Lighting That Works
One of the biggest subsystems in any home automation system is lighting. In our new house I chose to approach this differently than I had in the past. I broke the system down into two parts.
Main Lighting - which is our fully functional daily lighting
Accent Lighting - which is anything that is multi-color or mostly aesthetic.
Main lighting is handled by Lutron Caseta smart switches and Accent lighting is handled by Philips Hue and Insteon.
Lighting Rule #1: The main lights must ALWAYS work.
This is my main rule. As long as there is power, the lights must work. We want our lights to work independently of any smart automation system, apps, or internet. A user must always be able to walk up to a light switch and if the power is on, that switch must work immediately. No processing should be done on light switch presses.
In choosing the Lutron Caseta smart switches the lights connected to the switch will always work even if the internet or the automation controller is down.
Furthermore, battery operated accessory switches are connected via RF, so you can place a battery powered switch in the room and it will also control the lights, even if the internet is down.
Accent lights while important, are not subject to this rule. So, aesthetic lighting out in the backyard, multicolor under cabinet lighting, or the curio lights have some leeway if they aren’t working properly. You aren’t fumbling around the house in the dark if one of these lights doesn’t work.
Lighting Rule #2: Everyone should know how to use your lights
Everyone knows how to use a light switch. This is a user interface that needs little to no explanation. For the best guest comfort level and to not have to explain light switches to guests, this rule means that the Main lighting functions should be familiar. Again, the Lutron Caseta Smart switches are pretty intuitive. They act like a standard switch and have a slider to dim the lights. This helps everyone understand how to use our lights.
Using these two rules has enabled us to create an easy to use lighting system within the house. Touch panels, tablets, phones, and smart buttons expand upon the smart light system, but the basis of our smart lighting is rooted in the simple user interface of the standard light switch and the idea that lights always work.