Official Lutron Caseta Support in SmartThings (Beginning March 2017)

Sorry I didn’t see the other thread, otherwise I wouldn’t have created this thread. Do admins do merging here or something?

Just waiting to see if the Serena Shades get integrated at this point. Workaround right I’m using is Lutron -> Logitech Harmony -> Smartthings

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The admins will merge them, but it can take a day or so. Meanwhile, just post in the other thread, that will keep all the questions and answers together. Plus there are some SmartThings staff posts in the other thread, so you’ll be getting the newest information there. :sunglasses:

Shades are supported, just not visible in marketplace yet. If you choose any of the Lutron devices in marketplace to launch Lutron Caseta (Connect), the shades will show up too.

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So, I’m brand new to the SmartThings scene. (I ordered it on Amazon this morning - total and complete noob). I work in the IT field, and just haven’t had the time or patience to get my house smart.

After reading this wall of text, my understanding is as follows:

  • My goal is to turn my theater room into something almost-fully automated for film viewing. After 5 minutes of Googling, it was obvious I would need a smart hub in my life to centrally control everything (as well as control it with either Alexa or Google Home in the future). I ordered the Smartthings hub, and am ready to hit the ground running.

  • Looks like I’ll need to also order the Lutron SmartBridge (my home has very few “neutral” wires in the switch boxes, so I’m stuck with buying the Lutron Casetta dimmers that don’t require the neutral). I have lots of 3/4 way switches in my house, so it sounds like I’ll need little “pico” things to put in place of the 2nd and 3rd switches – but the Lutron SmartBridge Pro is the only Lutron bridge that works with pico devices… so…

I need to buy a Lutron Casetta dimmer switch, a Lutron SmartBridge Pro, and hopefully tie all that into the Smartthings hub that is on the way. Then purchase a Google Home to talk to all of it instead of use my phone (I have 6 chromecasts/audio in the house, so Alexa is basically a waste for me - otherwise I’d be all over it).

Do I have this all right? I also have a Nest, and Nest Protect, which apparently nobody gives a damn about developing for natively, so I’ll have to use custom made “IDE”'s for the Smartthings hub to be able to read and write to that sucker.

So, my question is: Am I understanding all this right? I’m trying to absorb all this new information like a sponge.

Close, but it’s a little more complicated. Or a lot simpler, depending on how you look at it. :wink:

The pico remotes will work great as a virtual three-way with the Lutron switches, whether you use the regular SmartBridge model or the smart bridge pro. Which is to say, when you press a button on the pico, the associated Lutron Caseta master switch will turn on or off or dim.

If you are using the official integration, the pico itself is completely invisible to smartthings. It doesn’t know it exists. But the SmartThings hub will know (within a few seconds typically) when the Lutron Caseta master switch comes on. So to the SmartThings hub, using the pico switch on the wall is exactly the same thing as pressing the master switch on the wall. And that’s all that most people need.

The only reason to do anything more is if you want to be able to assign some other actions to a pico button. Like turning on some hue bulbs. Or disarming the security portion of SmartThings. Or doing a whole " movie night" scene.

Note that you don’t need a pico in order to do any of those things. You can do them through the SmartThings app, or you can do them through any other device that SmartThings recognizes, of which there are many, both wall mount and handheld.

But if you specifically want to use a pico remote button to do anything other than turn on an associated Lutron Caseta master switch, then you have to forego the official integration, and instead use a community created integration which will require the Lutron SmartBridge pro plus an additional processor to act as a “man in the middle” between the SmartThings hub and the Lutron smartbridge pro. Typically the man in the middle server is a raspberry pi, but there are other options as well. All of which is obviously much more complicated and requires much more technical skill than the official integration.

Do you need the server set up? Again, only if you want to press a button on a pico remote and have something happen other than a Lutron Caseta master switch responding.

It’s always good to have choices, and there are community members who just really like the pico form factor and wanted this option. But most people won’t need it. They’ll just use the pico’s as auxiliaries For the Lutron Caseta dimmers, and they’ll use one of the other 20 or so button remotes for anything else. Or a wall mount tablet. There are lots of options that work well with smartthings, it’s just that the Lutron pico specifically does not. :sunglasses:

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Oh, perfect! That’s good to know. I didn’t realize I could get away with the Lutron Smartbridge non-pro and use Picos as well. I’m not sure what convinced me the other way. >_>

And you’re right, I’m in the first batch of people that just need lights adjusted from a wall so my babysitter isn’t left with an entirely-off household once my wife and I’s cell phones leave the premise. Haha

So, Lutron Smartbridge + Smartthings Hub + Lutron Cassetta/Picos = Happy for 3/4 way stuff without a neutral wire. There are MUCH cheaper solutions out there, and I REALLY wish someone else made more without the need for a neutral wire, but, such is my lot (pun?).

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The Lutron Caseta starter kit comes with the regular smartbridge, one in wall dimmer switch, and one pico. :sunglasses:

https://www.amazon.com/LUTRON-P-BDG-PKG1W-Wireless-Lighting-Starter/dp/B00MXCRAX8

Thanks for the tipoff on the starter kit; I’ll need both or all of these anyway. I have a friend who can 3D print me the wall mount backplate for the Pico. THANKS!

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Hello. First, thanks for the great insight in this thread. This is my first post to this forum. By way of background, I have been involved in DIY home automation for 10+ years. Way back, I first started with CQC (Charmed Quark Controller - anyone remember that?) and X10. I then moved to an ISY99 and Insteon wall switches. For the past few years, I have been running an ISY994i with the Insteon switches, some Hue bulbs, and 4 wall-mounted iPads (using the magnetic induction charging Launchport mounts), using SimpleControl (formally RoomieRemote) to control the ISY994, and using probably 7 or 8 Global Cache IP-IR or IP-Serial boxes to control AV systems throughout the house. This has worked well for me the past few years, despite the inherent lack of reliability for the aging Insteon / powerline protocol.

The upgrade of Google Now to Google Assistant on my Galaxy S8+ opened my eyes to the integration of Home Control and voice activated home control. My eyes really lit-up when I realized that IoT is no longer theoretical - it is here.

I may jump into the mix here and dive into the deep end with a Raspberry Pi, Caseta and a few hubs. I never heard of a Node.js script but apparently I need to learn more. I have spent the better part of a week researching and have a few questions regarding the last few posts.

  1. Regarding the Caseta Smart Hub vs. Smart Hub Pro, it seems as if the Smart Hub Pro is harder to find on Amazon and it also has limited stock, is not available on Prime, etc. However the regular Caseta Hub is available on Prime. Is the Caseta Smart Hub Pro discontinued or about to be discontinued or depreciated? If I am going to jump in, I would get the Pro so realize all of the benefits of the Pico to control Hue lights.

  2. Regarding Smarthings Hub, which would be the other hub I would purchase, any ideas on integrating the existing AV Global Cache devices? I am assuming I would control my SimpleControl directly from the ST hub, and I think this means getting a third (!) hub (the “Simple Hub” plus a license - and combined that’s an extra $250) to make this work. I don’t want to hijack this thread on this topic - but just curious if anyone has any thoughts here. (actually it would be a 4th hub if you count the Hue hub).

  3. I also see Lutron has the Lutron RA2 system. Apparently this will be Google Assistant ready soon. However, am I right to assume that Google Assistant ready and ST ready are 2 separate animals? Is there any benefit to RA2 over Caseta? The extent of my knowledge thus far seems to point to Caseta as a more DIY friendly system, particularly with regard to the community Raspberry Pi integration of Picos.

Ultimately, I want to replace my Insteon switches and upgrade to IoT but this technology is unfolding fast. I love the Pico form factor and want to expand on my SimpleControl system as well as lighting. Perhaps a Pico to turn on a TV, adjust lights, set a channel, etc.

That’s it for now. Happy to be a new member here.

Adam

Welcome!

(BTW, the Lutron devices are technically “bridges” not “hubs,” hence the name. :sunglasses:)

.1. The Lutron “SmartBridge pro” is intended for their professional installer channel. It’s not usually sold at individual retail. That’s why it’s hard to find. I believe they actually sell more of these then the DIY “SmartBridge” models. So it’s not going away anytime soon, it’s just that you’re not going to see it on Amazon unless an installer is getting rid of some excess stock. Or you go to one of the wholesalers who will sell direct to the public.

.2. I suggest you start a new thread under projects to keep from hijacking this one and so you can get individualized responses based on your own set up. That way we can go deep into the various issues about A/V Control. :musical_score::film_strip:

https://community.smartthings.com/c/projects-stories

.3. You were absolutely correct: Google assistant integration is a whole different issue than SmartThings integration. At The present time Lutron’s RA2 System is not part of the official SmartThings cloud to cloud integration. It may be able to work with the community “man in the middle” integration, but you should take that discussion to that thread, along with the pico discussions . You’ll get the quickest answers there. :sunglasses:

Thanks for the quick response!

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I have the same issue. Love my Lutron setup and have many scenes setup that dim different switches to different levels. I can’t seem to have SmartThings trigger a Lutron Scene. I have to have SmartThings control each dimmer and the built in routines force me to set multiple dimmers to the same value.

I’m trying to do this in the context of my exterior lights (2 x pot lights + 1 set of bright LED porch lights). I want to two pot lights set to 50% and LED Porch Light dimmed to 10%. SmartThings forces me to pick a single dimmer percentage where as Lutron scenes work perfectly. Help!

If you have a scene you like, you can create a virtual switch and have that switch coming on trigger the Lutron scene through the Lutron IFTTT channel. That may introduce some additional lag, so it might work for some use cases but not others.

Once you create a virtual switch, it will show up on the list of your switches in SmartThings, so you can use it in a routine or the official SmartLighting feature.

Alternatively, you should be able to use webcore and set the different switches at different dim levels. I think that will work with Lutron. (@ady624 would know). Setup is more complex, but there are lots of community members who will be glad to help you, and it gives you a lot more options.

FAQ: What is WebCoRE? (And what was CoRE?)

The third alternative is to create one automation for each dimmer, using the same trigger condition for each, which is annoying but will work.

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I’m a newbie so i’m struggling with the fact I need to rely on the “When Things Quiet Down” setting in Routines. I’m using the Motion sensor on my Ring Pro to trigger the outdoor lights on 100% (somebody approaching house) via Caseta. Then when Things Quiet Down for 15 minutes, I want the lights to dim down to a mix of 10 - 50%. Will IFTT help with this?

For now I have created two separate routines (to match the two different dimmer settings). Looks to be working but clumsy to maintain.

IFTT doesn’t seem to integrate with the “If things Quiet Down” capability.

So many ways to skin a cat! love to just keep it simple. lol

Correct, unfortunately there is no “when things quiet down” setting for the SmartThings IFTTT channel.

What you can do is what we call a “daisy chain.” You use Smart Lighting to have when things quiet down (motion stops) turn on a virtual switch and have that virtual switch coming on Be the “if” in your IFTTT applet.

You’ll also need to have a separate smart lighting automation use a power allowance on the virtual switch so that it turns itself off after one minute so it will be ready to use again.

If that all sounds clunky and complicated, it is. :disappointed_relieved: So you might want to just go ahead and start using webcore. You’ll be able to put all of your trigger conditions and all your lights into one rule (which webcore calls a “piston”). So all the set up is a little more complicated, the maintenance is a lot easier to keep track of if you ever want to change any of the conditions.

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I just noticed that if I adjust my Lutron lights and fans with the switch or the caseta app, it’s not updating in the ST app. I can manually refresh the devices in ST and they’ll update. And I can manually adjust them in the ST app too.

I’m not 100% sure how recently this started but I noticed it tonight.

@ZachFromLutron Any idea why this is?

We experienced an issue last night between 8:30pm and 5:30am that affected third party integration through cloud-based services, like SmartThings. During this time SmartThings status updates were down or intermittent This issue has been resolved, but please let us know if you continue to experience this behavior. We apologize for the inconvenience.

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Thanks for the clarification, I will check when I get home from work.

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@ZachFromLutron I’m still getting the same behavior. I’m able to control my Lutron dimmers and switches from the ST app but any changes I make at the wall switch or in the caseta app have to be manually refreshed in the ST app.

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