Lutron Caseta 3 Way Smart Dimmer Light Switch Kit, Includes Pico Remote, Bracket, and LED Dimmer Switch, No Neutral Required, P-PKG1WB-WH

I got hooked into home automation after solving a few very basic quality of life issues that dramatically improved a few problems in our home. I debated heavily between smart bulbs and smart switches before I purchased anything. After trialing these Lutron Casetas, I'm going (almost) all-in with Lutron!I own a 1985 home and was interested in modernizing the general lighting experience as one of my next projects. Lutron has an excellent reputation in the smart switching market and after using them, it's for a very good reason.These switches are a perfect addition where you want manual push-button light dimming capabilities. They can act as "fast" on/off, graduated dimming to specific levels or in my case, can be highly automated with external home automation platforms. They can also be used in 3-way applications, however, this requires the addition of a Pico remote. This makes sense to me so you don't get "smart tech fighting smart tech" in your lighting circuits.When do you want to avoid a dimming switch? In applications such as pumps, fluorescent ballasts, garbage disposals, most outdoor security lighting, locations you might use a smart bulb and ceiling fans. Basically, anything that isn't designed specifically to be electrically dimmed or lowered in voltage. These applications are better served by Lutron's on/off switches or even dumb on/off switches.The installation of these switches are fairly straight forward. You need a basic understanding of electricity, including the "load" wire and the "hot" wire. These particular Lutron switches don't require a neutral wire, but if you're going into smart switches, be aware that some models require it. I strongly recommend using Wago connectors for your retrofit, they are light years beyond traditional wire nuts. Other than this, installation is straight forward and requires only a few basic hand tools. I had a little bit of difficulty in "tight" switch boxes, but made it work as these are generally fairly slim smart switches.If you have appropriate dimming-capable bulbs, you will immediately be greeted by a super-fancy "dim-on" and slightly slower "dim-off" function when you press the on or off buttons. This is a "luxurious" experience out of the box and is one of the reasons I went Lutron.Let's talk about bulbs. If you're still pondering a smart bulb for your particular lighting application, this dimming switch might not be for you. In general, this switch will work best with a "dumb" bulb that can be properly dimmed. Smart bulbs don't handle the dimming effect properly, they aren't really "compatible" from a technology standpoint. So you really have to figure out your strategy going in and you might be better served by Lutron Aurora or Lutron's true on/off switches. Likewise, I've discovered in my installations that I needed to change some of my bulbs to ones that can be dimmed. You'll know this is the case if you have problems with "strobing" on power off or bulbs that don't fully turn off. In my case, this didn't really irk me because I'm adding dimming functions where it has never existed before.Pairing this dimming switch with the Lutron hub is crazy easy. Just press a button while you're adding the switch in the app. Likewise, I use Home Assistant as my home automation platform. Adding these switches was equally easy there. The current integration is super slick and requires very little actual effort.I have three rules for "critical infrastructure" in my home, which I'd classify lighting as exactly that. First, the technology must work intuitively, like a normal light switch would. Second, it has to work without any fancy "server smarts" or special networks in place. Lastly, it has to integrate with a home automation solution of my choice, I don't want to be forced into a particular cloud solution or app. These Lutron switches fit exactly these criteria and is part of the reason I didn't go with smart bulbs.For examples of how I use these smart dimming switches? I have motion activated lighting in my bathrooms, closets, entryway and stairwell. I no longer need to proclaim, "Turn the lights off" as I can now make that decision in an automated and unobtrusive way. I use the dimming functions to turn my bathroom lights on to heavily dimmed level during certain hours, so I'm not "blasted" by bright light if I use the bathroom at 3AM. I can keep a low power and dimmed "always on" outdoor security light, and then light everything up to full blast when my security camera's AI analysis detects a human. (No more rain or snowfall triggering a lighting "disco palace" in my outdoor lighting!) I also can much better tune the "mood" of my room lighting using scene concepts with this and other technologies.If you're in the market for smart switches, these should definitely be up for your consideration. A common complaint is that they are expensive, but they are incredibly reliable, fast and operate without any other technologies. They will add value to your home since they are true "infrastructure" and you can claim "home automation ready" should you go to sell your home. I am very glad I went the Lutron route overall and this review explains a bit of why I went "all in" with Lutron's smart switching.

The majority of my dimmers in my home are Lutron Caseta dimmers with their proprietary ClearConnect wireless communication protocol. Lutron dimmers and the Pico switches can be paired together without any further smart-home integration. However, they also can be incorporated into most smart-home systems. I have paired them with a Wink Hub 2 that gives me access to my dimmers via Amazon Alexa and Google Home (although I could have used Lutron's own Caseta Wireless Smart Bridge with Google Home or Amazon Alexa as well). If you are used to conventional switches, the look and feel of the Lutron Caseta dimmers will take some time to get used to, but the simplicity and functionality outweighs the awkwardness of switching. They also provide a memorable flare to guests who have conventional switches at their own homes. In other words, unlike other smart switches that try to hide as mechanical switches, these switches are all digital; they cannot hide.If you are wiring up a dimmer in a room where a neutral wire is available and you do not have plans to need more than a single switch, other smart dimmers like the Leviton DZ6HD-1BZ Decora Smart Z-Wave Dimmer are going to look more conventional and be far more configurable. Dimmers like the Leviton DZ6HD-1BZ are also less likely to cause problems with a wide variety of different types of lights, whereas the Luton Caseta dimmers can be poor choices for light loads that operate under very small amounts of current. Most Lutron dimmers (in the Caseta line as well as other "dumber" lines, such as Maestro) have been optimized for wiring simplicity, which comes with strengths and weaknesses.One major strength of the Lutron Castea dimmer is that it is designed to work without a neutral wire. Most new houses will have a neutral available in every junction box, but this will not be the case for "older" houses. The Lutron dimmer stays powered even when the light is off in the same way most "dumb" lighted switches/dimmers do it – it continues to pull a small amount of current through the circuit. The current is small enough that it will not turn on the device, but it is large enough to keep the dimmer operating, providing a subtle green nightlight glow while also responding to wireless commands. Lutron uses its smarts at running switches on very low power to create remote control devices, like the Pico remote (which include not only dimming controls but a "favorite setting" button), that can be powered by watch batteries for at least a decade if not longer. These can be mobile, mounted where a traditional 3-way switch would go (in which case it may be necessary to "wire nut" some of the switch's leads together to remove the conventional 3-way functionality), or just mounted to a wall using their mounting bracket. I recently replaced a 2-gang wall plate with a 3-gang wall plate that let me slide in a Lutron Pico remote into the third spot, and now it looks like there was a 3-gang box there the whole time. Furthermore, I was able to add a third switch to that room using a Pico-remote mounting bracket and a Lutron Claro 1-gang decorator wall plate (although a traditional wall plate would have also been fine) where there previously were no switches whatsoever. So that is the real strength of the Lutron Caseta line; it is so simple to add switches. Switches can also be paired to multiple dimmers simultaneously. So groups of lights that would otherwise be controlled separately can be joined together into a virtual circuit.The flexibility of Lutron Caseta comes with costs. Because it does not use a neutral, there is always current in the circuit, even when the light is off. This means that if you use an LED light that operates on very little current (such as a candelabra with a mini-screw connector, as is used in some ceiling fan light kits), the small amount of current necessary to keep the dimmer listening on the ClearConnect network will be enough to cause a small glow or flickering in the light. Fortunately, the dimmer can be adjusted to use as little current as possible, thereby allowing for some troublesome lights to be tamed. However, there are limits to this tuning. The other downside is that the Pico remote has a battery (although it does last very long; I have never had to replace a Pico battery yet after 5+ years). If you are replacing a traditional 3-way switch with a Pico remote, you will have to wire-nut some wires together behind the remote in the wall in order to "short out" the old 3-way switch configuration, and I am not sure that this wiring configuration is always going to follow building code.In general, I'm very happy with my Lutron dimmers. They have been easy to install and operate and extremely flexible. They look very different, and they use a proprietary mesh-network communication protocol (ClearConnect, which is distinct from Z-Wave, Zigbee, and others). But there is a Lutron bridge that can connect that network to popular smart-home systems (and Wink has support directly within its hub, and so no bridge is necessary if you use Wink). These switches are expensive, even relative to other smart-home switches, but that is the price of their flexibility as well as Lutron's brand-name strength in dimming technology.Some people also do not like that the Lutron Caseta dimmer has no screw terminals; wires are solidly fixed to the device, and so wire nuts must be used. Fortunately, the dimmer itself is not much deeper than a conventional switch (and possibly a little less deep than an old-fashioned rheostat dimmer).

I couldn’t be more impressed with this Caseta lighting dimming system! From the moment it was installed, it completely transformed the ambiance of my home. The controls are intuitive, the responsiveness is flawless, and the customization options allow me to set the perfect mood for any occasion—whether it's a quiet evening in or entertaining guests.The build quality is excellent, and it integrates seamlessly with my existing lighting setup. What really stands out is how smoothly it dims the lights—no flickering, no delays—just effortless control and a beautifully even transition.This system truly elevates the entire space. It's one of those upgrades you wonder how you ever lived without. Highly recommend to anyone looking to take their home lighting to the next level!

This is a game changer. No more dying in the attic to manually install wires to physical locations for old homes. Thank god for this. AND super simple, no neutral wire install is a genius. I am gonna use this kit in every single location that needs three switch controls for one light with dimming. Praise Jebus.

What a wonderful solution to resolve problems with existing 3-way switches. A little too pricey but works amazingly well. Highly recommended if you want to avoid pay a lot for an electrician.

These smart dimmers are a bit pricey, and the odd angled, triangular buttons are probably one of the worst designs I've seen in these types of switches (IMO), but the app is eminatitly configurable and everything otherwise works perfectly. Install was super easy and Lutron includes wire nuts and extra screws. The switches themselves seem very high quality.