Lutron Caseta Shades Review: A Basic Option with Smarts Not Guaranteed

If you’ve started to research options for astute model coverings, the Lutron Caseta Shades are 1 of the latest choices available. They’re a spot bare bones successful their looks and necessitate further components to marque them smart, but they bash rise and little efficiently.

Price and Availability

The Lutron Caseta Shades commencement astatine $399 for the roller shadiness oregon honeycomb styles and up to 48 inches by 80 inches. Adding blackout airy filtering oregon larger sizes volition summation the cost.

There is nary astute hub included with the blinds. To alteration smartphone control, the $80 Lutron Smart Hub is required.

Speed and Reduced Noise Reign Supreme

I’ve tested SmartWings blinds and BlindsMagic blinds. Both of those products execute rather good and are casual capable for astir radical to instal themselves. Comparatively, the Lutron Caseta Shades connection 2 noticeable differences: velocity and volume.

The Caseta Shades are faster. It took 24.85 seconds for them to unfastened 66 inches, portion it took the SmartWings 45.62 seconds to unfastened 53 inches. Waiting respective other seconds isn’t a large woody unto itself, but the faster velocity is noticeable and nice.

The Caseta Shades are besides a small spot quieter successful their centrifugal operation. This is harder to quantify since the sound level is minimal overall. Most of the time, the dependable shouldn’t beryllium a factor. But the quality successful measurement is meaningful erstwhile the blinds are opening oregon closing portion radical are sleeping. They volition marque a quality successful a bedroom.

Installation Can Be Done Without Much Fuss

The installation varies slightly, depending connected however you’re mounting the blinds. I mounted excavation wrong the model and recovered it casual capable that astir radical should beryllium comfy with the process.

The astir disappointing happening astir the installation is the deficiency of directions. My blinds arrived with lone a tiny QR codification to scan to get started. I would person liked to spot a small much guided absorption for first-time buyers, adjacent if radical yet request to usage the integer instructions connected the web.

I did person 1 contented erstwhile installing the blinds. Two of the 3 blinds I tested went up without a problem, but I did person 1 that the integrative clip broke and took down the blinds. A caller portion didn’t person the aforesaid occupation truthful it seems to beryllium a fluke. Still, the integrative pieces bash springiness maine a small intermission if you're perpetually needing to unhook them to enactment caller batteries inside.

The Smart Hub Is a Must (But Not Included)

Despite being a small slower and noisier, some SmartWings and BlindsMagic person enactment for Matter built in. I didn’t request immoderate other pieces to get them onto my web and link with my astute home.

The institution says these "smart" shades commencement astatine $399, but without an included hub, that's simply not true. The Caseta Shades necessitate an other $80 hub to link wirelessly. Heck, adjacent the basal distant power costs $27 extra. Even if you don't privation these to beryllium smart, you can't run them without paying for the basal remote. The institution didn’t nonstop a astute hub for testing, truthful I person nary thought however this portion of the merchandise works—a immense missed accidental (this is simply a exertion tract aft all).

Beyond not being capable to trial the power done the Lutron app, I’m not capable to spot things similar artillery life. Two of my shades instrumentality 4 D batteries and the 3rd 1 takes 5 D batteries. The existent beingness span volition beryllium connected however often the shades are utilized truthful it’s adjacent hard to estimation however agelong earlier they halt working, and erstwhile the pricey batteries volition request to beryllium replaced.

Both the SmartWings and BlindsMagic usage rechargeable batteries. Each of those blinds person lasted astir 5 months portion going up and down 2 oregon 3 times a day. But adjacent erstwhile 1 did dice connected me, I plugged it successful for a fewer hours and it was acceptable to spell again. I didn’t request to region it and refill it with batteries.

Should You Buy Lutron Caseta Shades?

As a made-to-order motorized model covering solution, the Lutron Caseta Shades are a respectable option. The roller shades benignant looks a small excessively unfinished for my tastes, but that sentiment whitethorn alteration with antithetic location decors.

In presumption of function, however, I was pleasantly amazed by the effortless question and the debased measurement of sound from the motor. I’m not brainsick astir the other hub needed and the constricted functionality without it oregon the fig of D batteries used. If you tin get implicit each those things past these blinds are inactive worthy considering.