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Lutron Debuts New Diva Smart Dimmer With ELV+, Additional Pico Paddle Remote Colors

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Smart home company Lutron today announced a few new additions to its Caséta line of products, expanding the range of lighting options available to consumers.

lutron-smart-dimmer.jpg

For professional installers, there is now a Diva smart dimmer with ELV+ technology, offering smart control for low-voltage applications like under-cabinet lighting, track lights, and accent lights. The dimmer works with ELV devices and with nearly all residential lighting types and loads, such as LED, MLV, incandescent, and halogen.

Like the Smart Dimmer Switch for ELV+ Lighting, the Diva version uses phase-selectable dimming to enable dimming across a range of load types. Installers can select between forward or reverse-phase dimming in the Lutron app or when installing the light.

The Diva smart dimmer with ELV+ is available in white, ivory, light almond, black, brown, and gray to match other switches and outlets in the home.

Lutron is also introducing new color options for the Pico Paddle Remote, which was previously only available in white. The Pico Paddle Remote now comes in white, ivory, light almond, black, brown, and gray, much like other Caséta accessories.

lutron-pico-paddle-colors.jpg

The Pico Paddle Remote can control Caséta smart switches and dimmers and Serena smart shades and fans, adding extra control options for lights and smart home products. The Pico Paddle Remotes have a 10-year battery life and do not require a hub, app, or Wi-Fi for operation.

The Diva smart dimmer ELV+ and new Pico Paddle Remote options are available through electrical distributors and online retailers that carry Caséta controls.

Article Link: Lutron Debuts New Diva Smart Dimmer With ELV+, Additional Pico Paddle Remote Colors
 
Article Link
https://www.macrumors.com/2024/07/16/lutron-elv-diva-smart-dimmer/
If you are installing "smart" lithing in a client's house and do not want a "job for life" (that is were the client calls you twice a week for the rest of your life to fix something.). My advice is to use ONLY Lutron of Philips Hue. How to choose depends on if you want color changing lights, if so go with Hue. full color can be a gimik or for parties but Hue color-temperture adjustable lights are almost a requirement now.

Of course if installing a few lights in your own house and you need a hoby to keep you busy then install 10 different brands of WiFi based junk and listen you your wife ask "Why don't the kitchen lights work?" and you say "Oh just re-boot the router and it will be fine."

The better brands are 2x or 3x the price and worth it. Lutron is VERY reliable.
 
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ChrisA said:
If you are installing "smart" lithing in a client's house and do not want a "job for life" (that is were the client calls you twice a week for the rest of your life to fix something.). My advice is to use ONLY Lutron of Philips Hue. How to choose depends on if you want color changing lights, if so go with Hue. full color can be a gimik or for parties but Hue color-temperture adjustable lights are almost a requirement now.
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I agree on Lutron. But disagree on Philips Hue.

I've used Philips Hue on three different homes and they have been unreliable. Not as bad as say, Wemo. But fails often enough (several times a year), and several lightbulbs failed within few years, that it's on my permanent banned list.
 
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nutmac said:
But disagree on Philips Hue.

I've used Philips Hue on three different homes and they have been unreliable. Not as bad as say, Wemo. But fails often enough (several times a year), and several lightbulbs failed within few years, that it's on my permanent banned list.
Click to expand...
your experience differs from my own, and from most, from what i’ve read online. i’ve never had reliability issues w my hue system, and i’ve got hue bulbs that i’ve had for 12 years that still function just like they did day 1.
 
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nutmac said:
I agree on Lutron. But disagree on Philips Hue.

I've used Philips Hue on three different homes and they have been unreliable. Not as bad as say, Wemo. But fails often enough (several times a year), and several lightbulbs failed within few years, that it's on my permanent banned list.
Click to expand...
I've never had lightbulbs downright fail, but sometimes one lightbulb in a group wouldn't turn on or it would turn on very dim, and I would have to press on on button in the home app multiple times. It might be an issue with the bridge or Bluetooth connection.
 
dustin_ said:
your experience differs from my own, and from most, from what i’ve read online. i’ve never had reliability issues w my hue system, and i’ve got hue bulbs that i’ve had for 12 years that still function just like they did day 1.
Click to expand...
i also have hue stability issues. Lutron has been solid so far
 
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Lutron still the only rock solid smart home tech. Only problem is the lack of hardware. Why they don’t make a standard wall plug switch is beyond me. I use their lamp dimmer for this but it has its limitations
 
Hands down, the most stable and reliable of all my home automation accessories. I have my entire home on Caseta products for years with lights, fans, lamps, etc. all without a single hiccup and all controlled through Home Assistant.

My only gripe is that the Pico remotes have a favorite button in the center, but the wall switches don't. Make it strange when you actually mount a pico remote in a wall panel next to a normal switch.
 
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Lutron’s product line up is so confusing though..

and the style isn’t the greatest
 
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Love this system, I've installed it in two separate homes I've owned since 2017. We're using the Caseta hub, which is nice because it carries the switch signals over its own frequency and has its own ethernet connection instead of cluttering our general wifi, but it's cool to see Lutron moving away from needing a hub at all. I really only wish more of Lutron's Caseta switches didn't require the damned "neutral" (red) wire to install - it really limits what's possible in older houses (dimmers only!), or costs an arm and a leg for their single pole switches without the neutral wire.
 
ChrisA said:
If you are installing "smart" lithing in a client's house and do not want a "job for life" (that is were the client calls you twice a week for the rest of your life to fix something.). My advice is to use ONLY Lutron of Philips Hue. How to choose depends on if you want color changing lights, if so go with Hue. full color can be a gimik or for parties but Hue color-temperture adjustable lights are almost a requirement now.

Of course if installing a few lights in your own house and you need a hoby to keep you busy then install 10 different brands of WiFi based junk and listen you your wife ask "Why don't the kitchen lights work?" and you say "Oh just re-boot the router and it will be fine."

The better brands are 2x or 3x the price and worth it. Lutron is VERY reliable.
Click to expand...
Lutron Caseta line is also much more reliable than the Hue stuff. It’s the gold standard.
 
Fidgetyrat said:
Hands down, the most stable and reliable of all my home automation accessories. I have my entire home on Caseta products for years with lights, fans, lamps, etc. all without a single hiccup and all controlled through Home Assistant.

My only gripe is that the Pico remotes have a favorite button in the center, but the wall switches don't. Make it strange when you actually mount a pico remote in a wall panel next to a normal switch.
Click to expand...
On the plus side it makes it easier at a glance to figure out which one is wired and which one isn’t!
 
dannyyankou said:
I've never had lightbulbs downright fail, but sometimes one lightbulb in a group wouldn't turn on or it would turn on very dim, and I would have to press on on button in the home app multiple times. It might be an issue with the bridge or Bluetooth connection.
Click to expand...
Same issue here, even with the hub in the same room as the light bulbs. My experience with Hue is annoying, whereas with Lutron it’s been absolutely flawless.
 
WilliamG said:
Lutron Caseta line is also much more reliable than the Hue stuff. It’s the gold standard.
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I don't disagree, but if you want the light to change color temperature or color, then you can not do that with just the Lutron switches.

Lutron is also missing so products in its line, like how to control a fan if there is no neutral wire in the box.

But when Lutron can work, I would always use it.

Then there is the issue of motion sensors. All of the IR type will turn thre lights off if a person is sitting down and not moving. The only good way around this that I have found is the millimeter wave radar sesors that will detect motion as small as breathing. These are either Zigbee or WiFi.

Same for those magnetic door switches that detect door open/shut. Lutron does nmot make them

Same with huimidity and temparture sensors, Again you need a 3rd party. I like Aqara zigbee
 
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Hue is rock solid if you avoid putting anywhere near the maximum number of devices on one hub. If you’re getting near the max then reliability will deteriorate dramatically (I‘ve been in that position myself). Simple solution is buy another hub and spread the lights, switches and sensors between them. Back to rock-solid guaranteed.

Cheapest way to get a hub is to buy another starter kit. Pay for the bulbs and the hub is practically free.
 
nutmac said:
I agree on Lutron. But disagree on Philips Hue.

I've used Philips Hue on three different homes and they have been unreliable. Not as bad as say, Wemo. But fails often enough (several times a year), and several lightbulbs failed within few years, that it's on my permanent banned list.
Click to expand...
Philips Hue bulbs did go through an early-failure phase about 6-7 years ago. It was the bulb generation where they changed the bulb enclosure material from glass to plastic. I had several fail after a few months of use. Everything before and after that era is fine.

Some of my bulbs are around 10 years old and still in daily use.
 
Arran said:
Hue is rock solid if you avoid putting anywhere near the maximum number of devices on one hub. If you’re getting near the max then reliability will deteriorate dramatically (I‘ve been in that position myself). Simple solution is buy another hub and spread the lights, switches and sensors between them. Back to rock-solid guaranteed.

Cheapest way to get a hub is to buy another starter kit. Pay for the bulbs and the hub is practically free.
Click to expand...
That’s not true in my case. I have the Hue hub about 10ft from the bulbs in my bedroom and they don’t work 100% reliably. Drives me a bit crazy.
 
QuarterSwede said:
$129 is a lot for a smart dimmer for ELV lights. I love my regular Lutron Caséta dimmers but this is too much to have just my cabinet lights automated.
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Differnt people think differently about price. I tell people "What is an extrat $1,000 for lights in a $50,000 kitchen remodel job?" Once you get going you can't have one light that is unautomated
 
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WilliamG said:
That’s not true in my case. I have the Hue hub about 10ft from the bulbs in my bedroom and they don’t work 100% reliably. Drives me a bit crazy.
Click to expand...
Zigbee ios kind of like that, you can overload a receiver or have some kind of intergerence with other users of the 2.5 GHz band. Lutron uses low frequency radio, well below 1GHz.
 
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Arran said:
Hue is rock solid if you avoid putting anywhere near the maximum number of devices on one hub. If you’re getting near the max then reliability will deteriorate dramatically (I‘ve been in that position myself). Simple solution is buy another hub and spread the lights, switches and sensors between them. Back to rock-solid guaranteed.

Cheapest way to get a hub is to buy another starter kit. Pay for the bulbs and the hub is practically free.
Click to expand...
I'm also having very good luck with Philips Hue bulbs with Home Assistant as the controller. Usiing a Sonoff Zigbee/USB radio dongle. I'm not seeing any of the hue artifacts like one bulb comming on laste after the others. I'm runing to systems then other is a Hue hub so I compare side by side

It could just be the power of the CPU in the controller. Hue likely uses some smaller microcontroller and my HA system is runniong on an older Mac Mini with Intel i5.

I'm one of those nuy=ts who has 20 different brands of stuff all interconnected. I want to learn what works and test it in my own house. No one company make everything.
 
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