Is Lutron Caseta still worth it? Lutron is known as some of the best smart light switches, but they are definitely expensive. I will talk about why you might want …

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42 thoughts on “Lutron Caseta Review and 2020 Updates”

  1. Thanks for watching! Do you use Lutron, or another smart light switch?
    *Update!* 
    Apparently there is a 1 minute timeout on the motion sensor. Thanks to Arthur Lejawka who gave me the tip. It's under the first point under the Sensor section in https://www.casetawireless.com/faqs How you do it is hold down the Timeout button and the current setting light will start blinking but keep holding the button until all 3 LEDs start blinking fast. Then let go of the button and hold the button one more time to lock in the 1 minute time out. To make sure it's in 1 minute timeout just press the Timeout button and all 3 LEDs will light up. I tested it out and it works great.

  2. Hi – I also have the Lutron switches, and love them, but I also have HUE and even TP-LINk smart pugs. I do not see this as all or nothing as you imply, not all of my switches have been converted, for example in my TV room I have used a MARR connector to have the power flowing all the time to the lights in the room which are HUE and used a HUE switch and wall plate to cover the wires in the wall. The HUE switch then runs the lights, and changes colours. Or Alexa does it. I used the Lutron n the games room, as there are a lot of bulbs, and 1 switch is cheaper than replacing all of the bulbs. So I think you have to look a the use, the cost and what you want. Do you want colours, or just dimming… what makes sense? Pete. Great review though!

  3. Been using Lutron Caseta for 4 years now and love it, but if I was starting from scratch now I'd use wifi switches that can be flashed with Tasmota… especially since you can buy 5 wifi switches for the price of one Lutron switch, with the caveat being that a lot of my switch boxes do not have neutrals and most wifi switches require it. Lutron was perfect for setting up my first smart switches and I do love having the remote controls. Have remotes hard mounted in a few spots for 3+ way where there was no wiring, a couple by the bed that each control different light groups, one by the front door can turn on all my outdoor flood lights, one in the car to turn things on manually from the car (even though the app does geofencing as well). Too late for me to go back, but I'll be swapping a couple switches out for wifi switches soon and repurpose the Lutron switches that are getting replaced.

    Also, the hub integrates with Home Assistant with control being completely local (no internet requirement once set up) and the pro hub is not required..

  4. You can set the timeout to 0. I'm pretty sure you can press and hold the timeout button. All 3 led should blink. When using QS you can set the grace period to fix the motion on. Not sure if this is a feature in Caseta.

  5. The Lutron smart switches cost 3-4 times more than something like a Kasa smart switch (dimmer) and they simply are not that different, with the exception that they do not require a neutral wire. Also, smart wifi lights do NOT require a separate bridge to work. Something I also found out the hard way is that the Lutron smart fan controls do not work with more expensive fans that have DC motors. So the fan switch costs over $50.00 and it won't even work with the best fans. That is just embarrassing. I think Lutron is wayyy overpriced for what it is, except in the cases where a house is not wired with a neutral line.

  6. Question for you, do you know if the hub works with the devices locally or do they go out to a cloud server and back? For places where the internet might not be as good this creates a lot of latency and it's a bit of a nightmare.

    Thanks
    Ramiro

  7. I have 10 of these Lutron switches and Pico remotes in my home and they all work great with over 30 6” and 8” wafer LED lights. I had them attached to a Wink hub for several years but recently Wink decided to charge for their service. I added the Lutron hub and after finally figuring out how it connected to the switches it works fine – even with Alexa after some annoying configuration issues…

  8. @Smart Home Solver, you really need to tell us what skin care product you're using. At your 10 year clip section, you look exactly the same as 10 years ago. I see no signs of aging.

  9. hmm….motion battery lasts 10 years….. anyone has seen batteries that leak after 4 years ? it's quite common. another example of extreme marketing. It's like saying the gaming chair your bought will last 5 years. But after 1 year, the faux leather starts peeling off.

  10. Maybe the wrong video for this question. I have mostly Wemo switches installed and they are great but lose connection a lot. Where do you rank Wemo as you seem to mostly ignore them I. Your reviews? Is this because they aren’t a big player?

  11. I think my biggest con with lutron is the lack of rgb capability with the switch. You either use smart switch or smart bulb. I love the switches but I'd also really like to change the colors for parties and even personal ambiance.

  12. I have a ton of Lutron in my house. I love the reliability compared to all of the other things in my house (TP-Link and Caseta are the only two devices I have not had to reset at least once in the last year), however, you touch on all the things I hate about it. But I feel like you're not being hard enough on them for those things. A long-standing company like Lutron should absolutely be able to have a higher quality feel then they do. Why do the darn buttons WOBBLE so much? And while I have mostly gotten used to hitting the buttons I intend to hit while in the dark, I don't really think they are an intuitive device for a visiting friend or family member without causing some degree of frustration at first. I would really like it to be just a bit more like a regular toggle switch in feel for easier feel in the dark. Even some soft glow-in-the-dark/backlit icons would be more helpful (but I would want it to be customizable which they aren't so good at, so maybe not, and lighting like that would likely require a neutral). Speaking of neutral, I think the LED specific version uses neutral, but the Fan control switch definitely uses neutral, and that switch is not compatible with DC ceiling fans which are far superior to AC ceiling fans, which is a huge bummer. What else…oh, I know. they seem like they are WAY bigger than they need to be, but I feel like that is the case for all smart switches. The app is perfectly fine, but the lack of customization is a downer. Also, in super quiet environments, you can tell that they hum or buzz a little bit because of the solid-state dimmer inside the switches. They can even cause some LED bulbs to make a buzzing or humming noise as well, even if they don't flicker. Now…what do I like about Caseta? Dimming on and off. Favorite feature by far! That and the ability to tie switches together in the app so one switch or pico controls multiple things. That is pretty much it lol. Whew…maybe I should do a review video of these things. 🙂

  13. Love your videos and really concise in-depth review/testing. I think we will have to go with a smart switch system. We have lights on different circuits and I need a solution that will allow remote access to combine the lights. Not all will be dimmer. My worry is the Lutron Pico lasts 10 years and his could be obsolete. Is there a solution that takes its power from the house wiring as we don’t have POE to the light switches sadly 🙁

    Any thoughts or suggestions gratefully received.

  14. I like Lutron switches… a lot. I only use them where I don't have a neutral wire. Otherwise, they are 3x the price of my Meross switches. For me, that would cost about $1000 more

  15. I went with Lutron Caseta Smart switches for a coupe of reasons. One big one was that they had a ceiling fan control switch that allows me to set four speeds on my chain-pull three-speed fans. I have 5 ceiling fans in my house. I can now control them though HomeKit, Siri, Automations, or by using the wall switch.

    I really do NOT like using a Pico remote in a 3-way or 4-way light switch. I have found a Caseta dimmer that will work with a regular switch so no batteries to change out. It is the PD-10NXD-WH; but be aware, they are expensive. You can find them on Amazon for $99.99 dollars. However, I would rather bite the bullet on a couple of 3-way lights and one 4-way light that I have in my house once and NEVER have to worry about changing out batteries on a wall switch or having the remote go missing.

    I also love the reliability of the the Caseta light switches and the response time is almost instantaneous when using HomeKit or SIRI. For me, I just want them to work every time I either press the switch or use my phone.

  16. There are lutron caseta products that do require a neutral wire. Be careful which ones you buy. If you want to integrate them with SmartThings or Hubitat you'll want to buy the more expensive smartbridge pro, which has telnet capabilities.

  17. I work with home automation here in Brazil. I install Lutron Homeworks QS and Lutron RadioRA2. Unfortunately home automation here is only for millionaires (yes, millionaires). Here lutron costs thousands of money.

  18. Smart Homie missed or glossed over a few things (in a 7 minute video, so not a complaint). In generally decreasing order of importance:

    1) You need a bridge, and there's two versions. If stand-alone or used with SmartThings, get the regular bridge. If using Hubitat or HASS, they require the pro version. SmartThings uses cloud integration, so is comparitively slow.

    2) Some Caseta switches DO require a neutral!!! I believe non-neutral are a different model (priced differently), but I happen to have a 2 button switch right here that does require a neutral. So be careful when ordering if you need non-neutral.

    3) There are four basic styles of switches and remotes – 2 button, 4 button dimmer, 4 straight button, and 5 button. The 2 button and 4 straight buttons wasn't shown.. The two button in-wall switch does NOT support dinning, but the Pico remotes can be mapped to do anything if going through an automation hub.

    4) The remotes are called "Pico". Although they use the Caseta bridge, they often don't show up in a search for "Caseta" (and listed separately on Lutrons site).

    5) You can get a Pico packaged with the switches/dimmers (as shown), but all styles of switches, dimmers and Picos are available individually. Since you probably won't pair every switch with a Pico, to get the best deals write out how many of which you need, and what you can get in a bundle. I've gotten too many or too few of something more than once from trying to count in my head.

    6) Lutron has released a ceiling fan controller.

    7) The switches use an aluminium heatsink with fins. To fit next to another switch, the fins need to be removed, but that decreases their rated wattage/amps. (Not an issue for LED lights.)

    8) There are a couple/few different screen printed options on Picos like for music, and they come in white, beige and black.

    9) Lutron offers custom screen printed icons and text for the 4 straight button version. I think it's only for contractors, but not sure.

    10) Lutron is big in new construction and commercial applications, so the 10 year battery claim probably accurate.

  19. Are those custom wall plates for your smart switches? I have not been able to find any double gang smart wall switches from mainstream companies. I would like to get some caseta switches but the switches I want to replace are 2 switch wall plates. Any info would help. Thanks.

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