CES 2016: Lutron 'Serena' and 'Sivoia QS Triathlon' Motorized Shades Now Support HomeKit

[MacRumors]

Lutron Electronics today at CES 2016 announced that its Serena and Sivoia QS Triathlon motorized window shades now support the HomeKit-enabled Caséta Wireless Smart Bridge.

The home automation system enables users to remotely control their Lutron shades using Siri on iPhone, iPad, iPod touch or Apple Watch. Homeowners can say commands such as "Hey Siri, turn on the lights" or "Siri, open the shades," while Serena shades can also be set to desired levels with preset scenes like "Good Morning" or "Good Night."

Sivoia QS Triathlon shades require the professionally-installed Smart Bridge PRO:

The HomeKit-enabled Caséta Wireless Smart Bridge (a do-it-yourself solution) supports Serena battery-powered shades, while the Smart Bridge PRO (a professionally-installed solution) supports Lutron Sivoia QS Triathlon wireless shades (both roller and fashion honeycomb styles), plus Sivoia QS drapery tracks, the Kirbé vertical drapery system, tensioned shades, pleated shades and Roman shades.

Lutron's Caséta Wireless Smart Bridge, available for $69.99 on Amazon (regular $150), launched as one of the first HomeKit accessories in June 2015, allowing homeowners to control lights in specific rooms or areas using Siri voice commands. Lutron accessories, sold by Apple and other resellers, can also be controlled with the free Lutron app or Pico wireless remote control.

Caséta Wireless kits and Lutron shading solutions are available now, starting at $80 and $349 respectively.

Article Link: CES 2016: Lutron 'Serena' and 'Sivoia QS Triathlon' Motorized Shades Now Support HomeKit

 

[sp3k0psv3t]

And so the machine takeover has begun...

 

[poppe]

Is this Smart Bridge limited to Lutron devices? Been looking at the Smart Things hub.

 

[2457282]

I am still waiting for things to settle. I bought into Philips Hue, but have resisted investing any further (only four bulbs). I am hoping that within a year or two we will have some clear standards and vendors that can do full automation. This is certainly a good indication. I personally would love to have blinds and light and temperature all controlled through one app and one bridge (hell, add the coffee maker and I am all in).

 

[nuckinfutz]

Skynet err HomeKit is awesome. Just hope Siri doesn't kill someone in the future.

 

[rdlink]

I am still waiting for things to settle. I bought into Philips Hue, but have resisted investing any further (only four bulbs). I am hoping that within a year or two we will have some clear standards and vendors that can do full automation. This is certainly a good indication. I personally would love to have blinds and light and temperature all controlled through one app and one bridge (hell, add the coffee maker and I am all in).

I have the Caseta set up at my place and at my girlfriend's place. Even though it's proprietary I find it to be worth the investment. They make wall mount dimmers, wall mount switches and plug in lamp receptacles. They work fantastic, and unlike what Hue did to us with the recent software upgrade they will allow me to use any bulb I want in any fixture in the house. The on/off switch also allows me to control a ceiling fan. Any ceiling fan I want. The one thing I wish they would make is an in-wall outlet.

I had been hoping to hear about some movement on the shade front. While some of their shades already worked on the Caseta system not all of them did. However, I want them to work with the Sivoia QS horizontal transparent shades before I bite on those.

 

[jotwee]

And so the machine takeover has begun...

It's about time!

 

[Sonmi451]

I have the Caseta set up at my place and at my girlfriend's place. Even though it's proprietary I find it to be worth the investment. They make wall mount dimmers, wall mount switches and plug in lamp receptacles. They work fantastic, and unlike what Hue did to us with the recent software upgrade they will allow me to use any bulb I want in any fixture in the house. The on/off switch also allows me to control a ceiling fan. Any ceiling fan I want. The one thing I wish they would make is an in-wall outlet.

I had been hoping to hear about some movement on the shade front. While some of their shades already worked on the Caseta system not all of them did. However, I want them to work with the Sivoia QS horizontal transparent shades before I bite on those.

Post a video! I'd love to see the setup in action. How is reliability?

 

[ArtOfWarfare]

Skynet err HomeKit is awesome. Just hope Siri doesn't kill someone in the future.

Sky.NET sounds like a name that Microsoft would use.

 

[mrgraff]

It almost seems like every new Homekit device is ridiculed in some way by somebody. I'd like Apple to come out with a few products of their own to at least show us what they had in mind.

 

[aajeevlin]

I have the Caseta set up at my place and at my girlfriend's place. Even though it's proprietary I find it to be worth the investment. They make wall mount dimmers, wall mount switches and plug in lamp receptacles. They work fantastic, and unlike what Hue did to us with the recent software upgrade they will allow me to use any bulb I want in any fixture in the house. The on/off switch also allows me to control a ceiling fan. Any ceiling fan I want. The one thing I wish they would make is an in-wall outlet.

I had been hoping to hear about some movement on the shade front. While some of their shades already worked on the Caseta system not all of them did. However, I want them to work with the Sivoia QS horizontal transparent shades before I bite on those.

Does it work with IFTT? I won't mind so much of the whole proprietary if they have a channel I can get it to work with IFTTT and do home automation. I feel that when people say automation they just mean, thing move by itself, but I want integrated automation, i.e., Sunrise rise the blinds, indoor temp exceeds certain temp lower the blinds, etc...

 

[nutmac]

I am still waiting for things to settle. ... I am hoping that within a year or two we will have some clear standards and vendors that can do full automation.

Agreed. Years down the road, these companies may either go out of business or stop supporting these devices altogether. I would hate to replace perfectly functional HomeKit devices just because it no longer works with latest mobile OS.

 

[rdlink]

Does it work with IFTT? I won't mind so much of the whole proprietary if they have a channel I can get it to work with IFTTT and do home automation. I feel that when people say automation they just mean, thing move by itself, but I want integrated automation, i.e., Sunrise rise the blinds, indoor temp exceeds certain temp lower the blinds, etc...

I use an app called Home (Home - Smart Home Automation). It costs $15, but it works great, consolidates all of my HomeKit enabled devices into one app, and lets me create triggers such as you describe.

https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/home-smart-home-automation/id995994352?mt=8
[doublepost=1452113103][/doublepost]

Post a video! I'd love to see the setup in action. How is reliability?

I'll shoot some video and post it.
[doublepost=1452113460][/doublepost]

Agreed. Years down the road, these companies may either go out of business or stop supporting these devices altogether. I would hate to replace perfectly functional HomeKit devices just because it no longer works with latest mobile OS.

Companies like Lutron and Schlage aren't going anywhere. And HomeKit IS a standard. It's why these guys are having to release new hardware on already existing systems in order to support it.

• There was a Caseta hub before.
• There were Schlage electronic locks before.
• There was a Hue bridge before.
• There was an Ecobee 3 before.

They all released updated hardware that had the necessary chip to support HomeKit.

 

[shareef777]

I have the Caseta set up at my place and at my girlfriend's place. Even though it's proprietary I find it to be worth the investment. They make wall mount dimmers, wall mount switches and plug in lamp receptacles. They work fantastic, and unlike what Hue did to us with the recent software upgrade they will allow me to use any bulb I want in any fixture in the house. The on/off switch also allows me to control a ceiling fan. Any ceiling fan I want. The one thing I wish they would make is an in-wall outlet.

I had been hoping to hear about some movement on the shade front. While some of their shades already worked on the Caseta system not all of them did. However, I want them to work with the Sivoia QS horizontal transparent shades before I bite on those.

I'll vouch as well. I have the Caseta bridge with two plug in dimmers in my family room (one controls two table lamps and another controls a floor lamp). Also have an in-wall dimmer that controls my living room lights. I added an in-wall pico switch (which is just a remote switch) to control my family room lights. In addition, I have two other remotes that I can use to control any combo of lights, but just keep on the side. Everything works flawlessly. I can turn on/off/dim the lights from any wall switch, the app, or via Siri. I'm also able to share home kit with my family members so that any of them can modify the light settings from any of their iOS devices.

The only thing I haven't got working is having Siri turn on/off lights when I'm away from home. Read online that I'll need an ATV4 for that, but I just think my ATV3 needs to be reset.

 

[macduke]

I remember reading a while back about solar panel receptors that can be woven into fabric. What would be neat is if these blinds were solar powered. I'm not too excited about the idea of replacing batteries in my blinds. I'd really like to design my next home to be wired for all of these accessories.

 

[aajeevlin]

I remember reading a while back about solar panel receptors that can be woven into fabric. What would be neat is if these blinds were solar powered. I'm not too excited about the idea of replacing batteries in my blinds. I'd really like to design my next home to be wired for all of these accessories.

This would be very cool. Much less overhead as well.

 

[nutmac]

Companies like Lutron and Schlage aren't going anywhere. And HomeKit IS a standard. It's why these guys are having to release new hardware on already existing systems in order to support it.

While HomeKit is a standard, it relies on installed 3rd party apps to interact with the device. If device makers stop supporting older devices on their app, there goes HomeKit support for older devices.

Ideally, Apple will provide a common front-end for typical range of HomeKit devices, and device makers write "HomeKit drivers" for common operations and "HomeKit plugins" for extended features.

 

[rdlink]

While HomeKit is a standard, it relies on installed 3rd party apps to interact with the device. If device makers stop supporting older devices on their app, there goes HomeKit support for older devices.

Ideally, Apple will provide a common front-end for typical range of HomeKit devices, and device makers write "HomeKit drivers" for common operations and "HomeKit plugins" for extended features.

Sounds like you don't have any HomeKit devices. I can run my HomeKit devices without the apps from the manufacturers on my phone.

 

[nightcap965]

The long-awaited Smart House is getting a little closer.

 

[FloatingBones]

And so the machine takeover has begun...

They have clearly found our blind spot!