This question is specifically focused on RadioRA 2 (not Caseta or RA2 Select)
Right now I am still in the planning phase as I will be closing on a new bigger place in a couple days. I currently have Caseta all over my apartment and it works great. My only issue is is regarding the lack of native motion sensors. I currently use Z-wave sensors with Home Assistant and I hate the delay and the fact that there is a Lack of Zwave OCCUPANCY sensors.
Anyways i've purchased a bunch of RadioRA 2 occupancy sensors and I have learned that there isn't NATIVE way to set an alternate dimming level for night time. This is very important to me since I need my light levels to be much lower than the day levels. It seems the only Native way to do this would require two motion sensors per location which probably isn't going to look very good (enabling one at night while disabling the daytime one with a timeclock) .
I see that Hubitat has the Motion Lighting App that seems that it will do exactly what I want it to do. My question is will the Occupancy sensors still report its status when disabled OR in Vacancy mode only?
I figured i would keep the native "light on" trigger during the day and at night use the Hubitat Motion Lighting App to create a night based automation. Im just not sure if the motions sensors will still report motion Occupancy Via telnet if disabled/in Vacancy mode.
Anyone know more about this topic? I too have been struggling to get my RA2 sensors to control my Lutron RA2 select system with Hubitat. Currently they only sense and trigger with the lutron app. Please advise.
Oh, I don't think the Lutron occupancy sensors report through the telnet interface of RA2 Select. You would need a RA2 main repeater to use Lutron sensors, not RA2 Select.
@bravenel Really appreciate your quick response. I have 40+ RA2 Select dimmers already so I'm pretty locked in. I already have 9 Lutron sensors placed but I hate that I can't do any conditional programing with them.
If I got a RA2 Main Repeater just for the sensors do you think I could past through the motion to Hubitat to control the RA2 Select dimmers?
If I needed to use a non-lutron motion sensors does anyone have any recommendations with a close to instant response?
Are these Maestro? Show a model number. These should all work with regular RA2. RA2 Select is a subset of RA2. You would replace RA2 Select hub with RA2 main repeater. You'd have to take free online training to get the Essentials Software to program the RA2 main repeater. This gets somewhat more complicated if you want to use a Lutron mobile app.
Dimmer: RRD-6CL-WH
Fan: RRD-2ANF-WH,
Sensor: LRF2OCR2BPWH (I like that these have a long battery life - but maybe there's better brands)
I feel like Best Buy (Magnolia) has been overcharging me for the RA2 Select install that they did so I'm reluctant to have them do anything with the full RA2 and then lock me into working with them.
I'm not a programmer but I'm a quick study and usually figure things out. Didn't know if I could/should get a RA2 Main just for sensors and if that would pass through the Hubitat to trigger the lights on the RA2 Select network or if I'd have to move everything over to RA2.
Or if I should ditch the RA2 Sensors and find an alternative sensor.
The RA2 training is not difficult (and free), and it does not assume that you are a programmer at all. That's probably the way to answer your own questions about this, is to check it out. The Essentials software is what it teaches you how to use, and it's not particularly difficult. It's an app that runs on Windows. You would need this app to use the sensors, and the only way to get the app is to take the training.
If you put it a RA2 Main Repeater you could ditch the RA2 Select, unless you really want the mobile app. That's what I would do, but then I'm not a big fan of mobile apps to turn lights on and off. There is also a mobile app for RA2 Main Repeater, but that's really a separate issue.
All of your devices would work with RA2. These are RA2 devices.
About the Occupancy Sensor: I replaced all of the interior Zigbee motion sensors I had in my house with these Lutron sensors, also in large part due to battery life. I don't regret that at all and wouldn't want to go back to Zigbee. There is one difference that can take a little getting used to: the minimum cycle time for the Lutron sensors is 1 minute. Most Zigbee motion sensors cycle in about 15 to 30 seconds. Usually this is not an issue at all, but there is one exception to that. If you turn lights off manually in a room that you are leaving, they won't come on again until after the motion sensor has cycled. 1 minute is a long time, and this can trip you up. The solution is very simple -- don't turn lights off manually.
If you decide to switch to RA2 definitely do it yourself, not through a dealer. The dealers love the markup they can get on Lutron devices. Sometimes you can find a RA2 main repeater on eBay for a good price.
Also, in answer to your question: you could have both RA2 and RA2 Select in the same Hubitat system, and yes, the sensors on RA2 could turn on lights on RA2 Select. My house is a hybrid of RA2, Z-Wave and Zigbee. Picos, keypads and sensors on RA2 turn on whatever devices -- Hubitat removes the distinctions.
Thanks for this info. I've converted a few switches and dimmers to the to RA2 but I'm experiencing a significant delay with Hubitat control compared to RA2. The upstairs Hall programed via RA2 and the Upstairs bathroom and shower are programed on Hubitat.
For some reason my time zone is incorrect too.
Please review the logs and my configuration. Any solutions and tips of things I can do better would be super appreciated.
Not sure what you mean by "significant". The Lutron timing from sensor report to on command to the light is 264 ms. The Hubitat timing for the same thing is 340 ms in the first case and 393 ms in the second case. Is 84 msecs "significant"?
What is wrong with your timezone? Have you set it to the correct setting, and then hit Update to the right side of that row in the UI?
I've been testing this in my smaller Upstairs bathroom which might be why I'm sensitive to the delay. I'll move over some more devices and test sensors in some larger areas and report back.
Thank you for your recommendations. Upgrading to RA2 works like a charm. Really excited to dive in deeps. So far I've just been using the Motion app but I'd like to explore the rules app's options more.
I can do some programming in RA2 essentials does it matter if I program some in RA2 and some in Hubitat or do you recommend everything in hubitat?
Do you have anything examples of things you've done that's been cool?
Do as much as you want in RA2 Essentials. You should be able to tap into whatever you need still within Hubitat. I forget whether or not you can setup phantom buttons for the main repeater in Essentials, or if that is only available for the higher level software, Inclusive.
The one cool thing has to do with keypads, but does require phantom buttons. Do you have any keypads?
You can program things in either Hubitat or Lutron software. Find a process that works for you. I do some of both.
Your main repeater does have 100 "phantom buttons" (even in Essentials) that can be used to save scenes in Lutron and can be called from Hubitat. (Note that even the Caseta Pro Bridge has phantom buttons.)
If you are using Picos with Hubitat actions to control your Lutron dimmers there can be a bottleneck in RF communications as the path becomes Pico→Lutron Main Repeater→Hubitat→Lutron Main Repeater→Dimmer. This bottleneck can cause "popcorning" of the lights if you are controlling many dimmers at the same time. If that happens and it is bothersome, then program that scene in Lutron on a phantom button as it is a single communication action.
You might consider adding a Connect Bridge. It's not necessary, but it adds a few things 1) The ability to use the Lutron phone app. Note that you can activate scenes from the phone app and those scenes will also call Hubitat actions, 2) HomeKit integration, and 3) keeps the time on the main repeater in sync with the internet (main repeater technology is from about 2010).
A note on your dimmers. It's interesting that the installer specced RRD-6CL dimmers. Those are dimmers with no neutral. If they work then that's great. But they are more subject to performance issues caused by LED bulb differences across brands. There are 2 reasons to use CL dimmers: no neutral available (typically fairly older homes), and there is 1 fewer connection to be made (potential labor savings). Otherwise the RRD-6ND would be the preferred option. The 6ND is even a few dollars cheaper than the 6CL.
If you don't have a keypad I'd recommend buying one and trying it out. There are a couple of types, but the one that would replace a dimmer is called a hybrid keypad, model RRD-H6BRL. eBay has some good deals on them now, lower than you'll likely find even with a good dealer.
The phantom buttons exist on your main repeater, likely integration ID 1 - you should see it in the Lutron system integration report generated by the Lutron software. That ID should also be listed in the Hubitat Lutron Integration child app as something like "k,1,Main Repeater" in the list of devices. The k means it works like a 100 button keypad. You then can call those buttons in apps that let you push buttons. Or you can add them to a button device like a Pico in the Button Controller app.
Ok that makes a ton of sense. I'll set it up as a Keypad then. I REALLY appreciate your response and there's a lot to dive into. I'm super grateful for your time and expertise. I will pay it forward.
Response to 3: What is popcorning?
Response to 4: I use Amazon Alexa but the one thing I haven't figured out yet is how to control my shades via a button in the alexa app. I can do scenes but I want a simple solution for my wife. We had the Lutron App with RA2 Select which was nice to control the shades. Therefore I was going to pick up a connect bridge Monday. But it was feeling bit silly to spend $225 just to control a shade in the lutron app. However it sounds like there are some more benefits to the bridge making it more worth it.
Response to 5: Thanks for bringing the RRD-6ND to my attention. I have the RRD-6CL because that's what I was told I needed for the best buy/magnolia job I hired them to do. It's beginning to look like they just wanted to sell me a higher priced product. Which is frustrating because house is a new build and has neutral wires. My kitchen counter LED strips buzz and I'm wondering if the neutral wire would fix it. And some of my LED bulbs don't turn off completely. I think that's a bulb issue but maybe a neutral wire with the RRD-6ND would fix it. Thoughts?
Response to 6: I have 2 keypads but they aren't connected yet. Waiting on my electrician buddy to swap them.
Additional question: Low voltage fire place. We tried to install a RRD-8ANS but there's not neutral wire with the fire place switch. Do you think a RRD-6CL could work? or ideas on another solution?
