Who knew a light switch could have so many special features?
Sponsored By: Lutron
This piece was created in partnership with Lutron, a leader in the lighting industry creating dimmers, controls and shades.
I Tried the Lutron Caseta Smart Dimmer Switch and Now I’m Installing Them All Over My House
Published on Oct. 11, 2024
As my girlfriend was washing the dishes one night, the lights in the dining room nearby suddenly turned on without any prompting. It scared her half to death, but thankfully, it wasn’t a ghost. It was just my Lutron Caseta Smart Dimmer Switch detecting that I had returned from a work trip and setting itself to the brightness I had programmed into the Lutron app.
We chose the Caseta Smart Dimmer as part of our DIY home remodel because it was easy to install and it gave us all kinds of features aside from just light dimming (think: maximum customization via a remote, smartphone app and voice assistant compatibility). And aside from a little dish-washing jump scare, we have all good things to say. In fact, we’re ready to install them throughout the house. Read on for my full Lutron Caseta Smart Dimmer Switch review.
What is the Lutron Caseta Smart Dimmer Switch?
The Lutron is a smart light dimmer switch sold exclusively at The Home Depot that allows you to set the brightness of any light fixture through a wall switch, remote, the Lutron app or a voice assistant. With the app, you can schedule times for the lights to turn on or off at specific brightness levels or have them turn on or off based on your location.
The Lutron Caseta Smart Dimmer Switch Starter Kit comes with a dimmer switch, a remote and a smart hub, which you use to connect the switch and remote to your home internet.
One of the biggest benefits of this smart light switch is that it’s easy to install. Many smart dimmers require a neutral (a wire that completes an electrical current by sending the energy back to the power source), and while most houses built after 1985 have a neutral wire, if you’re trying to install a smart switch in an older home, you might not be able to without extensive (and expensive!) rewiring. The Caseta Smart Dimmer Switch doesn’t require a neutral, so it’s instantly compatible with all switches regardless of your home’s age.
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Lutron Caseta Smart Dimmer Switch Starter Kit
How to Use the Lutron Caseta Smart Dimmer Switch
Wall Switch
Like all dimmers, the Lutron has a wall switch to set the brightness levels easily. There are four buttons: on, off, brightness up and brightness down. The switch also has a power meter that shows you the brightness level as you adjust it, and the buttons respond quickly to your input.
Remote
To use the remote, you’ll have to set up the Lutron app. Once you do, you can adjust the lighting without having to be right by the switch. My girlfriend and I keep our remote near the kitchen island, where we can easily reach for it from the dining room without having to walk over to the wall switch.
Voice control
I’ve never had a set of lights I could control with my Alexa, but once I got the Lutron Caseta Smart Dimmer Switch on my home’s WiFi network, I immediately began to use my voice assistant as one of the primary ways of turning the lights on or off. You just can’t beat the convenience!
The Lutron even responds to a voice command for specific brightness levels. For example, I could say, “Alexa, turn the kitchen pendant lights on at 42%,” and it will do so.
Installing the Lutron Caseta Smart Dimmer Switch
My girlfriend and I installed the smart dimmer switch in less than 10 minutes. The most difficult part is remembering which breaker switch turns off the light you want to control with the dimmer (labeling those is on our to-do list).
Here’s a step-by-step guide for installing the Lutron switch. You can also find instructions on the Lutron Caseta Smart Dimmer Switch product page.
Step 1: Pick a light
Decide which light fixture you want the dimmer to control. We chose our dining room because we walk by it often, and the idea of dimming the lights on date nights sounded nice. (Spoiler: It is.)
Step 2: Turn off the circuit breaker
Safety 101: Always turn off the circuit breaker when dealing with wires. Touching live wires can be dangerous even with protective gear. If your breaker switches aren’t properly labelled like ours, you’ll have to turn the light fixture on and flip the breaker switches until the light fixture turns off. Then, flip the wall switch for the light fixture to the off position.
Step 3: Remove the old switch
Grab an appropriately sized screwdriver (light switch plates typically use a flathead screw) and remove the plate. Then, remove the switch by uncoupling all wires and unfastening screws.
Step 4: Remove side sections (if necessary)
Depending on the maximum wattage of the lights you want to control, you may have to remove the side sections of the Lutron Caseta Smart Dimmer Switch. There’s a sizing chart in the instruction manual to help you decide if this is necessary.
Step 5: Connect the dimmer
Connect the bare copper (or green) “ground” wire from the wall box to the green wire on the dimmer using one of the three provided wire connectors, then connect the two remaining wires from the wall box to either of the remaining wires on the dimmer using the other two wire connectors.
Step 6: Mount the dimmer
Screw the switch back into the wall, then screw the adapter to the dimmer with the screws provided and snap on the wall plate.
Step 7: Turn the light on
Flip the breaker switch back on and turn the light on. Then make sure the dimming settings work.
How to Use the Lutron App
You have to connect the Caseta Smart Dimmer Switch to your internet if you want to take full advantage of all its features. Thankfully, like the hardware installation, syncing the software to your house only takes a few minutes. I’ve installed multiple smart home apps on my phone, and—without exaggeration—the Lutron is the easiest to set up.
To start, simply connect the Caseta Smart Hub (which is included in the starter kit) to your router and plug it into a power source. Then, follow the on-screen instructions in the Lutron app (available for iPhone and Android) to complete the process. It took us less than five minutes to have it up and running.
Of all the smart home apps I’ve used, this is the most responsive. Usually, there’s a lag between your input and the action occurring, but the second I make any changes to brightness in the Lutron app, the lights respond.
The best part? All the settings are saved even during a power/WiFi outage. (The apps for most smart switch competitors would require you to reset your settings in that case.) My one qualm is that you can only use one account per household in the app. If you live with someone else, you’ll have to log them into your account so they can control the lights.
Here are just a few ways I’ve used the Lutron app to control my Caseta Smart Dimmer Switch.
Schedules
I’m the first one up in my house, which usually means I’m walking into a dimly lit or dark household. Now, thanks to the Lutron app, I know there’s going to be light by the time I walk downstairs every morning.
The Lutron app allows you to schedule when certain lights turn on or off. I’m usually in the dining room to make my coffee around 6:30 a.m. on the weekdays, so I’ve set a light to turn on at exactly that time Monday through Friday. You can even control the light’s brightness. I’ve kept it at around 20% so I can see where I’m walking without it being too bright first thing in the morning.
Scenes
Every occasion deserves customized lighting. With the Lutron app, you can program brightness levels for things like date night under the “Scenes” tab. Assign those settings a name and easily click them when you want set the scene (literally!).
As with all the other settings, the Scenes respond quickly every time I click on them. We have one called “Dinner” that dims the lights to around 20%. I’m able to click it just as I’m wrapping up cooking, so the lights are already set by the time my girlfriend and I are at the table.
Arriving/Leaving Home
This is the feature that inadvertently scared my girlfriend. The Lutron app has a setting that turns the lights on or off depending on your phone’s location. For example, I had it set to turn on to 50% brightness every time I got back home and to turn off when I left the house. It works each time, as my girlfriend can attest to when I’m away.
Smart Away
Smart Away allows you to turn on lights during certain times to make it appear as if someone’s home, a great security feature to deter burglars. I tested this feature during my latest work trip, and my girlfriend said she could see the dining room lights turning on and off at the appropriate times.
Final Verdict
My girlfriend and I are fully convinced to install more Lutron Caseta Smart Dimmer switches throughout our house as we continue our DIY renovations. They take less than 10 minutes to install, are compatible with every home regardless of age and can be controlled via remote, app or voice assistant. What’s not to love?
The smartphone app is my favorite part of these switches. You can control multiple lights, set schedules, turn lights on or off based on your location and turn them on while you’re away to make it seem like you’re home. It’s also the most responsive smart home app I’ve ever used.
Pros
- Easy to install
- Doesn’t require a neutral
- Can be controlled with a remote, smartphone app or with a voice assistant
- App allows you to set schedules and automatically turn lights on or off based on your location
Cons
- App only allows one account per device
- A little pricey (but well worth it)
Where to Buy It
The Lutron Caseta Smart Dimmer retails for $99.95 and is sold exclusively at The Home Depot.
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Lutron Caseta Smart Dimmer Switch Starter Kit
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