Background: So, I've got a home full of Z-Wave/Z-Wave Plus devices. All my in-wall switches and dimmers (about 51 of them) are Z-Wave or Z-Wave Plus. Most of my other smart accessories are Z-Wave as well (motion, smoke/CO, door, water sensors, water valve, etc.). For lamps (mainly ambience lighting), I use Philips Hue I've integrated Alexa and HomeKit with HomeSeer. I use homebridge along with the Homebridge-HomeSeer4 plug-in for HomeKit control of all my Z-Wave devices.
I may be relocating so will be moving to another home. I still plan on using Z-Wave for miscellaneous devices, as well as continue to use HomeSeer for its integration engine so I can integrate various technologies. I will be leaving my existing Z-Wave switches/dimmers in my old home (they are a mix of Z-Wave and Z-Wave Plus, since I started before Z-Wave Plus even came out).
Probably the most expensive aspect of making a home "smart" is the lighting. Like my old home, I would want every switch to be a smart switch. I am trying to decide what to use for my in-wall light switches and dimmers. I just started playing with Lutron Caseta (along with Smart Bridge Pro), and so far, I'm pretty impressed.
Advantages that I see so far are:
- Lutron is HomeKit compatible. No need to go through HomeSeer and Homebridge for voice control (although I still plan on using HomeSeer for its event engine and overall integration with different technologies (Lutron Caseta, Philips Hue, miscellaneous Z-Wave devices).
- Alexa compatibility (again, no need to go through HomeSeer for voice control)
- Lutron seems reliable so far, in terms of range. Supposedly, Lutron's Clear Connect technology only supports a 30' range from the bridge. I've been playing with the Lutron Caseta Smart Bridge Pro, 1 plug-in dimmer, and 1 Pico remote. In a nearly 3000 sq foot home, I tested going throughout the house with the Pico remote, and it has been reliable. No signal problems. Maybe the 30' range is conservative? In my home, I probably have 130 or so Z-Wave devices (51 are in-wall switches/dimmers), and it took a lot of Z-Wave optimization and two Z-NETs to make sure all Z-Wave devices are reachable (while mesh is nice, ultimately, the best reliability resulted when I got my 2nd Z-NET so just about all devices are directly reachable by one or the other Z-NET). It seems from my testing and what I've read that Lutron Caseta is very reliable in terms of reachability??
- I feel that a home's value is increased with smart switches (maybe more so with Lutron Caseta than with Z-Wave switches, since the average home buyer knows Siri and Alexa well but doesn't know Z-Wave or want to bother setting up a Z-Wave hub).
Disadvantages:
- Support for only 75 devices. I would expect this to be enough, but I may be close... I have 51 in-wall Z-Wave switches/dimmers in my current home, so in a slightly larger home, maybe 75 limit will be enough. I will also be using Philips Hue bulbs for some places, but mostly smart switches.
My only concern is the HomeSeer Lutron Caseta plugin has the disclaimer:
"Lutron has chosen not to provide access to their API to anyone other than large businesses. As a result, this means that if Lutron blocked or change they access, work will have to be done on this plugin to find another way, and that there is a chance it come inoperable."
Does Lutron officially supports the telnet protocol for 3rd party access to the Caseta smart bridge Pro? Do I need to worry about Lutron changing things in the future which may prevent the plug-in from working? It seems there's other integration solutions that also use the telnet protocol (such as Hubitat, for example). Given the cost of retrofitting an entire home's worth of in-wall switches/dimmers, I thought I'd get others' opinions on using Lutron Caseta.
Any thoughts? So far, Lutron Caseta and Z-Wave are likeliest candidates for in-wall switches. Not sure if there are other technologies to consider (my ideal criteria would be directly compatible with HomeKit and Alexa, and can also be integrated with HomeSeer).
Thoughts, anyone?
I may be relocating so will be moving to another home. I still plan on using Z-Wave for miscellaneous devices, as well as continue to use HomeSeer for its integration engine so I can integrate various technologies. I will be leaving my existing Z-Wave switches/dimmers in my old home (they are a mix of Z-Wave and Z-Wave Plus, since I started before Z-Wave Plus even came out).
Probably the most expensive aspect of making a home "smart" is the lighting. Like my old home, I would want every switch to be a smart switch. I am trying to decide what to use for my in-wall light switches and dimmers. I just started playing with Lutron Caseta (along with Smart Bridge Pro), and so far, I'm pretty impressed.
Advantages that I see so far are:
- Lutron is HomeKit compatible. No need to go through HomeSeer and Homebridge for voice control (although I still plan on using HomeSeer for its event engine and overall integration with different technologies (Lutron Caseta, Philips Hue, miscellaneous Z-Wave devices).
- Alexa compatibility (again, no need to go through HomeSeer for voice control)
- Lutron seems reliable so far, in terms of range. Supposedly, Lutron's Clear Connect technology only supports a 30' range from the bridge. I've been playing with the Lutron Caseta Smart Bridge Pro, 1 plug-in dimmer, and 1 Pico remote. In a nearly 3000 sq foot home, I tested going throughout the house with the Pico remote, and it has been reliable. No signal problems. Maybe the 30' range is conservative? In my home, I probably have 130 or so Z-Wave devices (51 are in-wall switches/dimmers), and it took a lot of Z-Wave optimization and two Z-NETs to make sure all Z-Wave devices are reachable (while mesh is nice, ultimately, the best reliability resulted when I got my 2nd Z-NET so just about all devices are directly reachable by one or the other Z-NET). It seems from my testing and what I've read that Lutron Caseta is very reliable in terms of reachability??
- I feel that a home's value is increased with smart switches (maybe more so with Lutron Caseta than with Z-Wave switches, since the average home buyer knows Siri and Alexa well but doesn't know Z-Wave or want to bother setting up a Z-Wave hub).
Disadvantages:
- Support for only 75 devices. I would expect this to be enough, but I may be close... I have 51 in-wall Z-Wave switches/dimmers in my current home, so in a slightly larger home, maybe 75 limit will be enough. I will also be using Philips Hue bulbs for some places, but mostly smart switches.
My only concern is the HomeSeer Lutron Caseta plugin has the disclaimer:
"Lutron has chosen not to provide access to their API to anyone other than large businesses. As a result, this means that if Lutron blocked or change they access, work will have to be done on this plugin to find another way, and that there is a chance it come inoperable."
Does Lutron officially supports the telnet protocol for 3rd party access to the Caseta smart bridge Pro? Do I need to worry about Lutron changing things in the future which may prevent the plug-in from working? It seems there's other integration solutions that also use the telnet protocol (such as Hubitat, for example). Given the cost of retrofitting an entire home's worth of in-wall switches/dimmers, I thought I'd get others' opinions on using Lutron Caseta.
Any thoughts? So far, Lutron Caseta and Z-Wave are likeliest candidates for in-wall switches. Not sure if there are other technologies to consider (my ideal criteria would be directly compatible with HomeKit and Alexa, and can also be integrated with HomeSeer).
Thoughts, anyone?
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