Lutron Caseta Good Lighting Equipment w/ Lamp Dimmer and Pico Distant, for two Flooring and Desk Lamps, Works w/ Alexa, Apple Homekit, Google Residence (Hub Required), 100W Single-Pole/3-Manner, P-PKG1P-WH

The pros and cons
This isn’t the best choice of an outlet mounted dimmable on/off power switch. It is the only choice. Sure there are a few no name brand switches that can be operated with a handheld remote control and there are an increasing number of outlet switches can be operated using an app or even with your Alexa device, but there is nothing I could find anywhere that is a brand name dimmable switch that you can simply plug something in to, walk up to it and turn it on and off and dim it up and down just as if it was a wired wall switch. Nothing. That alone makes it worth its weight in gold. And to cut right to the chase it works and it does exactly what I expected it to do.WHYTo detail that, in my case the need was for me to install a track light above the kitchen counter space I use most often for food prep. When they built the house they put lights over the sink and over the stove and over the center of the kitchen floor but they left one long countertop entirely without its own lighting. Installing the track light was easy as shown in my pic, it is in exactly the right place and I use Philips Bight White LED 50 watt bulbs in three track light fixtures with frosted side flutes. The lighting is perfect but when I’m not actually working at the counter it sure would be nice to be able to dim the down a little.The problem is that unless I wanted to pay a lot to have an electrician wire a permanent wall switch in, the best way to power these lights is to simply plug them in to an outlet right above the counter. There are some simple power switches that you can get at the local fixit store that can turn a light on and off but I wanted to do that plus be able to dim them. The Caseta switch could not be more perfectly designed. Without the need for remote controls or apps or anything complicated any family member can simply tap the on or off buttons or touch the up or down dimmer buttons. There is a second outlet available on the switch that I am considering to use to plug in a task light over the stove for added convenience.This switch would be perfect just the way it is and no matter where I looked it was the same price everywhere. I chose to opt for this kit that includes a wireless remote control because of a special deal one day and I’m glad I did. Now if someone leaves the kitchen task light on accidentally I can turn it off from the next room without having to get up. That to me is convenient, if not entirely necessary.IS A HUB NECESSARYThere is one important thing that needs to be cleared up about the product description and that is that no, it is not necessary to buy an expensive hub to use these switch as I described above. It works perfectly out of the box as a stand alone product or with the remote control without any additional accessories. You need a hub ONLY if you want to control the switch with an app or by using Alexa or a similar device. Okay, I use those personal assistants every day for a lot of reasons but I think it overcomplicates the function of a simple outlet switch to have to use an app just to turn something on and off. I think the whole idea of requiring a hub for any of these devices will be obsolete in a year or two for three reasons – they are overpriced, there is no compatible standard between them, and they require plugging them in to an Ethernet port on a router, which as the world goes wireless is becoming a dinosaur relic. My house doesn’t even have an accessible Ethernet port these days and it won’t be long before most houses don’t.WHAT I LOVE ABOUT THE WALL DIMMERThe wall dimmer is close to perfect in design. You simply plug it into an outlet, plug your light into it and you’re done – no apps or programming or learning complicated commands. There are four push buttons that you can actually feel move. Two of them are white and two of them are dark gray. The top white button turns the light on and the bottom dark gray button turns it off. When power the light instead of it just popping on or off the brightness fades softly up or down. The middle two buttons are actually a split diagonal with the upper white part increasing the brightness and the bottom dark gray part dimming the light.WHAT THEY COULD IMPROVE ABOUT THE WALL DIMMERThe first thing that seems obvious that I would recommend is that the white on button should glow softly so it is easy to find in the dark. The second thing is that there should be memory function so you can have the light turn on to a preset level if you choose. And the third thing is that the design makes you use your bottom outlet on your wall plug, which means when you press any button the whole device rocks up and down a little. Yes you could plug it in to the top outlet but if you do then you lose the use of the bottom outlet on your wall plug. By plugging it in to the bottom outlet if you have something else plugged in above it the cord drapes down right in front of the push buttons on the Caseta. I solved that by plugging in a Hug-A-Plug adapter which routes the cord off to the side and also gives me back an extra unswitched outlet.WHAT I LOVE ABOUT THE REMOTE CONTROLRemember I didn’t really need a remote control, but as long as it was included I like that the buttons replicate the function of the wall plug almost exactly but as a bonus they include a fifth little round button that memorizes your favorite light brightness and lets you turn the power on to that exact level.WHAT THEY COULD IMPROVE ABOUT THE REMOTE CONTROLIf you own an Apple TV you know how customers feel about the slim remote control, fifty percent of the time you will grab it upside-down and either nothing will happen or you push the wrong button. Lutron makes the same mistake here, unless you look very closely at the remote you have a one in two chance that you will be holding it upside-down. The other mistake, which should be so obvious, is that they make the remote all one shade of white instead of following the excellent theme of using white buttons for on and dark gray buttons for dim or off. What were they thinking.

Works well to deem decorative LED bulbs. Pricy!

I love it. I plug it in and use it. Kind of expensive but all great things are.

We bought an old farmhouse with no lights or switches in the upstairs bedrooms. Our electrician would have charged us a fortune to wire it so he suggested this item. It is so easy, just plug the little box in, plug one or two lamps to the outlets on the box. Follow simple instructions to link the box to the remote. Use the remote as is, or stick it to the wall with the self-adhesive strip attached and add a normal faceplate. Looks just like a regular wall switch now. It dims it on and off, but you can save your favourite brightness. Best part is you don’t need wi fi. So impressed I just ordered the motion sensor switch for our laundry room.