I do not usually get adventurous and try unknown sites to get deals. I however came across these black pico remotes for $16.08. I have never seen these priced so low (the white ones can always be had cheap, but black is usually pricey). So I rolled the dice and ordered 5. All in I paid slightly less than $100 delivered. IMO a pretty good buy at less than $20 apiece. I have waited to post until they arrived, which they did today. Brand new in packaging. It took 12 days to deliver. I got nervous 4 or 5 days in when I had not recieved an update, so I called. Much to my surprise a real person who spoke english picked up the phone on the third ring. He confirmed that they were waiting to receive the products for shipping.
So lutron. That requires a lutron hub right? It’s SO hard to find actual switches that are decent looking and work. I have a bunch of old osram lighting ones that go over the switch and look OK not great. They work great though as a way to turn a dumb switch into smart and prevent people from using the actual switch.
Yes. Lutron works on a proprietary tech called “Lutron Clear Connect RF”. The “hub” (must be Castea Pro, or Radio Ra 2/3) enables commands to be sent/received via telnet commands, to the hub and then to the switches via RF.
Lurton works 100% of the time, with/w out internet. IMO their switches, Picos, and keypads blend in nicely without to much "hey look at me"ness.
Lutron is not an inexpensive option, but IMO, one of the best lighting integration solutions.
Highly recommend, love mine, and would never go back
I’ll have to 2nd that though I don’t have much of their gear. I was really interested in the Caseta line when I was first getting into HA until a friend who was ahead of me by years talked me out of it because of the cost. I wish I’d not listened to him on this one. I wound up using Aeotec Nano switches instead and though they’ve been solid I still wish I’d gone with the Caseta.
I have a pico remote and a lutron hub, specifically gotten for the purpose of working on CORE integration.
Because they are using a lower frequency RF there is less concern of interference, and the proprietary protocol lets them avoid any unneeded overhead, so as @TechMedX they pretty much just work 100% of the time.
Perhaps one of the more interesting uses for Lutron integration is the ability to have the lutron hub perform its own actions from a button press, and also have your NR/HA/MQTT trigger other devices and automations from the same button press.
I actually need to go ahead and get one of these black picos for a side project (I have way too many of those) that involves device tracking and automation controls based off the room and how many/which combination of devices are in the room. (for example if any single remote is in the room it just controls lighting, but if both are present then white controls lighting and black controls room audio)
Very true, the only bad thing I could possibly say about Lutron is its NOT mesh. If you have a BIG home you might need a repeater (Ra2 Aux controller).
We have a 2500+ SF house (not including the basement). The main Lutron repeater is in the basement. The entire 1st floor is Lutron and one Pico on the second floor, I have not had any coverage issues. I plan to do all Lutron switches on the second floor this year as well as add blinds to the first.
Lutron says the range is 75 feet from the hub. I know an electrician that installs them over 100 feet all the time. He tells me they work so well he never thinks about a repeater unless a client complains which is rare.
I did have issue with range from my garage about 150 feet to my Lutron hub. A lamp dimmer was not enough. really long delay on switches turning ON/Off and status. I ended up with a Lutron Caseta repeater and problem solved. Not a cheap solution but it’s one of the best solution compare to ZigBee/Z-wave hops issue for me.
