Dimmer with no neutral wire

Thank you for the information! Sounds like if I want to use a pico remote. I should get a wink hub or Lurton hub. It seems to me ST integration with lurton is pointless,which I don’t understand why they even bothered with it. Thanks again …

Lutron Caseta offers controllable wall switches that don’t require a neutral wire at the Switch box. Many people prefer that to using an in wall micro, which is why this integration is one which people have been asking for for a long time. :sunglasses:

So definitely not pointless if you have an older house. But different people are looking for different features. Choice is good.

I can definitely understand the neutral wire problem… so if you turn the light on by your lurton switch ST will not see that it’s on ? Did I read that right above ?

No, if you turn the light on with the mains powered Lutron switch, SmartThings will be notified.

I’m not sure what happens if you turn your mains powered Lutron switch on by pressing an associated pico remote, though.

The Picos are Lutron’s recommended way of handling three-way set ups, like a switch at each end of the long hallway that both turn on the same light, do you have a mains powered Caseta light as The master at one end of the hallway and a pico as the auxiliary at the other. When you press the pico, it tells the master to turn on the light.

I just don’t know one way or the other whether pressing the pico and having the master come on that way also notifies SmartThings. Hopefully someone who has the set up can comment.

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Ah interesting so would there is a cheap lutron dimmer switch without the need for a neutral wire you could link me to ? Guess I should check my switch box to see if it has a neutral wire but I doubted that it does house was built in 95

Would these play nice with ST ? And I’m assuming the switch doesn’t need a neutral

LUTRON L-BDG2-WH Caseta Wireless Smart Bridge, HomeKit-enabled, works with Alexa https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00XPW67ZM/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_tai_FTTZyb7ZHPKJZ

LUTRON PD-6WCL-WH Caseta Wireless In-Wall Smart Dimmer Switch, White https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00KLAXFQA/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_tai_sWTZybGDCV1N5

There are no “cheap” Lutron Caseta switches, but the price will vary from about $45 to about $65, so shop around. They’ll be widely available, including at Home Depot, Lowes, Best Buy, and Amazon. The one you linked to is the standard no neutral dimmer. And would work fine with SmartThings . :sunglasses:

If you haven’t got a smartbridge yet, I would definitely look at the bundle packages, as you will save some money. Again, shop around.

There are two standard Caseta wall Switch bundles. One has the SmartBridge, one inwall dimmer, one wall plate, and one pico. It should sell for just under $100, which is less than just the cost of a single switch and the bridge so even if you aren’t going to use the pico at all, it’s still a deal.

The other bundle has the smartbridge, two in wall dimmers, two wall plates and two pico’s. Again, it will cost less than just the price of the two switches and the smart bridge.

http://www.bestbuy.com/site/lutron-caseta-wireless-smart-lighting-kit-white/4674700.p?skuId=4674700

Read the product descriptions carefully, as there are also bundles with the plug in pocket sockets.

The only thing is that the bundles have the plain smartbridge, not the smartbridge pro, so if you do get those you won’t be able to use the pico’s to activate SmartThings events even with the unofficial integration. That won’t matter to some people, it’s just something to be aware of.

I personally got the SmartBridge pro even though it was about an extra $40, because I knew that there were some future integrations I might want that would need that model.

So different things work for different people. But your least expensive option will be a bundle with the plain SmartBridge, especially if you shop around. And if you buy it at Lowes or Home Depot you might be able to get an extra 10% off coupon and bring the price down even a little more. And if you don’t want the pico’s, you could probably sell those and get a little extra money back that way. So if lowest possible cost is your goal, I would use a coupon at Lowe’s/Home Depot, get the bundle, and sell the pico’s. :sunglasses:

agreed, not pointless at all. I have no neutrals in my switch boxes so the lutron integration with ST has allowed me to automate lights that I didn’t have access to previously. Pico button presses would be nice but in-wall switch only is fine for me.

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Thank you so much for your help I understand lurton now.

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Ouch Amazon.com has the pro for 115.00 that seems high

Lutron L-BDGPRO-WH - Smart Bridge Pro - Adjusts Lights Shades and Temperatures from Anywhere - Programmed Via Lutron App - Connects to Wi-Fi Router - Supports Caseta Serena Sivoia Triathlon and Pico Devices - White https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00Z8AXQCQ/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_tai_g2UZyb6K9D17T

$115 for the Lutron SmartBridge pro would be a pretty standard regular price. You might find it for less on sale.

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You can get the non pro bridge and a dimmer for less than $100. I normally don’t care about $40. But I went with the non pro anyway. Mainly, I wanted to wire up some outlets without neutrals, outlets that I didn’t feel like rewiring right now.

I don’t care to use the Picos like I do minimotes. The Picos are just to turn off the Lutron lights. That’s it. I’m fine with that. It’s not ideal, but it’s acceptable.

If I want to initiate some complex routine, I’ll buy more minimotes. No big deal.

In addition to adding about 10 more Lutrons, I’m going to replace the one GE dimmer I have. The hold or tap overloaded behavior is chipping away at the WAF around here. It will be gone very soon. . . . The Levitons will stay for now.

Well this does look pretty cool the lutron integration … now this uses the cloud with ST correct? If you where to only use the lutron hub and switches could it run local??? How reliable is this with SmartThings??

? The Lutron switch and the Pico do run locally, in the sense that they don’t have to go to the cloud to do their business. They just report up. The Lutron app goes through the cloud. ST talking to Lutron goes through the cloud. ST is pretty much just a remote for the Lutron switch.

I haven’t had it long enough to assess reliability. But I’m not worried about it. The physical switch will work regardless of whether I have internet access. . . . And I lose power far more than I lose internet access. . . . So far I haven’t seen ST fail to turn a Lutron on or off as planned. But I’m sure it will some day. Or there will be a big lag. That’s just the nature of the ST beast. I had a chime go off about a minute after I opened a door today. . . . In any case, the Lutron integration is really fast. Impressively so.

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If you turn off the Lutron master switch by using the pico, does the smartthings app know the Lutron master was turned off?

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Let me check . . .

Yes. It took 3 seconds in the ST app. I’ll see if it is faster in Action Tiles later. I didn’t compare the physical switch with the Pico. In any case, Pico changes report up.

If I click off in the ST app, the change is nearly instantaneous. The light just goes out.

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I’m wondering if this is more reliable than hue integration. The lutron route is very tempting but my lights are mostly hue and I use ecolink motion sensors to turn them off and on . Lutron just looks more professional should I say…

The Lutron Caseta, which are the ones that integrate with SmartThings, don’t have their own motion sensor. So you would still need a motion sensor if you want that feature.

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Ok, so for the micro dimmer to work, the wall switch must be on at all times? am I correct?

In this sort of set up where there is no neutral at the switchbox, the micro will draw power from the neutral at the fixture. The radio in the micro will be on at all times even if the wall switch is a toggle switch in the off position, as long as it’s wired correctly.