A Lot more $$$
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If I want to be very flexiable, I should start with RadioRa 2 system then ?
My goal is to expand to fully automated shades over time. I have been researching to see if they should also be lutron or something else like hunter douglas
Oh come on what difference does a zero make?! 
I say yes, but do your research and make sure you know what your getting into cost/options wise. To add in my second floor it is going to be @ $2K and I already own the main system. Just to give you an idea
RA2 also has RA2 Select and RA2 Full. I opted for RA2 full so I had more options down the road. Not cheep, but a better long term play, for me.
Here's some light reading on the subject. I would ignore the Home QS stuff unless you have VERY deep pockets!
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My Lutron Caseta devices are rock solid. They always just work.
The Pico Remotes are fantastic. The remotes are said to have up to a ten year battery life. You can use the pico remotes to do just about anything, and they match the style of the caseta dimmers, so they look great together.
The best decision I've made in Home Automation was to go with Lutron Caseta.
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For the most flexibility and options yes RadioRa 2 would be your choice. You "could" start with RadioRa 2 Select and later in the future replace your Main Repeater. It all depends on what you want to start with and what your real end-goal is.
If this is your end-goal then I would start with RadioRa 2 so you have full options in the future. It does cost more upfront but you'll be setup for future growth.
If you have a Lutron system then going with Lutron Shades is kinda a no-brainer to have everything fully integrated. I have no info about those other brands and how you'd integrate them.
As @ogiewon mentioned before. Lutron is a full system in it's own that works outside of HE and integrates. If someday you choose not to use Hubitat you don't have to think about replacing your lights. When the Z-Wave 700 series becomes the normal you don't have to think about it for your lights or shades or other pieces.
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Could you please explain that statement? I don't understand. Thank you.
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It means you won't care about other technologies that come out.
(Because you will have invested so many thousands of dollars into lutron, that you couldn't stomach the idea of walking away from it. LOL)
That's a joke.
I'm sure he means because you will already have the best protocol in use already. No point in caring what new shiny protocol comes out in the future.
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You won't care about Z-Wave because it won't matter anymore.
Yeah.... Only kinda 
Couldn't have said it any better.
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Except for the almighty Pico (but they are not exactly a switch or a dimmer, per say). They are so fantastic they work across all Lutron platforms (after a factory reset)
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Correct. But I did say Switches/Dimmer though... 
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As I'm passionate about all things lighting I'm going to ask the Caseta/Lutron pros here. This is specific to when Caseta/RA2 Select/RA2 are integrated with Hubitat not necessarily on their own.
What is the ability to control fade times both at the switch and programmatically?
In general, what does a "device page" look like for a typical wall dimmer, lamp dimmer, or switch? Is there even such a device page with preferences? Is there an equivalent "device page" within the Lutron App/Bridge that enables such preferences (for example the aforementioned fade times, ramp rates, or even indicator LED color…).
How is the popcorn effect experienced/mitigated?
How are scenes (or another form of simultaneous action) crafted? Are scenes in Hubitat somehow "translated" to a more native form when transmitted to the dimmers? I have seen the possibilities of ZigBee groups so I am intrigued if something similar is available here.
Can the buttons on dimmers/picos be abstracted from their loads to control smart bulbs? How fast is the response?
Without a hub interaction (for example a rule) how fast does a dimmer respond to a button press? Specifically from pushing the "on" button to seeing light how long of a delay might be experienced? Repeat same question with a hub interaction involved?
I have been taking something of a home automation lighting systems "tour" over the past several weeks. Testing Lutron's offerings would be exciting but since they are only available at significant cost I cannot simply purchase one to test drive. I'm very curious of the community's collective knowledge on this.
Thanks,
Richard
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I have both. I have Lutron RadioRA 2 in all the areas with lots of lights. I have a single Lutron Caséta dimmer. I use Z-Wave for smaller rooms.
Both system standards perform fine. Each has its own pluses and minuses.
Lutron RadioRA 2
Plusses:
- Lutron communications protocols are rock-solid
- Maestro style dimmers/switches are aesthetically nice
- Dimmers have programmable default on settings
- Keypads are very nice and totally programmable in Hubitat
- Ability to use Picos within Hubitat environment
Use of the Lutron controller allows for coordinated control between switch legs. No popcorning.
Minuses:
- Cost - significant, but not as big as MSRP differences, get a quote from a dealer.
- Programming - uses a device called a "main repeater" that is old (2011-ish) and only programmable using a Windows-based program.
Lutron Caséta
Plusses:
- Lutron communications protocols are rock-solid
- Cost for basic non-neutral dimmer. But always use a neutral wire dimmer if you can.
- Ability to use Picos within Hubitat environment
- Use of the Lutron controller allows for coordinated control between switch legs. No popcorning.
Minuses:
- Aesthetics - uses 4 stacked buttons to control the dimmer - on, off, up, down. Compared to Maestro on/off toggle with level secondary bar.
- No ability to change default 'on' behavior at the device. The lights always go on to 100%. This can be an issue with modern LEDs (often brighter than even equivalent incandescent), especially in a retrofit installation. Fade on/off rates are locked too.
Z-Wave - this is harder to quantify
Plusses:
- If you have a good mesh performance is good
- More variety of control options. Some are really very good. Others are cheap junk. I use the Leviton dimmers as they are fairly close to Lutron Maestro style.
- Cost is generally good even for better devices
Minuses:
- Relies on mesh communications. If you have problems with your mesh you will have problems with your lights.
- Popcorning
If cost is not an issue then RadioRA 2 all the way (stay away from RA2 Select. You save at best a few hundred $ on a still expensive system). If cost is an issue I'd go Z-Wave before Caséta. The Z-Wave devices just have so many more features and better aesthetics than Caséta dimmers. But even with Z-Wave dimmers I'd buy a Caséta Pro hub to be able to add Picos to the Hubitat system.
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Disclaimer: my experience is only with Lutron Caseta devices, not Radio RA2...
Hubitat can control the transition time on a per Caseta dimmer granularity. Each device details page has a setting for this.
Each Switch, Dimmer, and Fan Controller has its own device details page.
Loads cannot be abstracted from Caseta switches and dimmers. Picos can be used with Hubitat to control anything. I use them to control Hubitat Groups of Sengled Zigbee bulbs with instant performance and no popcorn effect (using Zigbee Group messaging.)
Like any physical light switch, the response is immediate. You press on or off, and the light responds instantly. Hubitat commands are also instantaneous.
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My experiance is 95% RA2 Full.
This would depend on the platform. Here's a device page from my RA2 Essentials. I change most dimming times in HE if I want to. I only use RA2 to get things added to the system or change what HE cannot do (trim levels)
This does not happen in Lutron in my experience. It's a part of their technology
I do all my scenes in HE, but I only have lights thus far. In reading scene might be better done in the Lutron app if mixing light and shades. Others here can probable speak better to this one.
Can the buttons on dimmers/picos be abstracted from their loads to control smart bulbs? How fast is the response?
You cannot remove a load from a wired device. You can have switches/dimmers with "no load", and then have them trigger another device via a rule. Picos do not have a "load" they are remotes. Picos can be used to control anything in HE (that I have tried too at least). The response is fast, more or less instant.
All Lutron lighting actions are instant, unless my hub is bogging down in which case it's a hub issue not Lutron.
EDIT: This is only partly true.
If you know how to wire I circuit you can "hot wire" the light to power the bulb 100% of the time and use the switch as a "no load" switch to control the smart bulb via a rule. I do this with 6 Sengled PARs and 2 light strips in our kitchen
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You cannot control fade times at the switch with Caséta or RA2 Select. You can with the full RadioRA 2. You can control them programmatically within the Hubitat environment, but you have to be careful in how you implement the timing. Also, Caséta and RA2 Select always come on to 100% at the switch. This personally is a major issue to me.
There is a device page in Hubitat that looks mostly like any other dimmer. In RadioRA 2 the physical devices are programmed from a Lutron program that only runs in Windows. Caséta and RA2 Select are programmed on a mobile device app.
Program the scenes within the Lutron software. You can call those scenes from Hubitat. Lutron scenes are a button to Hubitat.
You can create scenes in both Lutron software and the Hubitat hub. There are reasons to do it in either spot. You do have to do some personal documentation to keep straight.
Yes for Picos. Fast
A) Very fast. B) Fast enough almost always. The only reason for not fast is overly complex rules.
Get multiple quotes from multiple dealers, including over the internet.
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Are you serious? That is horrible. Can someone please confirm? I can not believe that from a company that invented the dimmer.
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@bill.d, @ogiewon, and @TechMedX thanks for the details this is great! Can you share screenshots of the device page for a dimmer in Hubitat?
It seems Caséta is quite limiting. I agree with @bill.d's opinion about the fade time and fixed default to 100% — those would be a major issues for me too. If there's no way around either of those then both Caséta and RA2 Select would be struck from my list for sure.
Same as a normal dimmer I think
I also use a smartthing button to control this office dimmer from my desk. The Lutron integration goes both ways so you can trigger Lutron switch/dimmer from HE devices, or a HE device from a Lutron device.
They can obviously do it. It's a product line marketing decision. Just like there would be no hideously ugly Caséta 4 button dimmers if not for product line differentiation.
Having said that, they do the same dumb 100% 'on' thing even for full RadioRA 2 in mobile device apps. Both Lutron's Connect and Apple Home apps turn on the lights to 100% instead of what's programmed on the device/main repeater.
OK now I know for a fact this is untrue. I just logged into my app and turn my light on 15% and off and on at 50%. Just use the slider and not on top "full on" button.
In the beginning I had to make a change in my RA2 software config that was kinda hard to find (for a noob) I had to call Lutron on it, but my lights now use "Last Level" not a predefined level. I have to believe this is true for the other platforms as well.
What do you say @ogiewon @aaiyar do all your Lutron Castea lights always come on at 100% when you push the dimmer on?
