Lutron Caseta Original Smart Dimmer Switch Starter Kit, with Pico Remote, Wall Plate, and Smart Hub, Works with Alexa, Apple Home, and Google Home, 3 Way, 150W, No Neutral Req, P-BDG-PKG1W

This is a review of the Lutron Caseta system as a whole. I’ve listed most of the components and their differences but it is important to note that the “Pro” products generally have more flexibility and while you’ll have to dig a little deeper into Lutron’s Caseta website to find the details about them, they are all available for sale on Amazon. In short this is a fantastic system, and provides amazing lighting control at a very reasonable price. Also, I’ve used this exclusively through Apple mobile devices and while it appears the android app is similar, I have not used it. Control is only available via Apple or Android mobile devices and there is currently no way to control via a computer.The Components:Smart Bridge and Smart Bridge Pro: This is the brains of the system and is used for programming and control through the app. They both have a 50 device limit (and count as one of the 50). The Pro bridge allows integration into some home automation systems and alarm systems. My alarm system isn’t supported so I was not able to test this feature.In Wall Dimmer: This is the standard dimmer. It does not have a neutral wire and while it works with incandescent, LED, CFL and fluorescent lights, it has a lower wattage rating then the Pro Dimmer. It also requires the use of a Pico remote for 3-way applications. While that makes installation extremely simple, it also uses a second device of the 50 so if this is a concern the Pro Dimmer should be used in 3-way applications.Pro Dimmer: Similar to the dimmer above, this has a much higher wattage rating and also has a neutral wire. It works better with low load LED fixtures and also allows a single-pole rocker/toggle switch to be used as the second switch in a 3-way. When wired this way the rocker switch controls this dimmer, so the lights dim to off as they do when using the dimmer.Lamp Dimmer: This is a plug in module that accepts two lamps. It is then controlled by a Pico remote. It can be used for any lamp, aquarium light, etc. Because it is a dimmer and can only be used for lighting and there is not currently an on/off only version that can be used with appliances or things other then lighting.Other switches: There is also a switch only, which does not have the two dimming buttons. I find this useful in bathrooms, mechanical rooms, etc. where the bigger buttons make it easier to use.Pico Remotes: The standard remote has the same button layout as the Dimmers with the addition of a small circular button that can be set to any light level you choose (a feature the wired dimmers are lacking). In the Pro line, there are also remotes to control multiple scenes and on/off only (with no dimming function).Lutron's website showing all components (all available on Amazon)[...] This system was apparently designed from the onset to be a consumer product, and while that goal of simplicity helps keep the price low and makes installation easy, it also directly contributes to the limitations (as well as those imposed by Lutron). I was very skeptical at first, especially given the low cost, but overall this system contains most of the features typically only available in professionally installed systems and I’m finding the limitations to be more acceptable then I first thought. It also separates itself in a couple of ways from every other “DIY” light control system I have found on the market (as I’ll explain below). While there’s no way to duplicate normal use and test long-term reliability completely, I did everything I could to try and force the components to lose their connection and was unsuccessful.Pro’s:-Inexpensive (In addition to the switches, all you need is a Bridge and the free app)-Very easy and intuitive to program and edit programming from the app.-Apple HomeKit enabled (although for now all this really means is voice activation with Siri).-Remotes can be wall mounted in a decora wall plate to add a switch anywhere.-Remotes are infinitely programmable.-Remotes have a claimed battery life of 10 years (although even a lot less would be acceptable to me)-Amazingly good connectivity.-Switches work and dim all bulb types.-Compatible with Lutron Serena Shades (both Bridge and App).-App also controls some thermostats (Honeywell wifi, Nest, Carrier, and ecobee are supported as of 5/15/16)-Support for up to 50 devices-Geofencing is supported (but read below)-Scenes are supported in the app.-App for Apple Watch-Good solutions for 3-way scenariosCon’s:-Only a few styles of switches available.-The hardwired switches don’t have a way to turn the lights to a preset dimmed setting and dimming to 50% is a slow process.-50 device limit-In some cases with a low load (such as LED fixtures) dimming can flicker and of the roughly 30 light fixtures I’ve used I encountered one that would not turn all the way off.-No iPad app as of this review.-Lack of an outdoor lamp module for use with holiday lighting, etc.-Lack of a non-dimming version of the lamp module that could be used with appliances.-Switches only come is White, Black, Light Almond, and IvoryThe Details:Cost:Since most of the technology behind this is driven by an app and a phone/device you already own, the only cost is the Bridge (which is well under $100 when purchased in a starter kit). Each dimmer (or non-dimming switch) is roughly $50, or $59 with a remote. A more standard Lutron Maestro digital dimmer that’s LED compatible is $25-$30 (and two are need for a 3-way). It’s a little pricey to retrofit a house, but when installing in new construction it’s only $20-$25 more per device. Given the fact that there are no other components needed, it’s really pretty affordable (and depending on what dimmers you’re comparing it to it could be the same cost).The App:The app is really a model of simplicity. It’s all of the features you need to initially program the system and then use it and reconfigure it as needed. It’s intuitive from start to finish, and while I’d like a few more features, there are so many more then I was expecting. There are screen shots available online.Apple HomeKit:While this is one of the main reasons I went with the Lutron Bridge instead of a third party hub, it doesn’t add much (at least for now). It does give you total control of your lighting system using Siri, but I’ll go into that further below. If you currently use Siri, then this might be a big selling point.PICO Remotes:The remotes are a great feature. They look the same as the wired switches, except for a small round center button used to set a “favorite” dimming level. This is a cool feature that I wish the switches also had. When installed on a wall, they look like any other switch. They also communicate directly with the switches which means after everything is programmed if you lose power or internet connection to the bridge the programmed remotes still function. The remotes can also be programmed to do anything. A remote can be set up to do one light, the whole house, any combination of lights, or anything else you can think up. As an example, I programmed one remote for me and one for my wife to keep in our cars on a visor clip. We have different routines when we get home, and you can set the remote to turn on the combination of lights you prefer when you get home.Connectivity, Bridge, WiFi, etc:My favorite part of the way this system connects (at least so far), is that none of the components rely on WiFi. Theoretically, this should mean better odds for a stable system. Everything communicates directly and with the Bridge, which is specifically designed for this setup usinf Lutron RF Clear Connect. (unlike the Wink or other 3rd party devices). The bridge is also wired to your router or modem, and the internet is only used for programming and smartphone control. I’ve disconnected power multiple times to bridge, my router, and turned the circuit breakers on and off and every time everything came back on as if nothing had happened. Obviously only time will tell for sure but so far the reliability seems great. The furthest switch away from the bridge is about 50 and through walls (it’s in my garage) and there are no issues. This separates the Caseta setup from the other “consumer” products currently available. Products Like WeMo, or those from Belkin, GE, Leviton, etc. all either rely on a third party connection or a direct link to Wifi or Bluetooth. The Phillips Hue system uses a dedicated hub, but they are focusing more on direct communication with bulbs as opposed to Lutron’s plan of seemingly offering a system to mimic their higher end products and switch control. Also, once programmed the remotes control the switches directly so the system does not need internet to function.Thermostat Control:While this is useful to have it integrated, the controls are really basic and limited to viewing system status and changing the temperature. The Honeywell app allows me to program, schedule, etc, send email alerts and while this is a plus, it’s not really a selling point.Geofencing:While on the surface this seems awesome, there are some big limitations. Basically you set a radius around your house, and when your phone enters the radius the system turns on your program (anything from a scene you program to a single light by the front door). The problem is it doesn’t allow programming of other parameters. It can be set to only activate after sunset, which is nice, but if your family was at the house and you ran out to the grocery store in the evening, the programmed lights would turn on when you get home. There is no component of this system to sense occupancy, but there is also no way to program it not to use the program if lights are already on in the house, for example. Maybe future updates to the app will address this, but for now this isn’t really that useable.Siri Integration and Scenes:Here is where the app and HomeKit come together (if you use Siri). I personally don’t use Siri at all, and while it’s a really cool I think it’s more of a novelty, with a few exceptions. The light activation is just about instantaneous, turning on or off before Siri starts responding. So the app allows you to program Scenes and Rooms to both make the Siri experience smoother as well as the touch screen control. If you have a room with multiple lights, they can be grouped into “Living Room” so all switch on together. This can easily be accomplished in the app or with a lock screen widget though. You can also program a Scene, like “Arriving Home” and set all the lights you’d like to come on up with a single tap or voice command. I’ve only really used Siri to experiment with this, but it seems to try and find my contacts or calendar appointments in everything I say. It’s difficult to program anything with a person’s name, since Siri just asks you if you want to call them more often then not. The best (and maybe only useful feature to me) with Siri is the “Hey Siri” feature. Unfortunately it only works when your phone is plugged in on older iPhones, but when activated you can simply say “Hey Siri, turn off all lights” and it does it without touching your phone. Kind of cool as you’re going to bed or leaving your house.Switches:There’s only one style of switch and remote (actually there are a few but the design is basically the same) If you don’t like the look or function of the switch then there’s no alternative. They do match other Lutron switches fairly well so could easily be used for a few lights in a house without looking out of place. Unlike some other switches, the dimmers are either on, off, or you can dim “up” form off first. There’s no way to set a 50% level as the default (like in my dining room where the fixture is way too bright and we always have it dimmed). This can be done in the app in scenes, just not from the switch. If you’re used to a dimmer with a slider, this could take some getting used to. Also, because the dimmers have 4 buttons, turning them on and off when walking into a room takes a little getting used to if you’re replacing the old style toggle switches. No more walking into a dark bathroom at night and just blindly hitting a switch.

REVIEW: LUTRON P-BDG-PKG1W CASETA WIRELESS DIMMER KIT WITH SMART BRIDGETook a few seconds to set up the hub, a few minutes to rewire 3 wall switches, still tinkering with names.USE: This is my first Hub to use with Alexa (dots) and I needed to replace several older 3 way switches that were not working well with my dimmable LED’s. So, since I had to replace the switches anyway to use LED’s I went with a smart switch.BACKGROUND: I’ve been biding my time to move into “Smart Home” topics. I’ve watched other vendors’ products be released to great press, then as more and more reviews came in it was clear the other players were not ready for prime time. The one thing I liked about the Lutron was that they were still real light switches and not at all 100% dependent on web services for every day “legacy” operation including dimming. In fact since I was replacing older Lutron switches they look very similar already.HUB SETUP: Seriously it took me longer to unbox everything than it did to setup the hub. I plugged it into my WIRED LAN (not Wi-Fi enabled which is good at it is one less problem point). I powered it on. I downloaded the app on my phone (Android). Discovered the hub, and set up an account.SWITCH INSTALL: Switch #1 was a simple one pole switch took about 3 minutes. Just unscrewed the old wall plate, uncapped the existing wires, recapped the new switch, screwed everything back in. Switch #2 was a little more interesting because it was a 3 way setup (2 switches 1 light) and I had to google how to bypass one of these switches in the process, since 1 switch was now being replaced by the included PICO remote the outlet was no longer needed. Even so, this only took about 15 minutes start to finish. [Note: please use an electrician if you are not familiar with house wiring]ALEXA SETUP / NAMING: This is still very much a work in process. Since I don’t intend really to use my smart phone to control the lights, I wanted to make somewhat natural sounding names to speak to Alexa. This is a process that I assume will take a few weeks of trial and error to get right. Do I want to say “Alex Turn off Kitchen Light” or “Alex Turn off The Kitchen Lights” or “Alexa Turn on the Table Lights” and so on. One thing my family is always fighting about is how dim to make the lights. If you tell Alexa to “Dim the kitchen lights” it will only drop down 1 increment, not to a preset level. To solve this, in the CASETA App I made a “Scene” (which allows you to preset a dim level) called “Kitchen Lights Low”, “Kitchen Lights Medium”, and then because my wife and I could not agree on syntax, I made “Kitchen Lights High” and “Kitchen Lights Bright”. Then because we could not agree if the light over the table was singular or plural, I have to make one of each command with “lightS” and “light”. Now, with the scene created we can say “Alexa turn on Kitchen Lights Low”. You can also set up groups in Alexa, pick your poison you have to do it one or the other if you want multiple names for the same function.You can see how this will get cumbersome to manage in both ALEXA and CASETA as we install more of these units around the house. So I have to make about 10 scenes for each light in the Kitchen (2X) and each light in the bedroom (3X), and so on. In the end I will have 100’s of scenes to account for variations in verbal commands issued to ALEXA. (LUTRON PLEASE ALLOW BETTER SORTING IN SCENES, AMAZON, PLEASE ALLOW BETTER SORTING IN HOME AUTOMATION DEVICES)SUMMARY: Minor annoyances aside in the apps (which should only improve over time), I am very happy with how easy this was to install and set up. The quality is what I expected. I do wish they were less expensive, at $60 / wall switch I have to deploy these slowly instead of whole house. I am completely happy and would recommend this over all other units I have read about due to the fact, they just work.SOME RANDOM TIPSAvoid common keywords in your device or scene names that Alexa might already know, like ‘dim’ or ‘lower’ or ‘increase’ and so on, otherwise it will more often than not just change the light setting by one increment instead of the target desired scene.My kitchen light has “dimmable LED bulbs” and one thing I found was that light levels 100-5 were pretty much the same to the naked eye (at least as far as settings in the CASETA app). I use Level setting 3 for “medium” (half brightness), and Level setting 1, for low light for dining. I don’t know if this is the app or the bulb, but I would have assumed that Level 50 = ½ the lumens and so on. At least in my set up, this was not the case. My Incandescent (regular) bulbs in my bedroom work as expected 50% = 50%.