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Caseta Switches in the Cold
I know that most if not all Caseta Switches are not meant to be used outdoor in cold climates (down to 32 f). But I’m wondering if anyone out there has tested this?
I live in the cold Canadian Prairies where we’ll occasionally reach lows of -40 f in the depths of winter. I’d like to place a switch inside my detached garage and pair it with a Pico in the house. Am I insane for even considering it?
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Originally Posted by
Bdscott742
I know that most if not all Caseta Switches are not meant to be used outdoor in cold climates (down to 32 f). But I’m wondering if anyone out there has tested this? I live in the cold Canadian Prairies where we’ll occasionally reach lows of -40 f in the depths of winter. I’d like to place a switch inside my detached garage and pair it with a Pico in the house. Am I insane for even considering it?
Not insane. If there isn't already I would try packing some insulation around the dimmer. There was one guy here, from Colorado maybe, who was going to try it.
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Originally Posted by
randyc
Not insane. If there isn't already I would try packing some insulation around the dimmer. There was one guy here, from Colorado maybe, who was going to try it.
Might be worth trying. For what it's worth, I've been running an Intermatic timer switch in that spot for a few years without any problems. Bryan
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keeping Caseta switches warm.
Originally Posted by
Bdscott742
I know that most if not all Caseta Switches are not meant to be used outdoor in cold climates (down to 32 f). But I’m wondering if anyone out there has tested this? I live in the cold Canadian Prairies where we’ll occasionally reach lows of -40 f in the depths of winter. I’d like to place a switch inside my detached garage and pair it with a Pico in the house. Am I insane for even considering it?
I'm about to try the same thing, in Minnesota. I'm thinking of a low-cost 2 foot plastic covered box mounted on the studs of my garage, with my Caseta circuits inside, along with a spare 110 outlet. Then placing a temperature-sensitive plug onto the 110, such as a HEATIT ET-21, (on at 38F, off at 52F) or the like. Then, how to heat inside the box? Something corded, that is cheap and safe. Small heated hair brushes, with low-temp setting, are about $20 online. They have a 30 minute timeout feature, so that could be problematic, but once the temp goes down again below 38F, it should start up again. Would anyone like to tell me that this is crazy? Or, in infra-red light bulb on the 110 temperature-sensitive plug would work as well.
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I have a Caseta switch (normal installation) and Caseta repeater unit out in my unheated detached garage in MN around the Twin Cities - we had a particularly bad 2-week stretch this past winter with nightly lows ~-25F, and everything worked like a champ. It wasn't -40, but no hiccups at all during the winter season.
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