I am currently using Wink and Google Home with Lutron switches, Osram Lightify bulbs, Osram Lightify/Gardenspots,and other misc Z-Wave bulbs. I want want want to love Wink but it’s just not there yet.
So, here is my dilema (aka what I need)
Kitchen - SMART Single pole switch (dimmable)
Living Room - SMART 2 dimmable single poles
Stairwell - SMART dimmable 3 way
The living room has a neutral (very easy to pull to that location) but the rest is near impossible, so I need smart switches that Smart Things can dim and don’t need neutrals. Lutron does this beautifully. I’ll miss having the Wink relay and having to spend money to basically start over is depressing, but I would like to get this done once and for all.
Note… going full automation (no physical switches) is a no go as the wife and kids aren’t as easily converted lol
SmartThings does not directly support Lutron switches of any kind. There are some workarounds using another device as an intermediary (either an Arduino or a Harmony hub), but all require some degree of DIY bravery. If you search around the forum you’ll find lots of examples
I understand it doesn’t support Clear Connect. My question is, are there any Leviton or other MFGs that support Smart Things and can do 3 way control (and dimming) WITHOUT a neutral. I have no problem dropping what I have to switch over. I just need to know that I can. A quick search turned up switches that needed neutral and this is simply not possible without tearing out walls.
What kind of Lutron switches are they? If they’re Caseta, I’ve built a setup that can control them in ST. The two downsides are you need a server of some sort (raspberry pi) and it can be a little work to set up. It works quite well however and I’m working actively on getting support for controlling scenes, ramp rates, and eventually using pico remotes as ST controllers.
They are Caseta, but to be frank, I just want it to work for now. I don’t mind tinkering with some things, but I’m getting old and my tinkering has toned down a bit lol. As I said above, I don’t mind tearing out what I have. Just need for it to work.
Totally understand that for sure!! Once it’s set up it does just work very reliably but it’s not straight out of the ST box unfortunately. I wish it did…
That basically says I’m SOL. That the dimmers work for incandescents or need a neutral. I can’t understand how Lutron is the only one making them. It’s honestly a deal breaker for me to switch to ST.
Is there anyone that makes Zigbee/Z-Wave remotes that look like standard wall switches? I wouldn’t mind replacing all the bulbs to smart bulbs and bypassing the physical wiring.
Currently, I have a lutron switch at the bottom of the stairs and simply twisted the hot/load/traveler together and used a remote in it’s place. Does Leviton/GE have something like that??
It might sound like a good idea, but smart bulbs for primary lighting are really not a good solution. Lots and lots of threads about the problems folks (including me) have with them. They’re okay for accent lighting, but if your wife expects lights to turn on when she switches a switch (and stay off when she switches them off… even if the power goes out and then back on), smart bulbs are not for you.
Using an Arduino or a Harmony Hub as a bridge to ST is a way better solution than using smart bulbs. Plus you’d get to keep your Lutron switches.
But I hear you… I grow tired of tinkering too. Unfortunately, home automation is all tinkering all the time these days. More like PCs circa 1986 than PCs circa 2016.
That’s why I have some redundancy in my current setup. I have lutron switches controlling Osram Lightify bulbs. If the system fails, I can manually turn them on. I’ve had zero issues with this so far. So, Harmony can control Lutron? If so, you’ve resolved all my issues
Let me add, Can I toss my Wink… get a Harmony and an ST and control everything I have currently?
Hell, a quick look makes me think this is the most viable solution. Am I missing something here? This seems insanely simple. Use the Harmony as an interpreter between ST and Lutron.
Would I need to buy Lutron’s bridge as well? No biggie if I do, just curious.
All I’ll say is that if it worked well between harmony and Lutron with ST as the middle man I wouldn’t have built what I did. I have two harmony hubs actually but using the Lutron switches with them wasn’t smooth or reliable for me. Maybe that’s just my experience though and I suppose depending on what you’re trying to do maybe it could work for you. Maybe others who’ve tried it can chime in.
You may want to look at the Vera products. They have a Caseta connect plugin that didn’t require a server like mine does. That might be a better option.
Yep, That will work, as will using IFTTT as the “man in the middle.” Or Staples connect. There are community members doing all of those.
There are three issues.
First, you have to set up a virtual twin if you want to be able to see the status of the Lutron device, as that device itself is invisible to smartthings.
Second, if anyone turned the lutron switch on at the switch, Smartthings won’t know that it’s on, because you don’t get feedback coming back the other way.
Third, there is some additional lag introduced. It won’t change how quickly the light comes on when you press the wall switch. And you probably won’t notice the lag if you just set the lights to come on at sunset, or if you use an upstairs switch to turn on the yard lights.
Where you may notice the lag is if you want to control the Lutron switch with smartthings – controlled motion sensors.
There are a number of community members who do use Lutron switches for some purposes, it’s just not a full two-way integration. So it will work for some people, not for others.
Oh, and yes, both the harmony integration and the IFTTT integration will require a Lutron smartbridge.
I’m not using motion nor do I plan to. Currently with Wink, I have about a half second delay for locally controlled devices and up to a 3 second delay for cloud. If it’s within these numbers, I wouldn’t mind the delay at all if I can keep what I have set up.
I live in a small house so I can see if the stairwell is off or on. As for the rooms upstairs, I don’t mind not seeing the two way communication. Thank you so much!!!
Honestly not sure what the harmony lag tends to be, I haven’t use that one. But I think you should be in about that same range for the harmony integration itself. I’m not sure what the smartthings to harmony additional lag would be. You might just have to try it and see.
