CES 2021: Lutron Debuts New Outdoor Smart Plug for Caséta Lighting System

This is a no-brainer for HomeKit enthusiasts. The Caséta devices just work, first time, every time. Hue devices often fail to respond, iHome devices go out to lunch and need a reboot every few months (and iHome's leaving the market), but Caséta just plain works. I have never had to troubleshoot a Caséta device.

Seems like the holiday season would have been the time to launch this, but hey.

Seems like the holiday season would have been the time to launch this, but hey.

Yep, just in time for my Christmas lights...

This is a no-brainer for HomeKit enthusiasts. The Caséta devices just work, first time, every time. Hue devices often fail to respond, iHome devices go out to lunch and need a reboot every few months (and iHome's leaving the market), but Caséta just plain works. I have never had to troubleshoot a Caséta device.

Agree. In general it’s better to install a hub-and-spoke system where devices are controlled from a proprietary transmitter (Lutron Connect Bridges use their “Clear Connect Wireless” protocol). The other paradigm ([S]Hue[/S], Leviton, etc.) has each device being its own WiFi device, and that’s a recipe for headaches. We have a Lutron RA2 Select smart home with about 40 devices, mostly switches but also sensors and a couple of shades. Not only has it all been rock solid since day 1, but updates and program changes are a breeze and HomeKit integration is completely transparent.

Edit: it was correctly pointed out that Hue is not WiFi based.

Figures they release one now that I just had an electrician put in 2 iDevices in wall outlets into outdoor power receptacles outside my house. Of course I was really hoping Lutron would make one of those

The other paradigm (Hue, Leviton, etc.) has each device being its own WiFi device,

I don't know what Leviton does, but this is absolutely not true for Hue. Hue uses Zigbee (Zigbee Light Link initially, Zigbee 3.0 compatible now), and the Hue Bridge has only an Ethernet connection, so there is no Wi-Fi necessarily involved at all (and in a Light Link network, the bulbs and accessories will mostly keep functioning on their own without a Bridge, which isn't really a "hub" in that sense). Zigbee is designed to be a mesh network, so mains-powered devices acts as "repeaters" (routers in Zigbee terms) for all devices to find a path they need to other devices on the network, often the Bridge to a bulb or accessory. The latest generation also supports Bluetooth, but that's really for people who just want to use the app to control a few bulbs; you'll need the Bridge (and Zigbee) for the full feature set, which is what I'm talking about here--though it should be noted that this other option is still BT and not Wi-Fi.

This is actually one advantage Hue has over Lutron's ClearConnect protocol, which is not mesh: arbitrarily large range. Lutron lets you add up to two "extenders," but that is a fairly new feature. For more range, you'll need a "full" RA2 system where you can add more RA2 Main Repeaters or Auxiliary Repeaters. That being said, ClearConnect does have lots of advantages: not being mesh means you never have to worry about some routing oddities that occasionally plague Zigbee (but usually not with simple networks like Hue/ZLL); they use a low-frequency less-crowded bandwidth; and their products have a well-deserved solid reputation (though I'd say Hue does too).

What you mentioned, however, is one reason I wouldn't fill my house with devices like LIFX or Shelly--or even lots of HomeKit-compatible plugs I see here from time to time. Nothing against Wi-Fi itself (I do have several Wi-Fi "smart" devices), just probably not the best protocol for large numbers of these things.