Questions and Answers for Lutron Caseta Smart Dimmer Switch for Wall & Ceiling Lights, 150W LED, Light Almond (PD-6WCL-LA)

A:  You need an outlet device.

A:  You cannot use this light switch to control your living room outlet, you do need a 15 amp switch. If you are trying to use a remote control light switch to control decoration lamp or stand lamps, I recommend: Lutron PD-3PCL-WH

A:  The PD-6WCL could control an outlet, however Lutron does not recommend doing so as the dimmer is rated to handle a small amount of amperage. If anything other than a lighting load were to be plugged into the outlet, it could damage the dimmer. Instead, Lutron recommends the PD-3PCL and Pico remote.

A:  Caseta makes lamp modules that should be used for this. It is never a good idea to install a dimmer on the actual outlet.

A:  If your outlet is controlled by a wall switch, then Yes. But if your light is just plugged into a wall outlet and switched on at the lamp fixture, then No. For the latter, you could buy the remote controlled wall plug switch that Lutron offers for that type of set up. The small unit just plugs into the outlet, then you plug your lamp into the Lutron unit and leave your light fixture switch in the on position. The remote control unit (or your cell phone if using a wireless hub set up) will then act as the on/off switch.

A:  I have found that they don't. They also don't work with the Philips WIZ lights. At least I couldn't get them to work.

A:  The Caseta Wireless devices would not directly pair with a Philips Hue bridge. Instead, Lutron recommends the Caseta Smart Bridge and then downloading the Caseta app on an iOS or Android smartphone. You can see all the third party companies Caseta will integrate with here: https://www.casetawireless.com/works-with.

A:  I doubt it, not without risks. 2 way wiring uses the common and gourd in one but this would have to be looked at in the fuse or breaker box to see how it was wired there.

A:  Yes. My apartment doesn't have any ground wire and it works perfect.

A:  The PD-6WCL Caseta dimmer that comes in this kit does not require a ground connection in order to function properly.

A:  First off I would say you should check on your local codes as that would be the ultimate authority on such matters. Personally I have a mid century modern home which has ground wires in some but not all the boxes. Lurton says that if you are using the snap on face plates that come with the switch, it should be fine and that has been my experience over the couple years I have had them in my home. I did have a specific GFI installed in the main panel for the switch that runs the pool lighting but the other switches through the house either had the ground wire or the green wire was simply capped off and the installed with just two and I have had absolutely no problems and the they have worked flawlessly for the last two years with my google Wifi net and my wink home automation be safe and enjoy.

A:  J2N, the short answer is yes depending on the model purchased. I have attached a screenshot of the technical specs page from the Caseta web page that lists which models work with only 2-wires.

A:  Ground wire is not needed with this switch. I own several and also have old house wiring in parts of house with 2 wires only. These switched have improved a lot over the last several years.

A:  No, there's no battery. It actually doesn't connect to your home wifi. It connects to a mesh network that is created by the Lutron hub which connects directly to your home router. The only Lutron Caseta ddevice that has a battery is their selection of Pico Remotes.

A:  The Caseta Wireless dimmer powers itself through the lighting circuit. There is no internal battery to keep the device powered when the lights are off. This device does not use WiFi to communicate with the system. Instead, the Caseta Wireless Smart Bridge and Pico remote will send radio frequency commands to each of the dimmers to tell them what to do.

A:  No there is not a battery.

A:  There is no battery inside the switch shown/mentioned. There is a small battery inside the Pico remote control (it is not wired). I have read the battery will last 9 years. Easy to change.

A:  No the switch does not require a battery, only the remote.

A:  The Caseta Smart Bridge is a small piece of hardware that should be connected to your router and will be needed if you plan to operate any Caseta dimmers/switches from your smart phone, or if you would like to setup schedules and a variety of scenes.

A:  The bridge or sometimes called hubs are the connection from the switch to the internet through your home wifi system. You plug the bridge into your router then all of your switches wirelessly connect to the bridge via wifi. You can connect all of your Caseta switches to the single bridge.

A:  I used the Samsung SmartThings Hub to automate the lights and other Samsung and non-Samsung devices. https://www.homedepot.com/p/Samsung-SmartThings-Hub-3rd-Generation-Smart-Home-Automation-Hub-GP-U999SJVLGDA/306736928

A:  The switches cannot talk directly to your phone - they only talk to the Caseta Smart Bridge. Your phone (running the Lutron app, HomeKit, etc) talks to the bridge, and the bridge then delivers the message to the switch. 1 bridge can talk to up to 75 Caseta devices.

A:  The bridge is necessary if you want to control your switches wirelessly from your smart phone, Alexa, or other home device, or to place them on a timer.

A:  The bridge is a device that plugs into your home router. It provides a way, or better yet, a "bridge” for devices to be accessed through your home network. This is an approach used by many Smarthome products to provide a better and more secure environment to control their devices. The bridge helps minimize network traffic on your home network. For example, each Caseta switch you add to your home is actually being added to the bridge. The bridge, by being plugged into your router, makes those switches available to the rest of your network and accessible to things like Apple Homekit, Google Home, and Amazon Alexa.

A:  Just search for “Casita Lutron Bridge” here on HomeDepot.com and read up on the controller you need for the switches.

A:  Not sure what you application is but in order to have Amazon Alexa control the Caseta dimmers there needs to be a bridge....Lutron bridge will only control lutron products....Smart things is popular...I use wink for its wide compatibility.

A:  Yes, the PD-6WCL-IV is compatible with the Wink 2 hub.

A:  Yes Deb, the bridge is the key component. Once the hub is set up, which is super simple, it does its job with no further interaction with the user.

A:  Yes. The Lutron Caseta switches can be controlled by Alexa, google, Siri, etc. However, they have to have the Lutron bridge first.

A:  To integrate your Caseta Wireless system with Amazon products, the Caseta Wireless Smart Bridge is required (model: L-BDG2-WH). For more information, please visit www.casetawireless.com/alexa.

A:  The P-PKG1WB-WH includes the PD-6WCL dimmer. It is rated to control 150W of compatible CFL/LED or 600W of incandescent/halogen loads. This dimmer will not control two separate lighting circuits independent of one another. In order to accomplish this, Lutron would recommend installing a second device next to the PD-6WCL that controls the other lighting circuit.

A:  It replaces a single regular (single pole) light switch. Any lights that are controlled by that switch are then controlled by the smart lighting dimmer. if you have multiple lights on that circuit, they all get the same dimmer setting, etc.

A:  Yes, as long as the lights are wired in a way to be controlled by a single switch. To be clear, when the switch is set to on, all lights that it controls will be set to on and at the same level of "dimness."

A:  Think of it like any other switch. So if the switch it's replacing turned on or off multiple lights then this will as well. The base station for the wireless setup does control many switches from your app. But the individual switches just do one circuit. Now, it can be used in place of a two way switch with the remote. So two switches controlling one set of lights, yes.

A:  When you install this, it replaces a single switch and will control whatever light(s) that the old switch controlled. If you were to have 2 or more of these controlling different circuits AND you also got the pico remote, the remote can be programmed to control any or all of the circuits that the wired dimmers are controlling. I did this in the master bath where there were separate switches for the his and hers over sink lighting. I replaced both switches with the caséta dimmer and added a pico remote that controls them both at the same time.

A:  Yes. That is exactly how I have mine setup. I have the dimmer switch for the light on the fan. And, I have the Caseta Wireless on/off switch controlling the actual fan itself.

A:  Yes. If you have multiple switches where one controls lights and another the fan this would just replace the one for lights. So you will need a special face plate.

A:  Yes, the PD-6WCL can be used to control just the lights in your ceiling fan. If you intend to use LED bulbs, Lutron recommends using either of our LED Compatibility websites (www.lutron.com/ledtool or www.lutron.com/ledfinder) to choose tested and approved bulbs.

A:  From my experience with Lutron controls installed throughout my home, including several Caseta switches; I would presume the answer is yes based on the understanding (interpretation) that your current configuration has the light circuit and fan circuits terminated on separate switches, However, if the light and fan circuits are separate but terminated on a single-gang dual switch, then you would need to add a separate gang and another switch for the fan. FYI - I have been wanting to upgrade an old, outdated dual fan / light control switch with vertical sliders to a cleaner, more contemporary switch to match my other Lutron devices - and was able to do so after Lutron released the new(er) Maestro "Fan Control and C-L dimmer" (model # MACL-LFQ) - which works great, but does not provide RF / wireless control via the Caseta app.

A:  Yes, but it is not an immediate “on” it is a dimmable switch so it may not work with non-dimmable or cfl bulbs.

A:  This switch (PD-6WCL) is a dimmer switch. Dimmers are not best for fans, which are designed to run at full electrical load. The Caseta Wireless PD-5ANS is a better choice because it does not dim, but can be incorporated with the Caseta system. Some newer fans remember their settings when they are turned off at the switch. So if a newer fan was set to speed 2 and the light was also on when the wall switch is turned off, that fan would turn on to speed 2 with a light, when the wall switch is turned back on. Any switch, including both mentioned Casetas would allow this, but the dimmer allows users to set the switch to powers - say 50% or 20% - which is bad for fans.

A:  The PD-6WCL-BL is only rated to control lighting loads (up to 150W of dimmable LED/CFL or 600W of incandescent/halogen). This device is not rated to control any type of fan load. Currently, Lutron does not offer a fan/light control in the Caseta Wireless system. You could use the PD-6ANS to switch the fan/light on and off together. Then you would need to use the fan's pull chains to adjust speeds or control the light/fan individually.

A:  Not on one switch. This will run the lights if you put in a dimmer bulbs. I would not recommend this for a ceiling fan.

A:  Lutron has a special Caseta switch for fans. The fan MUST have a ground wire or they will not work, I tried.