Lutron announces Connect Bridge for RadioRA2 (and HW QS)

[CaliforniaGuy]

Does anyone know if the new RadioRA2 connect bridge theoretically could be updated with a firmware update to support Caseta Devices?

I'd presume so, as the the connect bridge already uses "Clear Connect" to talk to the Picos, and I think that's the same type of communication that the Caseta Device use. It seems like there's a growing new market segment for Pros to go after-- those who started with Caseta, but realize they need RadioRA2 for more features / more than 50 devices. Just curious if this might be technically possible someday.

[wkearney99]

Does anyone know if the new RadioRA2 connect bridge theoretically could be updated with a firmware update to support Caseta Devices?

I'd presume so, as the the connect bridge already uses "Clear Connect" to talk to the Picos, and I think that's the same type of communication that the Caseta Device use. It seems like there's a growing new market segment for Pros to go after-- those who started with Caseta, but realize they need RadioRA2 for more features / more than 50 devices. Just curious if this might be technically possible someday.

It's exactly the same tech. It's just that the Ra2 and Caseta hubs are specifically programmed to exclude each other's devices. Lutron's inane suggestion for customers that have outgrown Caseta is to rip it all out and throw it away before replacing it with Ra2. Punishment, of a sort, for not choosing the correct kind of system to begin with. It's really a very stupid plan. Various excuses are trotted out to justify it, one being 'protecting' the integration/dealer market. The other stating Caseta numbers aren't all that great, so it wouldn't have much market impact. Which isn't terribly surprising how they deliberately made the Caseta devices butt-ugly looking, again to prevent customers from buying it... but meanwhile presenting almost NO MASS-MARKETING EFFORTS WHATSOEVER to promote Ra2 and HWQS. The end result is an earnest customer, faithfully enjoying Lutron tech in Caseta gear gets slapped in the face and told their enthusiasm was stupid and they now have to start all over again.

[freeoscar]

I just don't see how Lutron could realistically integrate Caseta w/Ra2 without fundamentally undercutting Ra2 - and these are decades old relationships they have with dealers/integrators. Nor do I see it as particularly outrageous - does Leviton offer an upgrade path from their z-wave or UPB systems to OmniBus (or from one to the other)? There is no upgrade path from regular Lutron (or Leviton or LeGrand) dimmers to an automated system. It's odd that you see a good thing - the ability for a consumer grade system to take advantage of a much more reliable (imo) protocol than it's competitors (z-wave, insteon, wifi, zigbee) and turn it into a negative.
Now, do I think they could offer something like a credit towards an Ra2 system for Caseta owners who trade-in their devices? Of course they can - but I don't know how many takers they would have, nor how much it would inspire people to choose Caseta over its alternatives.

[wkearney99]

It'd be relatively easy, just have a license key or something that had to be purchased to allow the Ra2 software to recognize and integrate Caseta devices. Nothing gets integrated with Ra2 without the Inclusive software. Use that as the gatekeeper.

I'd do it, if just to get access to the on-wall plug-in dimmer. I've got a couple of situations where those would be perfect instead of the in-line Ra2 units.

Price it such that it would avoid being a short-cut for getting cheap devices to add to Ra2. They're already going to have to 'eat' the cost of the Caseta Bridge, but that's relatively cheap. If anything, throw them a bone there with some kind of rebate for the bridge (and decommission it from the cloud back-end). Or not, it's a sunk cost, let it move elsewhere unless you want to deal with the burden of getting them RMA'd and refurbed.

Because if someone wanted to try to cheap out a Ra2 installation by using those ugly-*** Caseta in-wall dimmers then they're definitely not going to be Ra2-level customers anyway. There'd be no "lost" dealer sale there, as those customers would never likely BE a dealer customer anyway. And can we be smarter than the arrogance of assuming whether people are "beneath" a certain threshold? They're showing INTEREST in the vendor's products. Best to find ways to KEEP that interest and BUILD on it, not take some stupid punitive rip-and-replace kind of attitude. That's just unnecessarily arrogant. ESPECIALLY since there's literally no technological reason why it can't be made to work.

Look at it this way, if a DIY customer likes the product line enough to want to expand, how can we best exploit that? What's more realistic? Punishing the motivated and brand-friendly customer by making them tear it all out? Or recognizing their interests have grown and welcoming them to the next tier of devices?

[wkearney99]

Don't get me wrong, I love how well designed and engineered the Lutron products are, and how well they operate. Especially when compared against other brands.

But the splintered way the different groups are brought to market is ridiculous. Especially when it's clearly nothing more than a protectionist grab to gouge customers. It smacks of protecting the lone silos of Lutron channels while completely ignoring the in-roads other vendors are making as a result. And to what end? Just how easy does it make it for other vendors to take pot-shots at silly policies like this? Why bother giving them that ammunition? And why ask the customers to toss their gear into the trash instead of building on their positive interest?

What kind of 'loss' would really exist or happen if there was immediately a way for customers with Caseta gear to move to Ra2 with no rip-and-replace? And no, I don't see this as a 'slippery slope' toward encroaching on HWQS. That's a whole other level of complexity that absolutely deserves integrator management.

(and I have no idea what the web site is doing with postings, it's... odd...)

[schalliol]

Indeed, all the value ought to be in the repeater. The issue is that Lutron prices all (identical other than firmware) products in ascending tiers of Caseta, RR2, and HWQS. So, if they let someone upgrade from Caseta to RR2, they wouldn't have paid the RR2 premium for all those existing devices.

I think they should just charge more for the master repeater license and charge as little as possible for the devices. I understand why they don't, but in my own system, I would by now have upgraded to a HWQS repeater, and they're missing out of the added revenue. They could treat these as hardware + software license built into the product and make it easy for a RR2 owner to upgrade to HWQS by paying an upgrade fee since they already owned RR2. They could do the same for Caseta.

[Thecho]

Today, Apple announced at their WWDC seminar that they are going to begin allowing developers to integrate HomeKit security into their products at the software level, rather than requiring an Apple-designed authentication chip.


This software-based authorization will be available to existing products as well, meaning that for the first time many legacy home automation products will be able to join the HomeKit club with merely a firmware update, rather than requiring users to replace hardware components to gain HomeKit compatibility.

Does this mean there is still hope for the 1st gen Connect bridge to still obtain homekit certification?

See:
http://www.iphoneincanada.ca/news/homekit-prototyping/
http://appleinsider.com/articles/17/...oser-licensing

[schalliol]

Well, at least if they can then fix the old one it could have some used value.

[SDR-Mike]

It would be nice if someone at Lutron would acknowledge if this is happening to the "legacy" Connects. I have been impressed with my Echo DOT, but would rather have a single interface for voice. The Samsung users in my house have yet to adopt the voice control trend. I reviewed the updates for the app and Google Assistant is now active on Connects.

[Thecho]

Has there been any update or word on bringing homekit into the legacy connect bridges? Has anyone successfully had Lutron exchange any of their legacy bridges with the version 2?