Lutron Pico wireless swiches? (UK)

Hi Everyone I require Some advise.
I’m after using smart bulbs with wireless switches so I have the best of both worlds.
I like the look of the Lutron Pico range as they allow off,on,dim and multiple lights/scenes on each switch.
I would like to know the pros and cons of these switches and other alternatives if they are any.
Also which is the best hub to use these with, smarthings,hubitat,hue etc.

Most of my current bulbs are lifx and I’d like to use these switches with the lifx z strip.
Many thanks Kev

The Lutron picos are very nice, but there is no official integration for that model with SmartThings. They won’t work with the hue bridge, either.

If you are primarily interested in picos, I would look into Hubitat which has an excellent integration and the picos are very popular with their customers.

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Hi JD thanks for the quick reply,I’ve just watched a YouTube video where a Pico remote is synched to a hue hub,and a past smarthings community post where they say you can link a Pico remote to smarthings but they say it’s over a unsecure network.
Do you recommend any other remote wireless switch I can use with smart bulbs?
Cheers kev.

A pico remote cannot be synched to a Hue bridge: they operate on different frequencies.

Almost certainly what you saw was a different Lutron device which looked very much like a pico. But it operated on the same frequency as the hue bridge. That device was called the LCBR, the “Lutron Connected Bulb Remote.” It was discontinued in 2017 and now is very difficult to find.

First rule of home automation: the model number matters.

Lutron Pico:

image

Lutron Connected Bulb Remote ( now discontinued)

image

For Hue, there are some new switches that just came out late last year and are very nice. They look just like a regular switch and can communicate with a hue bridge. They don’t get wired into the mains, so you can put them anywhere, but they don’t have batteries, either. They work on the kinetic energy from when you push the switch. See the following thread (the topic title is a clickable link)

That’s right JD sorry my mistake.
So on the other question,would you advise a different switch,wireless remote if that’s the right term or would you go in a different direction.

Cheers kev

I use Lutron Caseta Pico remotes with my Hubitat hub and absolutely love them.

On SmartThings, many seem to like these inexpensive Samsung Zigbee Button controllers.

They’re simple and inexpensive.

Aeotec has a couple Z-Wave models as well… I am not sure about their ST support

And if you really want to use Pico remotes on SmartThings, and are willing to run a local NodeJS server, this may be an option…

If you do decide to pursue Lutron Pico remotes, you’ll need a Lutron SmartBridge. I recommend you buy the Lutron SmartBridge Pro, as it is the model needed to work with ST integration above, as well as Hubitat (should you ever decide to try it.) The Pro version costs a little more, but can be bought from EnergyAvenue.com for a decent price. They also have good prices on Pico Remotes and Caseta switches and dimmers.

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Hi Dan many thanks for all that info.
I can’t seem to find the nanomote buttons in the uk,we have the wallmote but I prefer the Lutron controllers plus they have the dimming function.
The Samsung buttons I already use and like but they only have 3 programmable options and no dimming function.
Does lutron work along side hubitat pretty easily :thinking:
Cheers kev

@triggertrevor
Sadly the Lutron SmartBridge Pro is unlikely to be of help to you. It is only made for the north American market as Lutron seem to believe the world is flat and you fall of the edge when you leave the USA. :cry:

You can get Lutron for billionaires aka Lutron HomeWorks QS but not Lutron for mortals aka Lutron Caseta. (Perhaps Lutron are reflecting the fact that the UK has the highest density of billionaires in the world. :roll_eyes:)

For the UK market if you want to use smart bulbs then the suggestions of using Philips Hue and one of the various wireless remotes for the Hue platform is the best option. (Not Pico.) Personally I am planning to use wired smart switches with dumb dimmable bulbs. Even this is extremely hard work in the UK/EU as the majority of wired smart switches are US only - again! (Cough! Lutron Caseta, Cough!) However there are the possibilities in the UK of LightWave-RF, Den, Aurora Lighting’s AOne or using various Z-Wave or Zigbee micro modules with momentary switches.

Den is not integrate-able with anything else, LightWave-RF is a possibility but is for me too ugly. This leaves the micro modules or AOne. AOne is a Zigbee solution so would work with Smartthings.

Yes, Hubitat’s Lutron integration is amazingly robust and all local over your LAN. If you’re only using Pico remotes, I can’t see why they wouldn’t work in the UK, assuming you can get them imported and they are not in violation of any laws restriction certain radio frequencies. Lutron uses Clear Connect RF technology.

Hi Dan,just going on what John Lockwood was saying that they don’t do a UK version of the Lutron hub so if I can’t get a 240v version it’s a non starter unless you know something I don’t.

Cheers

The Lutron hub uses a mains-to-dc power supply. I am not at home, so I don’t know if the power supply supports 120-240VAC (50/60Hz), or just 120VAC (60Hz). If not, you could probably source a compatible one.

Personally, if I were in the UK, I probably wouldn’t choose Lutron Pico remotes unless I was using a Home Automation Hub with native integration (e.g. Hubitat.) Running an extra NodeJS server is just another possible point of failure.

Good luck in whatever you decide! :wink:

hi Dan thanks for the info.
I really want to use the Pico controllers throughout the house. I currently run a smarthings hub along side alexa.
I would like to run hubitat and smarthings side by side unless hubitat can do everything smarthings does🤔

SmartThings and Hubitat can coexist peacefully, assuming you keep the Zigbee radios on two different channels. There are a few ST/Hubitat integration solutions, with the newest one called HubConnect by @SteveWhite.

Whether or not Hubitat can replace your ST hub depends greatly on what you’re currently using ST for. Which devices? Voice assistants? Dashboard tools? Etc…

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I’ve been dipping my toe in the big smart pond for the last 6-8 months trying to work out what works and what doesn’t.
So far I have
Smarthings hub
3 Amazon echos
1 Amazon dot
1 Amazon echo spot
3 Samsung smart buttons
1 WiFi 1 gang switch
4 tradfri smart bulbs
5 lifx colour bulbs
4 sonoff WiFi switches
3 Samsung smarthings sensors
Video doorbell
Think that’s about it for the time being :grin:

The above are all natively supported already. See the complete list at List of Compatible Devices - Hubitat Documentation

The devices above - maybe… LIFX - there are two community integrations already - one cloud based and one utilizing local LAN connectivity. Video doorbell? Need more details. I use Amazon Alexa as a Ring Doorbell to Hubitat bridge. Others have used IFTTT. Sonoff Wifi switches - yes there is a community integration for these already, written by the same developer for ST. WiFi 1 Gang switch? Would need more details. Check out the Hubitat Community for more information.

I don’t know if Lutron’s Clear Connect RF uses different frequencies in the US vs UK/EU. Lutron do I believe officially offer a Pico remote in the UK/EU for use with their other billionaire targeted product lines i.e. HomeWorks QS and RadioRA2.

Some Google searching does lead me to believe that Lutron are using the same frequencies globally so yes a Pico would work in Europe - although officially only with the HomeWorks QS and RadioRA2 platforms. See - http://www.lutron.com/europe/casestudypdf/clear%20connect%20technology%20whitepaper.pdf

I am unwilling to reward Lutron’s failure to offer Caseta officially in the EU and on top of that pay the likely considerable extra costs to import it and possibly also having to buy a replacement transformer. (If it requires an external PSU.)

I still believe that the Aurora AOne Zigbee platform is currently the best option for the UK. They offer wired dimmer switches and wireless remotes.

Thanks for the reminder…:wink: @triggertrevor - I just checked my Lutron Smart Bridge Pro2’s power supply and it does indeed support 120/240VAC 50/60Hz. So it would only require a simple adapter to use in the UK.

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Thanks for checking that’s good to know but yesterday I ordered the aeotec wallmote quad to give that a try and see how it works. Looks good on paper.

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