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Friday, March 1, 2019

Control the ceiling fan with your voice using Lutron's new smart controller

Works with Alexa, Google Assistant, and Siri.

At CES 2019, Lutron announced a new member of the Caseta smart home lineup, a smart fan control switch. Well, that controller is now available at Home Depot for $59.95. You can pre-order it on Amazon at that price by itself or in a bundle that includes the Pico remote for $10 off, but neither page has a release date yet.

On the plus side, it looks like the prices have come down. Lutron originally said the two devices would retail at $80 and $42 instead of the current prices of $60 and $30. It remains to be seen if this is more like an early adopter discount or the permanent starting price.

The Lutron Caseta lineup already includes a dozen of different smart lighting products. If you've never used them before, begin with this starter kit that includes two dimmer switches, two Pico remote controls, and the smart bridge. That bridge will become the hub for all of your Lutron smart devices.

The bridge, which can be purchased for $79.95 by itself on Amazon, will also be required if you want to add Amazon Alexa, Google Assistant, or Apple HomeKit voice control to the setup. When you're sitting on your couch feeling a little warm, it's a lot nicer to say "Alexa, turn on the ceiling fan" instead of being forced to get up and walk across the room. Use it to communicate with up to 50 Lutron devices at once along with other brands like Samsung's SmartThings or Sonos.

If you don't want to get the bridge or don't use smartphones or tablets to control your smart home devices, just pair the controller with the Pico remote mentioned above that is designed for it. You'll be able to control the fan and the switch from anywhere using that.

The controller requires a neutral wire, but it only takes about 15 minutes to fully install. You will simply be replacing the current on/off switch that controls your fan with this one. It has a simple-to-use installation guide.

Depending on where you buy it, you will want to add some wall plates to your order, too, since it doesn't come with any. Home Depot has a simple one for just $3.96, and you can choose from an assortment of colors around that price on Amazon.

See at Home Depot



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