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Thread: Whole house integration questions

  1. #1
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    Whole house integration questions

    Hello,

    I'm currently building my first house and wanted to see if I can incorporate a Caseta Wireless system for what I want to do through the whole house. I'm aware of the range and device limitations with the caseta system, but going with RadioRa 2 is way to costly and I don't plan on using all it's features. Mostly I just want to be able to turn the lights off from my phone and create scenes that I can trigger through my phone or an iPad. Plus I don't like that RadioRa 2 doesn't have HomeKit compatibility. So here are my questions:

    1. My house will have way more than 50 switches, but a lot of the switches are 3-way switches that control a light from multiple places. Can I just pair one switch to the Smart Bridge Pro and then pair a Pico remote with that switch for the second location without having to pair the Pico to the SBP? If I do this then the number of switches would drop down to only 38 which is well within the 50 devices limit.

    2. I'm also looking into installing Serena shades, but for some of my windows which are too big for the Serena brand I'm going to have to install Sivoia QS Wireless systems. My question is, can the Serena and Sivoia shades co-exist on the same system and be programmed into a scene together?

    3. Will adding a Nest thermostat to the SBP count as a device?

    Thank you!

  2. #2
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    See below for info:


    Quote Originally Posted by Gus_B View Post
    1. My house will have way more than 50 switches, but a lot of the switches are 3-way switches that control a light from multiple places. Can I just pair one switch to the Smart Bridge Pro and then pair a Pico remote with that switch for the second location without having to pair the Pico to the SBP? If I do this then the number of switches would drop down to only 38 which is well within the 50 devices limit.
    Use the Pro switch and dimmer, they can operate with a normal three-way switch. The dimmer/switch cannot be on a bridge AND paired to a Pico that is stand-alone/not on the same bridge.


    2. I'm also looking into installing Serena shades, but for some of my windows which are too big for the Serena brand I'm going to have to install Sivoia QS Wireless systems. My question is, can the Serena and Sivoia shades co-exist on the same system and be programmed into a scene together?
    Use the Samrt Bridge Pro and you can mix the shade types. Nice way to save some $$. All shades can be a part of any scene. Standard Smart Bridge cannot talk to Sivoia QS Wireless.

    3. Will adding a Nest thermostat to the SBP count as a device?
    No, but the Nest thermostat will not be a part of any scenes ("away") as it's not truly on the Lutron system.

    Thank you!
    Simple automation when DIY isn't working
    intuitivehomecontrols@gmail.com
    fb.me/intuitivehomecontrols

  3. #3
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    Thank you so much for your help!

    Do you know if there is a normal switch or dimmer with the same aesthetics as the caseta one? and do you know if you can can control the nest with siri commands through the smart bridge pro?

    thanks again!

  4. #4
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    Quote Originally Posted by Gus_B View Post
    Thank you so much for your help!

    Do you know if there is a normal switch or dimmer with the same aesthetics as the caseta one? and do you know if you can can control the nest with siri commands through the smart bridge pro?

    thanks again!
    As far as I know, nothing matches the aesthetic of Caseta in a standard wired switch. As far as Nest via HomeKit/Siri, I would have to look into Nest. The voice control for NEST would have to come direct through Siri, the Caseta App can only talk via the Nest cloud to the thermostat. You might investigate IFTTT if you are looking to add Caseta to a "whole home" integration.
    Simple automation when DIY isn't working
    intuitivehomecontrols@gmail.com
    fb.me/intuitivehomecontrols

  5. #5
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    Quote Originally Posted by SanDiegoRep View Post
    As far as I know, nothing matches the aesthetic of Caseta in a standard wired switch. As far as Nest via HomeKit/Siri, I would have to look into Nest. The voice control for NEST would have to come direct through Siri, the Caseta App can only talk via the Nest cloud to the thermostat. You might investigate IFTTT if you are looking to add Caseta to a "whole home" integration.
    Got it! thanks for all your help. I will definitely look into IFTTT. In the 3-way switch scenario, does it have to be a regular switch, or can be a dimmer switch as well? and can you extend this scenario to a 4-way switch?

    thanks!

  6. #6
    Lutron Technical Support
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    Quote Originally Posted by Gus_B View Post
    Got it! thanks for all your help. I will definitely look into IFTTT. In the 3-way switch scenario, does it have to be a regular switch, or can be a dimmer switch as well? and can you extend this scenario to a 4-way switch?

    thanks!
    For the 3-way scenario, It has to either be a regular switch or a Pico remote. It can't be a dimmer at that second location. If you extend it to a 4-way switch, you definitely have to use a Pico remote in that extra location. The dimmers/switches won't work with 2 standard switches.

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  8. #7
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    Quote Originally Posted by Brian W. View Post
    For the 3-way scenario, It has to either be a regular switch or a Pico remote. It can't be a dimmer at that second location. If you extend it to a 4-way switch, you definitely have to use a Pico remote in that extra location. The dimmers/switches won't work with 2 standard switches.

    Ok, that makes sense. Thank you guys for all your help... Now I'm thinking if I can install 2 caseta pro dimmers on a 3-way switch and just have 1 of the switches connected to the bridge? would that work?... I rather have a consistent look for all the switches even if it's a little more expensive.

    Another questions. If I install Sivoia QS wireless roller shades on 2 windows, but I want to always control the shades for this 2 windows together, can I group them to one remote and have this 2 shades count as one device?

  9. #8
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    You can't use two dimmers on the same switch leg as two sides of a three way. If consistency is the hot button, look at the PJ2-2BRL-Gxx Picos. Same look as the dimmer.

    The two shades can be programmed to behave as one on a scene or Pico, but will always count as a device each. It is the smart drive that makes the shade go up and down that is the actual device on the system, and they cannot talk to each other- only the bridge.
    Simple automation when DIY isn't working
    intuitivehomecontrols@gmail.com
    fb.me/intuitivehomecontrols

  10. #9
    For whole house use RA2, you'll thank me later.
    Bradley
    elahome.com

  11. #10
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    That works. But of course you will need to up your lighting budget 10 times. Caseta will work just fine, and you will save $thousands.
    Quote Originally Posted by brad@elahome.com View Post
    For whole house use RA2, you'll thank me later.

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