I'm edging towards using Lutron Pico for my wall switches but I'm in the UK and I'm trying to resolve all the fine details.
The only system officially available in the UK is the more expensive RA2 system but frankly I'm not too bothered about paying an extra ÂŁ50 - ÂŁ100 for the bridge for the convenience of local support and thereafter the Pico controllers are the same as I would use on a Smart Bridge Pro system anyway so the extra cost is only on the hub (as I understand it).
I've seen a bit of contradictory info on this forum e.g. one post saying Pico doesn't work with RA2. I just called Lutron UK and they confirmed that Pico does work with the RA2 system (no surprise there, I was already pretty sure that one rogue post on this forum was wrong since other posts said Pico does work with RA2). Lutron also dispelled what appears to be another myth posted on this forum (or maybe out of date or non-UK information) that in order to use the RA2 system Lutron require the purchaser to go through a free training course. Apparently that is also incorrect at least in the UK. Lutron said that the RA2 system is extremely user- friendly and that I could simply contact a reseller who could advise as necessary on what I need and tech support could provide installation advice if necessary. I am pretty sure that I would have no problems installing since I am quite technical (I have a comp sci degree spent my entire career in the computer industry designing both hardware and software).
Notwithstanding all of the above I'd be interested to hear of any experiences from UK users who have either purchased an RA2 system locally or have imported a Smart Bridge Pro (now Pro 2) system from the USA for use in the UK (if the later did you subsequently import all Picos from the US or did you buy any switches locally from UK stock thus confirming that the US and UK systems use the same frequencies?). Although I'm leaning towards simply getting an RA2 system locally I haven't 100% ruled out getting a Smart Bridge Pro 2 from the US.
Please also correct any wrong assumptions or misunderstandings that might be buried in my thinking above that might make one or other of my options (buy RA2 locally or import a Smart Bridge Pro from the US) a non-starter.
Finally, if I do go the UK RA2 route I would probably buy from Mr Resistor (Mr Resistor Lighting) since they are pretty local to me and have been around for decades. If anyone has bought Lutron stuff from them I would be interested to hear about your experiences.
In Europe and the UK Lutron sells RA2 Select. The US Maestro lighting controls are almost all 120 and sized for US market. So they won't work for Europe. Instead Lutron sells in-line controls. Those controls are then meant to be controlled by Picos.
I don't know how the UK market works, but in the US the distributors will compete for business, even small jobs. So it may be worth getting more than one quote.
I think most of what you’ve seen here in the forum applies to RadioRA2, which does require free training to obtain the PC software needed for programming. RA2 Select uses a mobile app for programming so it can be downloaded from the App Store/google play store (same app as Caseta, I believe).
So @bill.d’s explanation probably accounts for the apparent conflict. You should confirm with Lutron which system you were discussing with them.
Edit: also, Lutron’s model for RadioRA 2 doesn’t assume the end user will go through any training; the training and programming software are for dealers/installers. It’s not necessary to use the software oneself unless you’re DIYing the whole installation.
Thanks for the answers. That's pretty clear now as to what I would get by going the UK route and tallies with what I see on the UK reseller site that I have been looking at, i.e. I only see RA2 Select which is what I would want if I've understood correctly so that's good.
Sorry for being a bit slow but I do want to make sure that I would be pursuing a solution that would work the way I think it would if I were to go for the UK RA2 Select option.
The system I am envisaging is a three-hub system. I currently have a latest gen Philips Hue hub and all except one of my lights are (or are planned to be) Hue smart bulbs. My plan is to add a Lutron RA2 Select Main Processor (https://www.mr-resistor.co.uk/item.aspx?i=19600) primarily to be used simply to monitor button states on all of the Picos I plan to install in place of my existing dumb wall switches (all would be UK-sourced to ensure frequency compatibility with the UK-sourced RA2). I would then add a Hubitat hub to pull it all together and am assuming that the Lutron integration would allow my Hubitat to see all Pico button events in my home reported via the Hubitat Lutron integration (in my case coming in via an RA2 Select hub) and I could then program Hubitat as I wanted to map the various button events to appropriate Philips Hue actions (on/off/dim/scene-change/etc) to be executed by my Hue hub using the Hubitat Philips Hue integration.
Initially there would be no output devices (inline switches, dimmers etc) connected to my Lutron hub although ultimately as I get more confident there is one designer ceiling light, a couple of extractor fans and a kick-plate heater that I would definitely want to integrate and since I would have an RA2 Select hub already it would seem simplest at that point to buy the necessary 240V inline switching devices for those items.
I guess the one thing that I'm a bit unclear on is how I would control any inline switching devices I add. The tech docs and @bill.d's explanation both imply to me that the Picos communicate directly with the inline switches. With a system integrated with Hubitat using the Lutron integrator can I put Hubitat in the loop there, i.e. does the Lutron Integration Report (Lutron Integrator - Hubitat Documentation) also expose the inline stuff with unique IDs that once configured in Hubitat will accept actions from Hubitat?
Have I understood all of this correctly and does the above look like a coherent setup subject to clarification on controlling Lutron inline devices from Hubitat?
I have my stuff set up similarly. Hubitat, Lutron, Hue systems all work well together.
You will pair both inline modules and Picos to the Main Repeater. You can associate Picos with inline modules in the Lutron software or via Hubitat. Directly in Lutron software is more efficient. But depending on your use case may not be possible.
In either case you can add Hue actions to the Pico via Hubitat.
When you add a Lutron system to Hubitat your Main Repeater, inline modules, and Picos all get added to the Lutron Integrator app. Hubitat can then see and control the devices via the Telnet interface.
The only Lutron issue is that any Lutron motion sensors do not expose themselves to the Telnet stream in RA2 Select (at least in the USA), so you can't use them in any Hubitat automations.
Thanks Bill. That’s great to know that I’m on the right track.
I had a look at the in-line switch stuff. I saw the Luton kit described as “spendy” on this forum (which made me smile, a nice turn of phrase) but the Lutron in-line stuff is very, very spendy at least in the U.K..
My new plan for the dumb 240V stuff that I might want to control is simply to splice in a plug and inline socket connection in the cables running to the devices and then put a Philips Hue smart plug in between the plug and socket. Luckily for me all the locations are such that the plug & socket combos can in all cases be hidden in suspended ceilings or behind kick plates. Using Philips Hue technology will also address the motion sensor issue when I get to that point and the Hue motion/lux sensors look really neat.
Looks like I’m sorted. Thanks a lot to everyone for helping me get my bearings on this stuff.
