I've been lurking and searching a bit, and can't really find an answer to this so I figured I'd better just ask.
We have exactly "zero" home automation. We've remodeled our kitchen recently, and tomorrow an electrician is going to run wiring for 4 can lights in our vaulted ceiling.
I'm liking the HE device...I've been an IT professional for 29 years, so I'm into security, and haven't bothered with home automation because it all seems to end up in the cloud. I like the thought of a local device hooked to my LAN that I can VPN into if I for some reason need access from outside the house. That led me to Hubitat.
So: I want to simply start out with 4 LED can lights, a dimmable, wired wall switch, and an HE device.
What can lighting and/or bulbs would you suggest?
Bonus would be for lighting I can pick up locally, at a box store / hardware / home improvement store. Today.
If you want to go "smart bulbs" you can't go wrong with Seglend they will interface with HE directly without the need for an additional bridge. You should be able to pick them up at your local Best Buy. Philips Hue are also excellent but are more expensive and require a Hue bridge to best interface with HE, but it's not very expensive and comes with many of the "starter kits". You would need to install a e26 style receptacle for either of these unless you went the direction of Hue and purchased their "retrofit led downlight" which could be direct wired (also available through best buy). Make sure you don't install these on a dimmer and it's best to install some type of "child lock" on the switch so nobody turns them off accidently and prevents HE from communicating with them.
You could also go with standard LED bulbs/fixtures but you will need to decide on color temperature (I would recommend something around 5000k for a kitchen). You also need to check compatibility with the smart dimmers to make sure you don't have flickering buzzing issues. You can't go wrong with Lutron Caseta dimmers as they interface with HE wonderfully (but it does require a pro version of their smartbridge (around $100) but it's super reliable and easy to install (doesn't require a neutral wire). You can also add some of their Pico remotes so you can have control over the dimmer from multiple locations without complicated wiring (their wireless).
I've been down both routes and ended up with Hue because I wanted the ability to control color temperature and have reliable wide range dimming and other lighting effects.
So if I got this can light set from HomeDepot (homedepot dot com/p/Globe-Electric-5-in-White-Recessed-Swivel-Spot-Light-Kit-4-Pack-90957/206790167), I could replace the bulbs with the Seglend bulbs, and be good to go?
Yes Par20 is going to be a tough smart bulb size to find, most are BR30.
Yes, but you will need a "Caseta SmartBridge Pro" to interface with HE and Home Depot doesn't carry it, you will probably have to order it online. Make sure you get the V2 as I don't lutron is allowing you to register a V1 anymore.
I would recommend you use a Smart Dimmer and four "dumb" dimmable LED bulbs.
I have had very good luck with these bulbs when used with my smart Lutron Caseta Dimmer switches. Note: While I love my Lutron Caseta pico remotes, switches, dimmers, and fan controllers - you're not going to up and running with them within a day or two. They require the Lutron Smart Bridge Pro2 in order for them to work (EnergyAvenue.com has good prices on these Lutron devices.)
You will have 'cloud based' control of the Lutron Caseta switches, dimmers, and fan controllers via the Lutron App on your phone. Also, Lutron can integrate cloud-to-cloud with Amazon Alexa, Google Assistant, Logitech Harmony, etc...
However, Hubitat only communicates via Telnet over your local LAN to the Smart Bridge Pro, as @halfrican.ak mentioned above.
Correct on both points. You will only need the app to do the original setup on the caseta switch. Wasn't aware you could purchase an HE for $90 though, is there a sale I wasn't up to date on?
You have to use the Lutron App (and therefore create a Lutron cloud account) in order to pair the Caseta Switches and Dimmers and Pico Remotes to the Lutron SmartBridge Pro. Then you can connect HE to the SB-Pro via telnet.
Here are some of the items to consider if you want to go down the Lutron Caseta path. I can honestly say I am very happy with my Lutron Caseta decision. Please know that there is a 50 device limit per Caseta SmartBridge Pro. You can add additional SmartBridges if you need more than 50 devices.
An observation as I skim this thread - @WildDoktor mentioned security as being a reason for avoiding cloud services ... while the telnet with Lutron Smart Bridge Pro allows local control (and it's great), your stuff does still exist in the cloud, whether you're using the cloud features or not this is still exposure.
Perhaps (depending on your router etc) there's a way to restrict the Lutron Bridge's internet access generally, and then permit it only when you're in the act of adding a new device.
Yeah; I'm starting to think that getting 4 can lights that interface directly with HE is more what I'm going to be comfortable with. So I'm currently searching the interwebs for some swivel can lights that can house a19 bulbs...
