#Dimmable smart switch install#

Zigbee is widely support among smart dimmer manufacturers, including Jasco, Sinopé, and Sengled. Signify’s Philips Hue bridge is another solution, but it’s generally limited to supporting Philips Hue smart bulbs and accessories.

#Dimmable smart switch install#

If you don’t have a neutral wire, Lutron’s Caséta smart dimmer is one of the few that does not require one.Īs you can see in this illustration, it’s not necessary to remove the cover plate to install the Aurora on the switch, but it only works with toggle switches. If you’re not sure if there’s a neutral wire at the location you want to install a smart switch, we have a how-to story here that will help you figure it out. While all homes have neutral wires, many older homes don’t have a neutral wire in every box. Smart switches have radios that must be constantly powered, and the neutral wire is what supplies that juice. Neutral wire requirement: The vast majority of smart switches and dimmers require the presence of a neutral wire-in addition to line (power from the circuit-breaker panel), load (power to the light to be controlled), and ground wires-in the electrical box inside the wall. Here’s what you need to know in roughly the order you’ll need to decide. You’ll need to make a raft of decisions before you choose which smart switches to install in your home, and your choices will be influenced by everything from the type of wiring in your walls to what flavor of smart home system you have now or plan to install later. One of the biggest downsides? You can’t use it in a three-way configuration. Its model HS-220 in-wall smart dimmer connects directly to your Wi-Fi network, so you don’t need a hub, and it’s currently street priced less than $20. $17.99 at Amazon | $17.99 at Best Buy | $25.99 at Lenovoīest known for building inexpensive routers, TP-Link has steadily increased its footprint in the smart home space with its Kasa Smart product line. The Caséta dimmer is also ideal for installations where there is no neutral wire in the box-it’s one of the few smart switches that doesn’t require one. The kit also comes with Lutron’s Pico wireless remote controls, for those situations where you don’t want to bark at a smart speaker to dim the lights. A stack of LEDs on the left-hand side indicates the brightness level. The dimmer switches in the Lutron Caséta Smart Lighting Dimmer Switch Kit are elegantly designed with four plate-style buttons: On at the top, off at the bottom, and triangular brighten and dim buttons in the middle. The Caséta Smart Bridge is Apple HomeKit compatible, too, and it can be integrated with a Samsung SmartThings hub. In addition to its own line of motorized smart shades, ceiling fan controllers, plug-in devices, occupancy sensors, and remote controls, you can also create time- and location-based smart home “scenes” incorporating any Caséta or Serena product along with Sonos speakers, several brands of smart thermostats, and Hunter ceiling fans. Lutron is the only source of dimmers and switches, but the company is great about supporting other classes of third-party products within the Caséta ecosystem. Lutron’s Caséta ecosystem is much less open than the other big three smart lighting platforms: Wi-Fi, Z-Wave, and Zigbee.