Re:The unbearable fussiness of the smart home
by quickthrowman on Wednesday November 24, 2021 @10:17AM
(#29330753)
> One complaint that I have about the Lutron system is that they don't offer relay-based modules.
Yes they do, here is the cutsheet: https://www.lutron.com/TechnicalDocumentLibrary/369-549b_Eng...
This one can switch 5A using a Pico input device.
Just to be clear, every commercial lighting controls line has relay modules, it’s necessary for occupancy sensing.
Re:The unbearable fussiness of the smart home
by gwbas1c on Wednesday November 24, 2021 @10:50AM
(#29331168)
I came across that a few years ago. I'm not sure why I didn't use it. I suspect it's because I wasn't sure if it'd work with the hub, or if it was pico-only.
At least as far as controlling the outlet for holiday lighting: It is a 15-amp circuit, and I could easily anticipate plugging in a power-hungry tool at some time.
Re:The unbearable fussiness of the smart home
by quickthrowman on Wednesday November 24, 2021 @10:53AM
(#29331199)
In that case, there’s also a 16A version! (16A is 80% of 20A) It’s only rated for up to 1/2 HP motors. If your 120v power tool is over ~10A, you’d want to have the power pack trigger a motor-rated line-voltage contactor, and that contactor would turn the power on and off.
https://www.lutron.com/ExternalTechnicalDocumentLibrary/AL-1...
Re:The unbearable fussiness of the smart home
by criddell on Wednesday November 24, 2021 @04:34PM
(#29335445)
Do you know if they have a simple smart outlet? I want to use one with my Christmas tree lights because getting to the switch is difficult. I looked on Amazon and didn't see anything so I ended up ordering a cheap Refoss device that I have very low expectations for.
Re:The unbearable fussiness of the smart home
by paisawalla on Wednesday November 24, 2021 @06:43PM
(#29336582)
Yes, Lutron has indoor and outdoor variants: https://www.casetawireless.com/products/smart-plugs
Re:The unbearable fussiness of the smart home
by criddell on Thursday November 25, 2021 @07:03AM
(#29340610)
The indoor version is a lamp dimmer. I just want a simple on/off outlet. The outdoor version is functionally close to what I want, but it’s big and ugly - something I don’t want inside.
This seems like a hole in their lineup.
Re:The unbearable fussiness of the smart home
by paisawalla on Friday December 03, 2021 @04:58PM
(#29436139)
A dimmer is a superset, in functionality, of a binary switch. Using the Lutron app or something like Home Assistant, you can treat the device like a simple on/off and drive the device to only values of 0% or 100%.
I previously used a different brand to control my aquarium lights and HATED it. When the app randomly made me enter my password to turn the lights on, I 1-starred it with a very frank, "my old-fashioned light switch doesn't randomly ask me to enter my password" in the review.
One complaint that I have about the Lutron system is that they don't offer relay-based modules. (The old X10 system did.) Aquarium lights run very poorly off of the Lutron modules, so I wired up some 120V relays for my aquariums. I also use a Lutron module to control an outdoor outlet for holiday lights, and had to do the same thing; wire in a high amperage 120V relay into the switch.