New to Lutron Caseta Wireless Questions ?

[DaveMike11]

Greetings everyone.

I have some questions on the Lutron Caseta Wireless Switch. I'm interested in buying the below items. I originally planned to buy some GE Z-wave switches to use in my home. But i read online the advantages of Lutron Caseta Wireless Switches. It can be used with Apple Home kit, recent smart things support, Alexa & Google Home.


https://www.lowes.com/pd/Lutron-Case...-Kit/999959769
https://www.lowes.com/pd/Lutron-Caseta-Wireless-150-Watt-Double-Pole-3-Way-Wireless-White-Indoor-Touch-Dimmer/50449012


My questions:
1. I'm currently using philips Hue & LIFX bulbs, Can i use both these bulbs using the above Lutron Caseta Wireless switch/bridge? I read somewhere that philips hue & certain other dimmable bulbs cannot be used/controlled with Lutron Caseta switch. Is this true ?
2. Will the Lutron Caseta switches work the same way as the GE swtiches. Like if the light is turned off by using the switch, can we still turn it on using the ST app or Lutron app ?
3. Can the Lutron Caseta switches have the Z-wave capabilities by updating with the Homeseer software.?
4. Any other advantages I loose by going to Lutron Caseta Wireless Switch instead of a GE Z-wave switches ? I dont have any smart switches at home. I only have ST &
My Home has Smartthings hub integrated with other HA items like Philips Hue bulbs, LIFX bulbs, Harmony Hub, Alexa, Google Home, Kwikset Z-wave locks, Iris Motion sensors, Iris power outlet, Nest Thermostat,Protects & Nest Cams and Ring Pro door bell.


Thanks in advance for your time.

[tannebil]

1. You can't really mix smart bulbs and smart wall switches on the same circuit. If you turn the power off at the switch, the smart bulb stops working until the switch is turned back on. Dimmers add an extra complication as a Hue is not designed to be on a dimmer.

2/3. Lutron uses a proprietary wireless implementation so it can't interoperate directly with Z-Wave. The Lutron SmartThings has an integration with Lutron hubs so the ST app can control Lutron switches. I think Homeseer has a Lutron plug-in but you'd need to double-check it. Lutron works with Alexa but I don't know about Google Home.

4. I'd say the big advantage of Lutron over Z-Wave is reliability. Lutron has been using their wireless protocol for a long time and, since it's proprietary, they have more control over the devices. The bridge says 30' range plus one extender with another 30' from it but in real life, people don't seem to have many range problems. However, Caséta isn't intended to be a solution for large houses. The big disadvantage is the switches tend to be more expensive and there are fewer options compared to Z-Wave.

I use Lutron Caséta for my wall switches, Hue for my colored lights, and SmartThings/Z-Wave/Zigbee for my sensors. No regrets on any of those choices. I've not tried the Lutron-SmartThings integration as I use Apple Homekit for my device control (with Homebridge for SmartThings-HomeKit integration) and Alexa for voice command.

[DaveMike11]

Thanks @tannebil for your detail explanation. This is really helpful.

Can you tell me how do you use your Philips Hue bulbs? Do you use your Hue bulbs on a floor lamp/table lamp connected to a regular power outlet and control?

How about all the lights connected to your Lutron Caseta wireless switches? Are these regular A19/BR30 Dimmable bulbs? Does these bulbs also need to be any specific model/type ?

Thanks in advance.

1. You can't really mix smart bulbs and smart wall switches on the same circuit. If you turn the power off at the switch, the smart bulb stops working until the switch is turned back on. Dimmers add an extra complication as a Hue is not designed to be on a dimmer.

2/3. Lutron uses a proprietary wireless implementation so it can't interoperate directly with Z-Wave. The Lutron SmartThings has an integration with Lutron hubs so the ST app can control Lutron switches. I think Homeseer has a Lutron plug-in but you'd need to double-check it. Lutron works with Alexa but I don't know about Google Home.
jus4. I'd say the big advantage of Lutron over Z-Wave is reliability. Lutron has been using their wireless protocol for a long time and, since it's proprietary, they have more control over the devices. The bridge says 30' range plus one extender with another 30' from it but in real life, people don't seem to have many range problems. However, Caséta isn't intended to be a solution for large houses. The big disadvantage is the switches tend to be more expensive and there are fewer options compared to Z-Wave.

I use Lutron Caséta for my wall switches, Hue for my colored lights, and SmartThings/Z-Wave/Zigbee for my sensors. No regrets on any of those choices. I've not tried the Lutron-SmartThings integration as I use Apple Homekit for my device control (with Homebridge for SmartThings-HomeKit integration) and Alexa for voice command.

[tannebil]

I've got Hue bulbs on the front of the house which I use for various color combinations to match holidays and seasons. Seahawk colors most of the time. :-)

I also use them on my stairs so I can use a more night-friendly light scheme as the light spills into the TV room but mostly because I wanted to control the individual lights on the circuit. There are two multi-color BR30s on the stairs and a round fixture with two white A19s on the landing. I've got a Hue motion sensor on the landing lights as the landing is the path from the upstairs bedrooms to the bathroom. I've also got a white bulb on a plug-in reading lights and a plug-in table lamp because I want to dim the lights and don't like using plug-in dimmers. I've also got a white one in a hanging fixture that I'm going to replace with a Lutron at some point. Hue seems to give me more Homekit issues than Lutron but nothing so bad that I've looked at switching.

I've read about a lot of problems with LED flickering and low-end dimming performance but I have not experienced any problem with the random set of bulbs I've used (around 20 in total). Lutron has a comprehensive list of tested bulbs but I've never looked at it. The only issue has been with a fixture that uses G4 halogen 12v bulbs where the normal Caséta in-wall dimmer didn't work with because (I think) the stepdown transformer requires a neutral. I just received the ELV model which I expect to work but have not installed it yet.

[msimanyi]

Sorry to revive this thread, but I searched the forum and the FAQ and really didn't find an answer to question 2 posted above.

I'm considering setting up some homekit enabled switches and dimmers. If the Caseta switch is physically turned "off" by someone, does it lose wireless functionality (and access through my phone / pad / etc.)? I'm also evaluating the Leviton Decora Smart switches, so if anyone has useful commentary about any pros or cons of the two systems I'd love to hear about them.

Thank you in advance,

Mike

[inetjnky]

Tannebil im interested to hear more about your setup with using Lutron, Smartthings, and Apple HomeKit. I'm designing my system similar but am in the very early stages. I have the lutron pro2 hub and a smartthings hub. I do not yet have an Apple TV but plan on purchasing one. I am using primarily the ELV dimmer switches for my recessed lighting. I have GE Zwave switches for my ceiling fans (without lights) that I plan to hook up to smartthings, but would also like to use smartthings sensors to handle things like occupancy. Is it possible to use these sensors say when a door opens a specific light comes on in the room where the door opens? I am installing an ecobee 4 thermostat but will be using nest protect smoke detectors upstairs. Any guidance or suggestions would be helpful. I'm new to this game. Thanks!

[tannebil]

Tannebil im interested to hear more about your setup with using Lutron, Smartthings, and Apple HomeKit. I'm designing my system similar but am in the very early stages. I have the lutron pro2 hub and a smartthings hub. I do not yet have an Apple TV but plan on purchasing one. I am using primarily the ELV dimmer switches for my recessed lighting. I have GE Zwave switches for my ceiling fans (without lights) that I plan to hook up to smartthings, but would also like to use smartthings sensors to handle things like occupancy. Is it possible to use these sensors say when a door opens a specific light comes on in the room where the door opens? I am installing an ecobee 4 thermostat but will be using nest protect smoke detectors upstairs. Any guidance or suggestions would be helpful. I'm new to this game. Thanks!

I'm using SmartThings sensors and automation as an interim step until HomeKit improves in those areas enough to be HomeKit-only (I suspect that won't be until at least 2019-2020). When I decide to buy something new, I stick with things that work with both SmartThings and HomeKit or, if it's SmartThings only, that I'll need to replace it in 2-5 years. The SmartThings-Lutron integration makes it easy to automate lights based on motion or doors opening/closing. I'm pretty sure there's a SmartThings-ecobee integration as well if you want to use SmartThings occupancy to trigger home/away settings.

I don't see any real advantage to integrating my smoke detectors (I use the Protect as well) with either SmartThings or HomeKit so I have not bothered. I looked at if I could use the Protect for occupancy but after talking to Nest support, it really wasn't going to work.

[inetjnky]

Good to know about the Nest protect so I won't bother there. Everything I'm buying I'm making sure it integrates with Alexa. Never thought to ensure it works with HomeKit but I'll be sure to keep that on the radar. Thanks for the tips! Good to know I can use the smart things sensors to turn on lighting being controlled through Lutron. Looks like I'll be picking up another pie for smartthings HomeKit integration.

[tannebil]

Homebridge is fun but unless you are an expert in the tools it uses (git, npm, JavaScript, NodeJS) and can fix the errors and missing bits in the various projects, it's not something you can depend on. HomeKit is the Apollo mission in terms of reliability compared to Homebridge. Read the git issues, join the Slack channel, and buckle up!

I run it all in a macOS VM that I have to restore at least a couple of times every time I try to change anything significant (I lack those tool skills).

[inetjnky]

I'm familiar with the Linux OS so I'll have to check it out. I'm currently running a RPI as my DVR with a 2gb HDD attached getting my tv through a tuner with cable card. I refuse to pay for the over priced DVR solutions that cable providers charge monthly.