Hello Family,
Just starting out in my HA journey, I'm going all Lutron replacing all switches to dimmers and pico's. Is it still possible to have some colored ceiling lights in my kitchen with the Lutron dimmer switch?
I also just purchased some iris V3 motion sensors, How are you mounting the sensors?
TIA
3M Command Strips work very well for mounting sensors.
Most, if not all, smart bulbs are not designed to be dimmed by a dimmer switch. They want to have 100% power applied to them all of the time.
My advice - use smart RGBW bulbs in table/floor lamps. Use “dumb” bulbs with the Caseta Dimmers and Switches. Keep it simple and you’ll have a very reliable system.
As @ogiewon said, directly using a Lutron dimmer isn’t a good idea, but if you power the bulbs continuously, you can use a Lutron Pico to control them. For example, long-presses to change colors and short presses to control intensity. Not ideal, but it’ll work in a pinch.
What about adding a Phillips Hue bridge to my HE? Is that possible?
Yes, that is exactly how I have all of my smart bulbs connected to my Hubitat hub.
I use Caseta for all in-wall dimmers, switches, fan controllers and Pico remotes
I use a Hue bridge for all smart bulbs.
Finally, I use Zigbee sensors connected directly to Hubitat for all motion, contact, and leak sensors.
This setup has been extremely reliable for my requirements.
Thanks for the reply, by add the hue bridge does that give me the ability to add ceiling colored bulbs with lutron switch? Just trying to wrap my head around this.
No, unfortunately that does not help, really.
But if I do leave can I use a pico remote instead of a dimmer switch? Colors would only be sometime, mostly white.
You would have to NOT use a Caseta Dimmer switch at all. You would leave the “dumb” switch in place, and add the Pico remote alongside. The Pico would the send commands to Hubitat, which would then send commands to the always-powered smart light bulbs. This means if the Hubitat hub is down for any reason, you could still turn off the bulbs using the existing dumb switch.
If you really want color accent lighting in the kitchen, Possibly consider using color LED strips mounted under the cabinets, and possibly on top of the cabinets.
I'm back with some more questions.
Can I use non smart color changing bulbs with my lutron dimmer and/or pico's?
Can I just add a hue hub or bridge and then add the non smart lights to the hue bridge and integrate hue hub into HE?
TIA
Wouldn't that make them smart bulbs?
You cannot dim any smart (wifi, Zigbee, Zwave, etc) bulbs that I am aware of with a dimmer switch, Caseta included. They require full power at all times. Smart bulbs, and many non-dimmable bulbs in general get VERY angry when they are fed less than line voltage.
I didn't think so, the switch is smart not the bulb. It's just a regular dimmer able bulb. So I thought.
I’m getting the feeling I’m not the only one that’s having trouble picturing what kind of bulbs you’re referring to.
Can you give an example of a non-smart color changing bulb?
What type of "non smart color changing bulb" you are referring to? Lutron dimmers control traditional non-smart, single color (e.g. soft white) LED and incandescent bulbs.
Pico remotes can be used however you see fit, when paired to the Hubitat hub to control any other sort of light that the Hubitat hub can control.
The only type of lights that con be controlled by the Hue bridge are smart, Zigbee lights.
Perhaps @eddie.greer meant non-smart color temperature changing bulb?
Philips used to make such bulbs in two product lines: Scene Switch bulbs and Warm Glow bulbs.
Yeah that’s true, I still have some warm glow bulbs. They’re dumb bulbs as you know (although I do love the warmer color temp at low dimming levels 
).
I think OP could learn a lot by exploring Lutron’s website as well as the community here. Not only does Lutron have lots of info on their caseta devices, they also do a great job of introducing homeowners to basic electrical wiring concepts.
Respectfully, there appears to be a lack of background knowledge in the basics of residential electrical wiring that’s making the conversation here more confusing than it might otherwise be.
I think you're absolutely correct. I've been reading and re-reading a lot. I have my HE C-7 and a Lutron Pro 2 bridge with a dimmer and a pico. My wife wants some color here and there and I know I want Lutron. I guess I'm wondering what the best way to accomplish this? Also can you provide any links of stuff I should be reading? Thanks everyone who has replied and help me so far. Much appreciated!!
It is difficult to mix these easily. Here's my setup:
All my lighting that is directly controlled by Lutron dimmers (i.e. hardwired) is dimming only. I have standard "non-smart" Philips soft-white bulbs in all these fixtures.
I have "smart" zigbee RGBW bulbs in all desk lamps. I leave the switches in these lamps turned on permanently. These bulbs are controlled by voice (Alexa), Hubitat mode, sensors (ambient light, contact, motion), and button controllers, The specific button controllers I use are zigbee RGBGenie remotes that look like this:
I second (or 3rd?) these suggestions. Main lighting is always dimmable, but not RGB. Accent lights, table lamps, and so on can be. I did the RGB strips in both baths as accent and night lights, and on top of the kitchen cabinets for some color in that area too. The bath lights change from red at night, to various colors during the day whenever someone enters the room.
Download the Hubitat app
