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Thread: Large Caseta Install - Advice Needed

  1. #1

    Large Caseta Install - Advice Needed

    Hello All,


    I am planning to install the Caseta system in my ~12,000 Sq. Home. I have a tight budget of roughly ~$10,000 so I won't be going with an RA2 system. I just need to be able to turn on the lights remotely. I want to be able to have separate zones like "All lights on/off" or "Basement lights". I want to control this from my phone and alexa within the home.

    What I was thinking:

    I was going to do 1 smart bridge (pro?) on each floor. With the plug-in extender, that should be enough to cover each floor. (Lots of open space, roughly 4000 sq feet per floor.) If the that doesn't work, I can have 2 smart bridges on each floor, each with their own extender. I'm going to have roughly 180 switches total (most being 3/4+ way) so I am planning on bulk purchasing the dimmer packs for like 54.00 on amazon. They come with 1 dimmer and 1 pico remote. If I buy 100 packs, that should be enough to control the whole home. That will cost me around 6000.00. The next step would be to get the Homeseer S6 PRO (Roughly 1200 dollars).

    My understanding is that I can connect all the smart bridges together using the HomeSeer and then group the devices like that. From there, I can use my phone or alexa to control the different scenes that I want. That way, my caseta system essentially becomes merged together and I can turn all my lights on or off simultaneously. This will help me bypass the 50 device limit and save money over the RA2 system correct?

    Would this plan work well? Where could things go wrong here? I am new to this scene but I feel like this could be a good solution for what I am trying to do. I really don't need shades and all that jazz. I simply want to be able to remotely control my lights and turn all of them on/off at one time or turn a section on at one time. I want to have an echo dot next to my bed at night and I want to be able to say "Alexa, all lights off" and then all the lights in the home turn off.

    Any advice is appreciated. Thanks!

  2. #2
    Senior Member
    Join Date
    Nov 2014
    Posts
    238
    "my ~12,000 Sq. Home. I have a tight budget of roughly ~$10,000" so your spending millions but are only willing to spend less than $1/sqft for automation?
    Such a bad idea. Increase your budget and do it right the first time.
    Not trying to troll you, just warn you against wasting $10,000.

  3. Thanks gt3mike thanked for this post
  4. #3
    How would it be wasting $10,000? And yes, I don't value home automation as much as I do other things when it comes to this house. It's for convenience. I don't plan on dropping 30-40K to get my lights automated... it doesn't make sense for me. If the system works in the end of the day, why does it even matter? I am the only one that knows there are 3+ hubs right? I'm asking to see if it works, that's all. I already know it would be wiser to go with an RA2 or homeworks through a dealer but I simply don't want to do that.

    Sure, if it's not possible to have a decent system through caseta then I'll just hold off until I can save up so more money for this project specifically. As far as I know, the connnection technology is nearly the same between the caseta and the RA. If the caseta had scalability and access to more than 50 devices, would it still be the wrong option? All I want to do is turn my lights on and off with my phone/echo. Can caseta not do that?

  5. #4
    Senior Member
    Join Date
    Jul 2015
    Posts
    126
    Sounds like you already know what to do. I am in the process of adding a second Hub and it has not been going that smoothly.


    I have no answers on Homeseer as I have never used it.

    Don't forget you now need to add an echo or dot into every room of your 12,000sqft house.

  6. #5
    May I ask what is going wrong with your multi bridge set up, sawdust? I just want as much information as possible before I pull the trigger.

    Also, no I won't be needing an echo in every room. Just main areas and the Master. The house doesn't have that many rooms honestly. They are just spacious. Everything else can just be done with my phone.

  7. #6
    If you are happy controlling all the devices from iOS devices/Siri then you don't need homeseer as HomeKit will see and control all the apps. I'm with you 100 percent on using caseta besides radiora. At this point with HomeKit/Alexa etc to control devices and easy setup the only benefit of the radiora etc is for the custom installer to line their pockets.

  8. #7
    Quote Originally Posted by malba2366 View Post
    If you are happy controlling all the devices from iOS devices/Siri then you don't need homeseer as HomeKit will see and control all the apps. I'm with you 100 percent on using caseta besides radiora. At this point with HomeKit/Alexa etc to control devices and easy setup the only benefit of the radiora etc is for the custom installer to line their pockets.
    Exactly, I mean Lutron seems to be pushing more of the new features to Caseta anyways. The new ELV dimmers seem perfect and all I have to do is divide my home into 3 smaller homes (by each floor) and run a caseta system for each. With 1 bridge and 1 extender on each floor, that should be more than enough.

    I am more than capable of handling this sort of install my self, so I don't understand why I am forced to go through a dealer who just ends up raising my end user cost. And that too, they limit Caseta's expandability so it's almost like you are forced to go radioRA with this size of home. And the only people who tell you that you are wrong for trying to use Caseta are the dealers lol. If the connection technology is the same, what's the big deal?

  9. #8
    Senior Member
    Join Date
    Nov 2014
    Posts
    238
    Keypads.
    With a 100 plus devices and no keypads anywhere a lot will be missing. Also have fun trying to use HomeKit to sort through all the devices in a logical way.

    Maybe the dealers are telling you it is a mistake to use Caseta in a house this large because it is what they do everyday of the week.

    But hey, at least you won't be wasting any money with a local small business that sells, installs, maintains, and supports a rock solid system designed for your mansion. They definintily are not entitled to earn what they charge and they all live in 24,000sqft houses.

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  11. #9
    Quote Originally Posted by Rickymerchant1 View Post
    Exactly, I mean Lutron seems to be pushing more of the new features to Caseta anyways. The new ELV dimmers seem perfect and all I have to do is divide my home into 3 smaller homes (by each floor) and run a caseta system for each. With 1 bridge and 1 extender on each floor, that should be more than enough.

    I am more than capable of handling this sort of install my self, so I don't understand why I am forced to go through a dealer who just ends up raising my end user cost. And that too, they limit Caseta's expandability so it's almost like you are forced to go radioRA with this size of home. And the only people who tell you that you are wrong for trying to use Caseta are the dealers lol. If the connection technology is the same, what's the big deal?

    Right now I think they're trying to walk a fine line between entering the DIY market and keeping the custom installers happy. It is looking more and more like DIY is the future of this market. The DIY side is starting to get a lot of media coverage, and it will be huge within 5 years or so. The smarter custom installers will change their business model to installing the DIY products for less tech savvy people for a modest fee and the not so smart ones will be left behind. I would be willing to bet that within 5 years Lutron will be fully behind caseta as a whole home solution minimize investment in t other platforms.

  12. #10
    Quote Originally Posted by Lukeetal View Post
    Keypads.
    With a 100 plus devices and no keypads anywhere a lot will be missing. Also have fun trying to use HomeKit to sort through all the devices in a logical way.

    Maybe the dealers are telling you it is a mistake to use Caseta in a house this large because it is what they do everyday of the week.

    But hey, at least you won't be wasting any money with a local small business that sells, installs, maintains, and supports a rock solid system designed for your mansion. They definintily are not entitled to earn what they charge and they all live in 24,000sqft houses.

    I have 80 devices on 2 hubs and after homekit came around I have never wanted for keypads (Ill admit I did want them when I had to use the luton app for control). I have a lot of scenes programmed, and in the rooms menu can scroll through each room and then it only shows the scenes that apply to that room. It is very easy to set up and use for a reasonably tech savvy person. Siri controls the system very well. Overall I have found caseta to be very reliable. In a year and a half the hub only went down once (and was easily reset)... it wasn't the end of the world because I still have the hardwired switches in each room.

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