Lutron in wall dimmer doesn't work without load

[paul4]

I have an in wall Lutron dimmer that is wired to an outlet. Yeah, yeah, I know. Moving on...

If I don't plug anything into the outlet, the switch does nothing when I press the buttons.

Any way around this?

An option I would consider would be not to have it wired to the outlet, it would basically be a dummy switch that would only trigger HE rules but doesn't directly control anything in the room. But then we are back to it not working if there is no load. Is there a way to wire a Lutron in wall switch this way?

A last resort would be to replace the switch with something that does what I want. However that's not a great option because I already have Lutron switches all over the place.

[aaiyar]

@paul4

A last resort would be to replace the switch with something that does what I want. However that's not a great option because I already have Lutron switches all over the place.

Why don't you replace it with a Pico remote?

Do not wire a Caséta dimmer to an outlet. Instead add a dimmable zigbee bulb (or a LIFX bulb) to the lamp you want dimmed. And then use the Pico as a button controller to control the bulb.

[csteele]

Seems like these two threads belong together, at least side by side

Competing rules

That's not really possible, for the reason you mentioned. A Lutron dimmer will always turn itself on when its dim up/down buttons are pressed. I would add another Pico to the wall, using the Pico wall mount kit. You don't even have to make any additional holes in your wall. Just buy a new wall faceplate with one extra opening in it to mount the pico. I have done this in many bedrooms to add wall control of Hue bulbs in nightstand lamps. It works great. I do this as well. I personally u…

Replace the Lutron dimmer with a regular switch to return the outlet to normal. Then mount a Pico beside it (no holes needed) to control the lamp.

[jwjr]

For RadioRA 2, the Lutron LUT-MLC wired across the load works great to make the Lutron dimmer work with no other load attached.

[rlithgow1]

@paul4

If I don't plug anything into the outlet, the switch does nothing when I press the buttons.

Any way around this?

https://www.amazon.com/Lutron-LUT-MLC/dp/B01E9F084E

Edit: Ooops @jwjr beat me to it