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Thread: Default (preset) dim level request

  1. #21
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    Honestly, I didn't know that this existed. I'm not sure why I wouldn't just buy those. I can't help but keep looking at the product description for a gotcha. I haven't found it.

  2. #22
    There is no "gotcha." I have a bunch of them. To be clear they work just like the PICOs, in that you can set a remembered level for the center button. They do not remember a last level, just that remembered trim level, which is what I think most people on this thread need.

  3. #23
    The "gotcha" is twofold:

    1. If you are renovating an existing house, only some switch boxes will have neutrals. Meaning you'll have inconsistent switch types throughout the house. (Some with center button preset and some without)

    2. Caseta users are forced to use these ridiculous 5-button dimmers to accomplish the exact same functionality available in a Maestro dimmer or RadioRA2 dimmer with 3 sleek buttons. (One big panel and a small up-down adjustment on the edge)

  4. #24
    1. Fair enough-- except, honestly, the dimmers with neutrals just work better. It's almost worth hiring an electrician to or personally running a wire with a neutral just to get a reliable set up that doesn't buzz with most quality LEDs (ones that contain electronics in the bulb, etc). I was lucky to have neutrals in most of my boxes already, as it's been NEC code to have a neutral or an easy way to run one for many years now.

    2. I actually prefer the explicit 5 button dimmer. Guests don't figure out that you can "double tap" to get to max level. Having fixed buttons for Max and Custom is much easier for guests to learn. Each to his own I guess.

  5. #25
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    Tried out a couple of the Leviton Homekit dimmers and I must say that I am impressed. Easy installation and homekit set up. And most importantly a proper default dim level setting feature and fade on and off timing settings.

    This may be the future in my house.

  6. #26
    I'm going to have to defend Lutron if you're all about the HomeKit use case. You can buy multiple Caseta bridges to cover a whole house with Caseta and HomeKit works well in practice.

    The only downsides to Lutron/Caseta + HomeKit might be:
    1) if you prefer styles of switches / remotes that Caseta doesn't offer, and
    2) if your needs change down the road, Lutron has traditionally not been friendly about offering upgrade paths to more complex solutions (e.g. once you do Caseta, there's no reasonable way to switch to Lutron's RR2 or QS).

    That said, regarding #1, I think the options for Caseta switches and remotes are very workable. As I mentioned above, I've found that having a different button on the switch for "saved dim level" like the PD-5NE is more intuitive than single vs double tapping the on button, and the Picos like the PJ2-4B-WH-L31P are acceptable when you need a couple of different dimming settings for a whole-home or partial-home scene. (The documentation is weak, but you can pair picos to multiple bridges for basic whole-home scenes.)

    (To be fair to Leviton, they do have more to offer if you're more into Alexa or Smartthings than HomeKit-- neither Alexa nor Smartthings works well with Caseta once you try to cover your whole home / have more than 50 devices.)

  7. #27
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    Quote Originally Posted by Brian W. View Post
    Requests for an in-wall Caseta dimmer with a center favorite button have been forwarded to our engineering design department.
    Hi Lutron,
    One year and a half since some users requested this feature, and no answer yet ? A bit disappointed...

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  9. #28
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    Quote Originally Posted by CaliforniaGuy View Post
    I am super perplexed to see that no one has mentioned the PD-5NE? It has the same interface as the PICOs, where the center button remember a preset dimming level for connected lights. It does require a neutral, but it's worth wiring a neutral anyways as more LED bulbs are compatible with the dimmer with neutrals. What is needed here that the PD-5NE doesn't address?
    CG, you seem to be extremely helpful with the Caseta dimmers and Lutron Dimmers. I have four Caseta dimmers with one Pico running my outside lights. I setup on my iPhone and these lights work great. But these lights come on and go off at preset times, one hour prior to sunset, off at midnight. On at dusk, off at sunrise. That's not how I want my lights inside to work.

    I have a the Caseta hub and want to continue to use the Lutron Dimmers if at all possible. I have three areas (kitchen, den and hallway) that are all three-way switches. Can I install the Pico in the most often used switch location to use the center Pico button to preserve the a lower dimmed setting?

    e.g., install the LUTRON P-PKG1W-WH Caseta Wireless 600-watt/150-watt Multi-Location In-Wall Dimmer with Pico Remote Control Kit with a Lutron PICO-WBX-ADAPT Pico Wallplate Bracket


    https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...?ie=UTF8&psc=1

    https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...?ie=UTF8&psc=1

    When I walk into my kitchen at 4 am, I don't want the lights going full bright, nor do I want to grab my iPhone to turn on the light. I want to turn on the light in my half-waken state like they did in the 1930's by hitting a switch or at least by pressing a button. Is this possible, or do I need to purchase two Lutron PD-5NE-WH for $99.95 each for each zone?


    https://www.amazon.com/Lutron-PD-5NE.../dp/B01M22SK1W

    If the later, I won't be paying $600 to control three areas. I will look to another company like Leviton. Like many others, I wish Lutron would get someone with some pull would tell the design team to update the firmware so these Caseta dimmers could : 1) be programmed to a default brightness setting, or 2) the last used setting, giving the buyer options on setting up these dimmers. How on earth did the design team miss this?

    Any suggestion on the best way to run my kitchen lights (used often), hallway lights (used daily) and den (uses occasionally)?

    Thank you for your time.


  10. #29
    You can do what you described, of course.

    But I still like the 5NEs better as then you get a consistent interface for all your single dimmer locations.

    For multi-dimmer zone/scene control, you might also consider using one of the PJ2-4B-GWH-L31 scene controllers which basically "saves" 4 preset levels for all the dimmers it connects to. (With Caseta you can't do any complex rules like this button only does these switches-- each of the buttons will save a level for all the paired dimmers.) It's common to do something like the top button is full bright, the next button is 50%, the next is all off except 1 dimmer left at 1% as a night light, and the bottom as all off.

    From what I can tell, the designers at Lutron are actually really good. The reason that Caseta (their DIY stuff) is so poorly executed is just that they are deathly afraid of angering their installation partners with whole-home solutions that the general DIYer/handyman/electrician could install.

  11. #30
    @CaliforniaGuy About the "deathly afraid" of cannibalizing installers, you're right that they think that way, but it's really a very short-sighted view.

    Take Sonos as an example. When Sonos was new, and I was an early adopter, I hired an audio installer for hanging my flat screen tvs. The installer saw my Sonos and was appalled, afraid it would completely ruin his business, which involved a bunch of less-good solutions that needed expert install. I said, no, really, embrace it--there will be people who will pay you to do this. I just got an email from him, years later that it's true--Sonos installs are now his biggest business.

    Because here's the thing--there are people who want to hire an installer, and people who don't. The people who want to hire someone will probably do so whether or not it is possible as DIY. They either have plenty of money, or hate this kind of thing, or both. Their expectation is to call someone and have that person deal with it.

    Then there's DIY people. Those people may or may not have money--but mostly, they enjoy this kind of thing, or are good at it, and they prefer to have full control, and they don't want to have to call the installer every time they want to add or change. These people are fairly resistant to hiring an installer, and will go to another company if you don't offer the best in the DIY class.

    Yes, of course, there are a subset of people who might go either way--but I submit that these people are the minority.

    And yes, I just swapped out my old Lutron dumb dimmers for Caseta, and couldn't figure out how to preset them. I found this thread while looking for the answer... So please, Lutron, embrace the future, and add full functionality to Caseta. If you don't, you'll just be left behind by a company that doesn't cripple its products. This is a highly competitive area, and despite your current strong position, you'll be crushed.
    Last edited by LitupinBoston; 08-12-2017 at 06:56 AM. Reason: typo

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