When you consider automating your home, you should seriously consider going with a firm that has a long track record of success. I’ve been involved with Lutron lighting controls for going on 15 years now, and they are top notch. Their Caseta line of wireless lighting dimmers and switches for your home is just as elegant as their complex corporate boardroom solutions.
And, as a recent survey discovered (see below), a majority of people are concerned about the safety of their home when they leave to travel for the holidays. Being able to program your house to turn on and off your lights is one easy way to make it appear occupied – a proven way to discourage burglars…and give your family peace of mind.
A well-lit home is a safe home.
But the Lutron Caseta system does so much more. With the free Lutron app, you can make sure you didn’t leave the Christmas tree lights burning when you leave home. Volunteering with the Red Cross, I could tell you dozens of stories of people who left things plugged in that eventually started fires.
Caseta also works with most every kind of lightbulb – from energy-saving bulbs, including dimmable LEDs, dimmable CFLs, halogens, and incandescent. And then, all your lights can be controlled by Lutron’s wonderfully versatile, free app for either iOS or Android.
Here are seven more things you can do with the app:
- Manual scenes – create up to 50 manual scenes in the app to adjust lights and shades at the same time at the touch of a button (e.g. Welcome, Entertain, All Off).
- Schedules scenes – create up to 50 scheduled scenes to automatically adjust lights and shades at either a fixed time or relative to sunrise/sunset.
- Arriving/Leaving Home (geofencing) – automatically turn on lights when you arrive home at night, and turn them off when you leave based on the location of your smartphone
- Widgets – quickly access your Lutron scenes right from the lock screen of your phone.
- Smart Away – randomly turns lights on and off during the evening when you’re away. Gives your home a lived-in look when you’re not there.
- Personalized home screen image – add your own custom image to the home screen of the app
- Themes – choose from 4 color themes for the app
It’s easy-peezee
Before you think you need a high-priced electrician to install something like this, think again. With helpful printed instructions (a rare bird these days) and helpful installation videos, anyone can do it.
If you just want to control a lamp or your Christmas tree, just unplug the cord, plug in the P-PKG1P-WH smart dimmer control box and plug the cord back in.
Within minutes, by pressing a couple buttons, you can program a remote that can sit on your table top,
Or you can control the device with the app on your phone.
If you want the ultimate in control, consider a wall dimmer – or two – like this P-BDG-PKG2W kit I just recently installed.
With a couple screw drivers, you can replace an existing wall switch with a remotely controllable dimmer. Simply unscrew the old switch and pull it from the wall box. Remove the wires from the old switch.
Hook the ground (green or copper) wire to the green wire on the Caseta dimmer. Then, hook each of the other wires to the black wires on the dimmer. See this video for simple to follow instructions. (If you have a three-way switch, see this video instead.
Replace the switch into the box and replace the cover plate. Program according to easy to follow instructions and you now have a remotely controllable and programmable light.
After installation, I think you’ll agree with me that this is one of the easiest tech products to integrate into the home that you’ve ever experienced. It also integrates with dozens of other technology projects for maximum utility and flexibility. Travel easy, and if you ever wonder if you left something on that shouldn’t be, just pull out your phone. Lutron Caseta to the rescue for your holidays.
Ready to get one?
The free Lutron App is available on iTunes® and Google Play™. Caséta Wireless kits are available at Amazon.com, Apple Stores and Apple.com (NEW), BestBuy.com™ and Best Buy™ stores, Home Depot.com and The Home Depot stores, Lowes.com and Lowe’s Home Improvement centers, Magnolia Design Centers®, select Magnolia Home Theater® stores, and from local electricians, lighting showrooms and electrical distributors.
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Want to read the travel survey report? Click the Travel Mindfullness Report tab below
Want to see a list of all the Caseta devices? See the list of products tab below.
Want to see what other devices integrate? See this list of 19 third-party applications tab
Travel Mindfulness Report results
Lighting is Key to Peace of Mind
- The majority of Americans (67%) associate “peace of mind” most closely with “feeling safe and secure”.
- 38% have worried about whether or not they left the lights on or off
Fast Tech Adopters
- The majority of Americans (60%) already have a smart home device, with about one in three (34%) having smart lighting controls.
The Light Life
- More than two-thirds (69%) of Americans agree that being able to control their lights remotely would make traveling more enjoyable.
- 79% would like the ability to program lights to randomly turn on and off in the evening to make it look like someone’s home.
- 68% would like to control the lighting for their family while they’re traveling on business.
A Happy Home
- More than half (56%) of Americans say a well-lit home gives them peace of mind when they return from a trip.
- Caséta Wireless in-wall dimmers: control overhead lights and work with the newest energy-saving bulbs. They do not require a neutral wire, so they easily replace any existing light switch.
- Caséta Wireless plug-in lamp dimmers: plug into a standard wall receptacle and provide control of table and floor lamps. They are designed to control two lamps simultaneously with dual plug-in receptacles.
- The Pico Wireless remote control: features a 10-year battery life can be used as a hand-held remote to control dimmers, or it can be surface mounted to the wall, attached to a car visor, or placed on a tabletop pedestal.
- The Lutron Smart Bridge, which uses Lutron’s proprietary ClearConnect® Wireless technology, plugs easily and directly into a home’s Wi-Fi router. Installed and set up in less than 30 minutes, the product sends wireless, radio frequency (RF) communication signals to compatible Lutron devices inside the home.
Caséta Wireless ELV+ dimmer & In-wall neutral switch: are also available for special applications.
- Lutron shades can be controlled with the app.
- Use Siri to control your devices with the Apple Home Kit
- Alexa can control your devices with Amazon Echo, Amazon Dot, Amazon Tap, or Amazon Fire TV with voice remote.
- Works with Google Assistant, Google Home, the Google Assistant
- Works with the Samsung Smartthings app
- Enjoy one-touch control of your Sonos wireless speakers with the Pico remote control for audio. Also add music to manual or scheduled scenes, and add it into geofencing.
- The Smart Bridge PRO provides integration with select third-party A/V controls like Control4®, Remote Technologies Incorporated (RTI), Savant, and Universal Remote Control® (URC) and provides an integrated home control solution.
- Comcast XFINITY Home- Control your lights from anywhere using the XFINITY Home app.
- Connected home hubs- works with Wink hubs
- Create If This Then That (IFTTT) recipes, such as lowering your shades if it’s sunny, or turning off lights if the Nest thermostat is set to “Away” mode
- Logitech Harmony hub-based remote controls- Dim lights, lower shades, and start a movie with one button press on Logitech Harmony hub-based remote controls or from the Harmony app.
- AT&T Digital Life-Control your lights and shades from anywhere using the AT&T Digital Life app.
- Nest Protect smoke+CO alarm – connect Caséta Wireless to Nest Protect to turn on the lights and open the shades in the event of an emergency
- Nest Home/Away Assist-Senses when anyone is home or everyone’s away and automatically adjusts the lights, shades, and temperature
- Nest cams-Caséta Wireless dimmers and switches can now turn on when a person is detected by Nest Cam Indoor or Outdoor, conveniently adding additional security and providing peace of mind.
- Security systems- the Alarm.com app provides control of both Caséta Wireless dimmers and Serena shades from the Alarm.com app, and as part of a security event. The Smart Bridge Pro is also compatible with select security systems from ELK Products and others.
- Smart watches- Apple Watch® and Android™ Wear- puts control of lights, shades and more right on your wrist.
- Thermostats- Lutron Wireless Thermostat and select Wi-Fi models from Carrier, Ecobee, Honeywell, and Nest. Also compatible with any HomeKit-enabled thermostat
- Hunter HomeKit-enabled fans – control the speed and dim the integrated light on Hunter HomeKit-enabled fans right from the Lutron app. Hunter Symphony and Signal fans are HomeKit-enabled.
Disclaimer: Lutron provided the devices for us to test and photograph to complete this review. Opinions, however, are strictly our own – as always.