The caseta dimmer setup is by far the best option out there. They are just way overpriced for what you get. They are very easy to install however most newer homes have common wires available when replacing plugs so that opens up a wide array of alternative smart dimmer options for a fraction of the price. Given I use Alexa for most of my dimmer switch needs, I cannot tell the difference between an inexpensive smart dimmer and these dimmer switches.

Installation was as easy as a standard light switch. Integrates perfectly with Google Home. I've always heard Lutron was the best for smart switches and after a few months, I haven't experienced any issues. Looking forward to getting more in the future.

We were renovating our home office in our attic and as part of it had to update our electrical. I researched tons of smart home products, and decided against anything that required special bulbs (Hue) and anything that wasn't Homekit compatible. Why Homekit? Because the data isn't stored on the cloud, isn't sold, and must be encrypted per Apple standards. Using the Homekit app on our phone is a nice perk, but 99% of the time we use the Lutron app.

The switches once installed and linked to the hub are incredibly easy to use as just normal dimmers with decent sized buttons so even grandma is happy. Setting preset dim levels is easy too, so most of the time it's a single touch on, single touch off - already better than 99% of non-smart dimmer switches out there. Pricey - yes - but you get what you pay for. We bought this starter set to get the hub, and then separate switches. My electrician used standard GFI wall plates, and the Lutrons require about the same installation space as a traditional dimmer switch - not overly deep, no special install.

The hub is easy - we have it downstairs with our router and it feeds all of the switches in the house plus anything else we want (I'm considering the compatible shades for some of the rooms with a lot of sunlight). It's quite small - a single Ethernet cable to the back of our router, and a small plug into the outlet. I have a dumb email account I never use as our Lutron account - just as I do for our TV and 99% of other smart products (there are even sites that give you a 10 minute email account that is purged afterward - for free).

The glitch - some of the "open box" orders I placed to Amazon were incomplete. Some had defective switches with corroded wires. Because this was part of a renovation, I didn't find these problems until after the 30 day return window, so I had to call Lutron's support, and they arranged replacements under the 5 year warranty. Also some switches worked, but despite system resets and Lutron's excellent technical support (call as a "pro"), they could not connect to the hub despite sitting next to other working switches.

The app is very good. Setup via the app is easy. There's one kill switch at the top of the app screen that will turn off all Lutron-connected devices in that room at once - very handy when my kids leave lights on. Once the switch is connected to the app, it's automatically in Homekit. If you are using low-voltage lights (many spot lights are ELV), Lutron makes a special ELV dimmer that you have to use if the lights are in total
I waited 4 months to post this review to see how the system would respond to wifi outages, power outages, lightning storms, etc. and it's been fine. When wifi is out, the switches work as normal dimmers. When it comes back on, nothing needs to be reset (which is more than I can say for other systems I've tried like Wemo).

Lutron Casetas are expensive, reliable, relatively easy (watch the open boxes and ELV fixtures), and the LIVE tech support is very helpful. Each switch contains info and diagrams for installation and connecting to the hub. I wish they carried more Pro products because these are excellent.

I was once a newbie with Caseta - but no longer, so I hope this helps you. This kit is the first purchase you need for Lutron's system. Once you have the hub, no more kits are needed for future switch purchases. One hub can manage up to 75 switches (and I think the Hub is included in that count).

Some buyers complain about having to wire in Lutron's hub to your network with an ethernet cable. But you can't beat the speed and reliability of a wired network connection. Given that Lutron's product works reliably and is 100% responsive all the time, this is a non-issue for me.

Since I put in the first few Casetas, we truly love them and have started to replace switches all over the home. Which brings up another issue... if I had chosen a WiFi connected switches (and I did briefly for use in limited locations, more on that later) I could potentially be adding a much larger number of connected devices onto my network. If your WiFi isn't all that great to begin with - think entry level routers - this could potentially impact network performance and your connectivity with your switches. For me, that's just a no go. I really want my WiFi to work well for the things that need to be on it.

The PROs of the Lutron Switches:

Setting the switches up is straightforward and fast. The setup process works like expected each and every time. I cannot say the same about other non-Lutron WiFi products.

Having problems setting them up or is a switch not acting right? Lutron's support is the bees knees. They have helped me several times and each time they are great.

The switches are incredibly responsive both in person and via the app. There are no delays in turning things off and on. The ceiling fan switch is especially a godsend for our old ceiling fan - no more standing on the bed to pull strings or getting up out of bed to adjust things.

Lutron and Ring also teamed up and added some camera integrations where movement and/or doorbell pushes can activate lights. It works quite well, but the feature was a little buried in the Lutron app. Big bonus - the integration will also turn off lights after 15 minutes.

About the app (and this is a biggie)

Purchasing good hardware is one thing, having an app that you only get to experience after you purchase the hardware is downright crazy. But that's the world that smart switches seem to live in, so here's the scoop on Lutron - and the apps for a couple other systems I tried.

Lutron's app is well designed and intuitive. You can quickly add new devices, program in schedules and scenes. The app also interfaces with my Lennox thermostat to display the current temp in the home (with the help of Apple's Home (home kit) app that's running on a dedicated iPad that never leaves the home). The Ring cam integration is good too.

Having tried WeMo and Leviton's WiFi connected switches, my take on those apps is that they are incredibly clunky. This seems like a misstep, especially when you are going to spend most of your time interfacing with the app than the switch.

Since I also use Apple's Home app with my family, every time a switch gets added into the Lutron hub, it seamlessly shows up in Apple Home. This is of course magically great. Since I didn't want to add another app into the mix for my wife and family, it's nice that there have been zero issues with cross platform integration, everything works seamlessly.

The Lutron App also has a geofence capability that will turn on/off lights when you arrive and depart from the home. Haven't used that yet, but it's cool. Another side benefit, Lutron's app has an Apple watch app that you can control lights and fans with.

The CONS:

Edited - The Caseta hub for whatever reason didn't have auto off timers built in. That said, the addition of their motion sensor product effectively solves this issue.

If you have Ring cams, you can turn on the Caseta integration, and a motion or doorbell can turn on lights and after 15 minutes, turn them off again. This works beautifully.

Other thoughts:

Edited - I used IFTTT (If This Then This) before Ring and Lutron added their cam integration as a trigger to turn on/off lights. IFTTT works, but there was always a bit of a delay to turn on lights if you use it. Plus if you're internet went down, it didn't work.

Before the Ring integration, I used a couple WeMo switches for my outdoor lighting as they had auto-off timers. But their setup and app was super clunky. Happy to be rid of them.

As software support is now kinda important for app driven switches, making sure you get a switch from a company that's going to be around a while is more important than it used to be. It would be bad if your OS on your phone, requires your apps to get an update and your smart switch maker is MIA.

Side note - For the two years I had WeMo switches, changes in Wifi forced me to individually reconnect all switches to it, and it was a horrible process to get them re-paired with WiFi. Lutron has never had this issue, being wired into the network.

One switch I purchased from Amazon warehouse (open box) had issues with setup and Lutron's support was fantastic. They sent a replacement switch so quickly and were really nice about it.

Bottom line - stick with Lutron, it works really well.

I use a few of these around the house, and I plan to expand the use of them. These work great for a smart home setup, and I use the Amazon Echo to control the lights. However, these are not perfect....they are just closer to perfect than any other option I have seen. So I will make a Pro's and Con's list, and then explain a bit of why I prefer them over other brands.

Pro's:
Easy install
Replaces existing switches
Works with Amazon Echo
Clean flat appearance (adjustable)
Optional remote (I do not use)
Works with nearly all light fixture styles
You only need a single IP address

Con's:
You need a dimmable light
Does not dim LED the same way it does other lights
Expensive
Requires use of Lutron App

Now, lets start with the install. This is simple, just shut off the power, remove the old switch, and connect this one to the existing ground, positive, and negative (and the pos & neg are not in any specific order!). They even include the screws and plastic wire caps, so it is twist on and screw it in. No tape (although you SHOULD use it!). So since you are replacing the existing light switch you do not need to do anything else, no wire runs and no electrical box install.

So now we move to working with Alexa, or the Amazon Echo device. I don't call mine Alexa, because my daughters name is Alexis. So everytime we talk to her the other her responds....whichever her we were talking to. I use Amazon. But it is nice, just say "amazon turn off the bedroom light" and get a quick "ok" and boom, darkness. It makes us lazy. Or rather, it stops the "It's your turn to get the light" arguments with my wife, and makes it easier to take care of the baby at 2 am without getting out of bed. But here is the catch, Amazon can only pull the information from the Lutron App. You CANNOT use ONLY Amazon Echo to set it up! You cannot even rename the device. So you are forced to use the Lutron app to set up all the home devices, and name them properly so they are usable with Amazon Echo. Once your entire setup is done you are free to uninstall the app. Although to be fair the Lutron app is pretty good in itself. But this leads to another concern here, if you use the device as part of a smart home you absolutely MUST purchase the Lutron hub....in this case I used Casetta, but since I do not use the PICO remotes I am unlikely to cross the 50 device limit. This is another $150 ish, but it is worth it.

Why would a $150 hub for controlling light switches be worth it? Well, if you are like me and are setting up a real smart home, you probably have a lot of other tech stuff in the house. A smart thermostat for example, or maybe even a server or two, a cloud device, and a firewall. For those of us tech geeks who have all of this, but do not want to pay for t-he expensive licenses, we use a free version of whatever we are using. In some cases for the firewalls you are limited on your number of devices. So, if I was going to connect 50 light switches in my house I would use up all of my devices....just to create a smart home. This is not worth it. However, Lutron made it easier, that little hub takes an IP address and that is it. All other switches connect to the hub, not using an IP address that would be counted as a device on the firewall. You have no idea how hard I looked for this particular feature! With all my kids tablets, the computers, phones, servers and cloud....not to mention the other smart home devices....I am already near my limit. This keeps me under it.

That covers almost all of the real issues. But the not so real issue that people forget about is that not all lights are made equal, ESPECIALLY with the older filament style bulbs being illegal to produce now. A dimmer on these bulbs worked every time, without any changes needed. But this is not the case anymore, the new light bulbs are required to be dimmable. If they are not you get little flashes in your light bulb while it is off....all....night.....long.Get a dimmable one and this problem goes away, however the LED lights do not dim well. You get off, 75%, 100%. Nothing lower then that....so dimming is not really possible here. However, I got the dimmer because it is cheaper than the regular switch, and who knows....I might find a good bulb that dims properly.