system.

Unfortunately I'm just learning of this limitation now. Maybe I won't hit it. I might go broke before I do! Lol.