Do I need to or should I add pico remotes into Hubitat? I have them mounted on the walls and they act as a 3 way switch. So basicly they work like Hue does where you dont see the switches, they are there, set up through the hue app, and the hue hub handles the logic of pressing on turning on the bulb.
Can/should I let it work the same way with Lutron and dedicated pico remotes?
I can see adding a pico that I am planning on using as a switch for other things, but whats the need or plus's and minus's of adding in pico remotes to Hubitat?
You need a specific version of Lutron's SmartBridgePro. No Pro, no worky.
If you have that already, then adding them to HE is trivial and quite amazing since they can be used for so many things. They are not limited to Hue devices or category.
Hubitat has a Button feature.. and there are several Apps that can be used to convert a button event into an action. The action is almost anything or group of anythings. Fan speed, up/down, Garage Door close. Plus it does anything you're doing with Hue, but with ANY light you may have connected to Hubitat. Zigbee, Zwave, Wifi.
I personally do not add to Hubitat any Pico remotes that are linked natively to a Lutron Switch/Dimmer.
I only add to Hubitat Pico remotes that I want to use as Hubitat Button Controller devices, to control other non-Lutron devices, like Zigbee bulbs, Hue bridge bulbs, garage door openers, etc...
If everything you want to do with the Pico is able to be done inside the Lutron system, then no. If you want to do things with them in Hubitat, then yes.
The advantage of adding them to Hubitat is that you can use them to control any device that Hubitat can control, as mentioned above. To add to that list, I have some controlling my blinds, my TV, and--my favorite--Hue lights, just like a Hue Dimmer on a Hue system. I wrote a custom app on Hubitat to make that easier, and it should be noted that even though I'm communicating through three systems here just to do one job, it works well and fast. Picos fit in a standard US wall plate (most of mine look like "real" switches, as much as these can anyway) and are cheaper than Hue Dimmers, so both wins in my book.
On a related note, I am probably the weirdest Lutron owner ever. I have RadioRA2 (a couple tiers up in their residential lineup) but my products consist entirely of sensors/buttons and no "actuators" (switches/dimmers)--I just like the Lutron "motion" sensors and Picos that much. This is obviously a DIY setup since I'm not sure any trained Lutron professional would understand why anyone would want this or even let them try, but Caseta doesn't expose motion sensors over telnet (which you need for Hubitat--and any similar third-party integration), so here we are. Safe to say, I do find uses for Picos outisde the Lutron system--and you can probably think of creative ways you could the same, too, if you want.
These Picos used as 3-ways for other Caséta devices should not be added to Hubitat. You can have other freestanding Picos for use in Hubitat, and those you would not want to pair to any Caséta device in the Lutron app.
I have a Lutron Pro hub, as well as my Hubitat hub and rhings work great! If I want to pair some pico remotes to Z-wave and other bulbs, I need only to add them as devices in the habitat app. Then what app do I need in order to establish certain buttons to function as device controllers? It’s so easy to get lost in this environment…. Appreciate all the advice and help I can get!
If you want to set up multiple buttons, each with its own actions, use Button Controller. Or you can set up an individual button with Basic Rule, to get started and see how things work.
If you use the Pico Driver (default), you get Pushed and Held functions for each button. You can use the Fast Pico Driver if you don't need Held, and it is a few hundred milliseconds faster.
I put all my pico in their own room in Lutron, and don't use Lutron for 3-ways. That is all done via Hubitat.
The advantage of having everything in Hubitat is what bertabcd1234 said above. You can do things like use the normal up/down/on/off buttons (press) for the 3-way lighting, but you can also leverage the hold function of the Pico to turn off another light, run an automation, or something else of your choosing.
My basement light for example didn't have a second switch upstairs. And there wasn't a good place to put one, run a new wire, or anything like that. Conveniently, the dining room switch was at the top of the basement stairs. So the dining room got a Pico on this location, and the Pico ON button when held turns on the basement light, and the OFF held button turns off the basement light. But it still operates as a normal "switch" for the dining room if just pressed.
The disadvantage of doing things in Hubitat is that you lose the direct association feature of the Pico, so if the hub is down for some reason, or the router is locked up, you cannot turn the lights on or off from the Pico side of things. You have to go over and use the real (Caseta) switch like a lowly peasant. And it adds a tiny amount of lag going back and forth to Hubitat (not anything I am concerned with, a couple milliseconds in my experience) compared to just sticking with Lutron.
Awesome, thanks for the clarity. I now have things working. I assume if I want to set up the ‘Pressed AND Held’ scenario controlling different lights, i would have to do that in Basic?
I see in button controller, I can only assign pressed, and released; whereas in Basic I can do pushed, held, or released.
