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CES 2019: Lutron Announces Caseta Smart Control System for Regular Ceiling Fans

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Lutron Electronics today announced a new addition to its Caseta smart lighting system, this one focused on making most ceiling fans into "smart" ceiling fans with a new fan speed control switch. Lutron doesn't specifically mention HomeKit compatibility for the new fan controls, but the existing Caseta system does support HomeKit through a smart bridge.

lutron-ceiling-ces-2019.jpg

Like it did for regular bulbs, the Caseta by Lutron fan speed control system connects to a user's existing ceiling fan to allow them to wirelessly control the fan from their smartphone, or the physical switch. The fan control doesn't require a canopy module and can be easily added to the Lutron app.

The company says the installation process is as fast as 15 minutes, resulting in four fan speeds and the ability to set a favorite speed setting. Users can call up Amazon Alexa or Google Assistant to control the fan via their voice, or purchase the added Pico Remote for $42 for manual controls.

The Caseta by Lutron fan speed control system will be available in March for $80. The control will be available in white, ivory, light almond, and black, and is compatible with a single 1.5A ceiling fan, and users will need a neutral wire for installation.

Article Link: CES 2019: Lutron Announces Caseta Smart Control System for Regular Ceiling Fans
 
Article Link
https://www.macrumors.com/2019/01/07/lutron-caseta-smart-fans/
Damn, Neutral wire is a killer for me. Not sure why but my 10 year old home doesn't have Neutral wires on the lights/fan switches.
 
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This is great. Going to be buying a house soon and kinda dreaded looking at pricing for HomeKit ceiling fans. Just being able to get any fan I want plus this switch will be great.
 
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I have been using the Lutron Caseta on/off switches with my fans. Not the dimmers, the two button switches. I only get the speed the fan is set to but I always use high anyhow.

Also, these require a hub.
 
nsayer said:
Been waiting for a proper HomeKit fan control solution for a *long* time now. Looking forward to adding this.
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Same here but I'm from Europe so these won't fit, how hard can it be to make a Homekit fan control module to fit under the canopy????

4 Speed only, why not fully adjustable?!
 
I hate this remote design. It's symmetrical and all one color. If it's not mounted, good luck knowing which side is "on" when fumbling in the dark.
 
Mtmspa said:
No light control?
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Waterndirt said:
Doesn't appear to be able to control light kits on fans... but a move in the right direction nonetheless.
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I expect that we would just pair this together with their light control in a double-gang box.
nsayer said:
Been waiting for a proper HomeKit fan control solution for a *long* time now. Looking forward to adding this.
Click to expand...
Same here. This will be awesome.

However, it would be great if we could get a HomeKit solution for RF fans/lights that don't have a hardwired wall switch location... Something like Olibra's Bond would be great, but they don't have HomeKit yet either!
 
This is something Caseta users have been demanding for a long time. Good to see it finally. Too late for me, as I just use the simple on/off Caseta switch for our fan, as another user mentioned. The fans in my home were wired with separate switches for the light kit, so I just use a Caseta dimmer switch for those. This ends up giving me on/off control of the fan and dimmable control of the lights.
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EatinPonies said:
I expect that we would just pair this together with their light control in a double-gang box.
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That's what I do currently, but for folks whose homes weren't pre-wired for separate fan/light switches, that won't be nearly as easy.
 
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JustaTecho said:
Damn, Neutral wire is a killer for me. Not sure why but my 10 year old home doesn't have Neutral wires on the lights/fan switches.
Click to expand...

Welcome to my 75-year-old apartment. I still have two in-wall switches that remain the last link in the chain for full HomeKit control.
 
gsmornot said:
Also, these require a hub.
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Which is a big plus in my book. Any device that you tend to install in bulk are generally better with a hub for many reasons.
  • Easier HomeKit pairing. Hub is the only device you need to pair. Once you activate other devices on the hub, they will show up automatically on the Home app.
  • Tends to be more reliable. Lutron Caseta uses Lutron's Clear Connect licensed spectrum (418 and 434 MHz) that is far less prone to interference from other wireless devices.
  • Wi-Fi tends to degrade significantly (increased latency) when you have more than 2 dozens devices are connected to a network.
I do wish Lutron revises the design for these switches. In particular, push buttons are not particularly well suited for fine tuning brightness and fan speed. Touch control is far more intuitive. I would still want physical buttons for on and off, of course. And please Lutron, not requiring neutral wires is a huge selling point. So extend and standardize on non-neutral switches whenever possible.
 
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Just last night I pulled out some Lutron switches and replaced them with GE smart switches - including the GE fan control. Timing is everything. ;)

The Lutrons will likely get re-purposed someplace else but I wanted simple paddle style switches at this location (for guests). I also needed the GE switches to expand my Z-wave mesh.
 
JustaTecho said:
Damn, Neutral wire is a killer for me. Not sure why but my 10 year old home doesn't have Neutral wires on the lights/fan switches.
Click to expand...
Are you sure? Your current switches might not have neutrals but your j-boxes that the switches reside in should have a neutral tucked in the back.
 
adamdport said:
I hate this remote design. It's symmetrical and all one color. If it's not mounted, good luck knowing which side is "on" when fumbling in the dark.
Click to expand...

If they’re like their light switches, the up-arrow button will have a little bump on it to orient you. As for the wireless “pico” remotes, I mount them in the pedestals Lutron sells for this purpose. This keeps them always oriented correctly.
 
nutmac said:
Which is a big plus in my book. Any device that you tend to install in bulk are generally better with a hub for many reasons.
  • Easier HomeKit pairing. Hub is the only device you need to pair. Once you activate other devices on the hub, they will show up automatically on the Home app.
  • Tends to be more reliable. Lutron Caseta uses Lutron's Clear Connect licensed spectrum (418 and 434 MHz) that is far less prone to interference from other wireless devices.
  • Wi-Fi tends to degrade significantly (increased latency) when you have more than 2 dozens devices are connected to a network.
I do wish Lutron revises the design for these switches. In particular, push buttons are not particularly well suited for fine tuning brightness and fan speed. Touch control is far more intuitive. I would still want physical buttons for on and off, of course. And please Lutron, not requiring neutral wires is a huge selling point. So extend and standardize on non-neutral switches whenever possible.
Click to expand...

Hubs are indeed the way to go on certain things. Like I want to have to pair one or two dozen bulbs and/or switches to HomeKit. And have fun doing it all over again if you ever have to nuke your HomeKit setup. Lutron’s stuff if unbelievably reliable. My Lutron switches I think are the only things I’ve never seen say ‘unavailable’ in HomeKit. Rock freaking solid.
 
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vipergts2207 said:
My Lutron switches I think are the only things I’ve never seen say ‘unavailable’ in HomeKit. Rock freaking solid.
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Lutron reporting "unavailable" is akin to opening "google.com" on a browser to check Internet connectivity, but for checking the health of your home's wiring or HomeKit hub.
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tokyojimu said:
As for the wireless “pico” remotes, I mount them in the pedestals Lutron sells for this purpose. This keeps them always oriented correctly.
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The same. Those pedestals are extremely heavy duty high quality stuff. I also like them mounted on the wall using Caseta Wireless Pico wall mounting kit.
 
EatinPonies said:
However, it would be great if we could get a HomeKit solution for RF fans/lights that don't have a hardwired wall switch location... Something like Olibra's Bond would be great, but they don't have HomeKit yet either!
Click to expand...

HomeKit is actually open for non-commercial use, believe it or not. I swear, I am actually contemplating taking apart a fan remote and then building a little device that speaks HomeKit and shorts out the button pads on the aforementioned remote. The hard part is getting embedded versions of the crypto. It's fairly hard core.
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adamdport said:
I hate this remote design. It's symmetrical and all one color. If it's not mounted, good luck knowing which side is "on" when fumbling in the dark.
Click to expand...

In general, they expect you to mount those on the wall, or use their "table stand" which angles it slightly to make it more obvious.
 
9to5 Mac states that these will NOT be HomeKit compatible. I don’t see how this is possible since it’s the hub that it connects to that talks HomeKit. I need clarification!! I’ve been waiting since forever it seems like for HomeKit fan control without buying a new HomeKit fan, which bugs the crap out of me that I’d have to either use Siri or my phone to operate and just leave the switch set to on. Lutrons way is the best way and it MUST work with HomeKit or I’ll loose my **** because literally there is a huge forum on lutrons site about this product.
 
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