Jgoodm Posted June 21, 2022 Share Posted June 21, 2022 Hi All, I am looking for a smart dimmer to use in all of the locations that I would not otherwise use a Control4 dimmer. For example, I was going to put a dumb light switch in my kids closets (simple on/off). These switches are like $5.00. No real reason to have these integrated in my smart home (and spend $100 for a C4 dimmer/switch) at these locations but that being said, I am thinking I should just install a cheap smart dimmer anyway and if they work, great, if they don't work that well then I won't have lost too much money on them anyway. In looking they range anywhere from $10/$15 all the way up to $60. At $60 I won't bother but at $15 I might as well use them. What do you guys recommend as something that is simple and cheap and might be usable/reliable on C4 with a driver purchase? I was warned to be careful that if I use a straight wifi only dimmer (rather than one that goes through a hub) it may make sorting my wifi devices overly complicated. Not sure if this matters because I suppose I can set a vLAN just for these IOT devices, but if you think this matters, please let me know. (I am using UI Dream Machine and UI wifi if that matters). Thanks! J Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
msgreenf Posted June 21, 2022 Share Posted June 21, 2022 Kasa Andrew luecke 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Neo1738 Posted June 22, 2022 Share Posted June 22, 2022 +1 for Kasa and they can be integrated. Same exact use closests that aren't master and utility rooms. Andrew luecke 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
therockhr Posted June 22, 2022 Share Posted June 22, 2022 How much are the control4 essentials? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jgoodm Posted June 22, 2022 Author Share Posted June 22, 2022 Do the Kasa switches have a free driver or is it a third party paid driver? Thanks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andrew luecke Posted June 22, 2022 Share Posted June 22, 2022 4 hours ago, Jgoodm said: Do the Kasa switches have a free driver or is it a third party paid driver? Thanks. We have a driver on: https://chowmain.software/drivers/control4-tplink which is actively being maintained (and also supports the new colorwheel capabilities of OS 3.3 too). Any questions, feel free to ask (as I actually did the rewrite) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Neo1738 Posted June 22, 2022 Share Posted June 22, 2022 +1 on the Chowmain Kasa driver, also works for kasa outlets, outdoor outlets, wifi strips etc. Super helpful! Andrew luecke 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
indecision Posted June 23, 2022 Share Posted June 23, 2022 I also love the the Kasa switches and Chowmain driver. About 30 devices installed and always finding reasons to add another. Andrew luecke 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jgoodm Posted June 23, 2022 Author Share Posted June 23, 2022 Looks like the Kasa’s are not native for HomeKit, is that right? The most recent Kasa versions are also closer to $25 each. Now I’m wondering if just getting something native to HomeKit that has a free supported driver for C4 makes sense for a little more money? Any recommendations for another dimmer that fits the above? (Caseta’s seem too expensive after the hubs required…) Thanks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
msgreenf Posted June 23, 2022 Share Posted June 23, 2022 You keep adding more requirements and complain that the price goes up….I mean you are asking for a niche premium product now… Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andrew luecke Posted June 23, 2022 Share Posted June 23, 2022 9 hours ago, Jgoodm said: Looks like the Kasa’s are not native for HomeKit, is that right? The most recent Kasa versions are also closer to $25 each. Now I’m wondering if just getting something native to HomeKit that has a free supported driver for C4 makes sense for a little more money? Any recommendations for another dimmer that fits the above? (Caseta’s seem too expensive after the hubs required…) Thanks You'd need to decide if you want to spend more money, or not have Homekit. Keep in mind, Homekit is Apple proprietary, so won't work for anyone who has android or other platforms (Google Assistant and Alexa from my understanding tends to have better hardware support too), and if you do ultimately want to integrate with C4, you may still require a paid driver anyway. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jgoodm Posted June 23, 2022 Author Share Posted June 23, 2022 2 hours ago, msgreenf said: You keep adding more requirements and complain that the price goes up….I mean you are asking for a niche premium product now… Where did I complain? I’m asking for a recommendation. I don’t know the products out there and my google searching isn’t getting me far. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jgoodm Posted June 23, 2022 Author Share Posted June 23, 2022 1 hour ago, Andrew luecke said: You'd need to decide if you want to spend more money, or not have Homekit. Keep in mind, Homekit is Apple proprietary, so won't work for anyone who has android or other platforms (Google Assistant and Alexa from my understanding tends to have better hardware support too), and if you do ultimately want to integrate with C4, you may still require a paid driver anyway. Yeah. I get it. Just looking for the cheapest way to accomplish the goal. I really don’t know who fits the need here, who has authorized drivers, etc. Was hoping for some recommendations since I don’t know what to even look for. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
therockhr Posted June 23, 2022 Share Posted June 23, 2022 if you are looking for the cheapest way to integrate into C4 it is going to be Kasa. Dont really know if anything else comes close. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jgoodm Posted June 23, 2022 Author Share Posted June 23, 2022 1 minute ago, therockhr said: if you are looking for the cheapest way to integrate into C4 it is going to be Kasa. Dont really know if anything else comes close. Thanks. And have to buy a private driver or is there a supported one to download? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
therockhr Posted June 23, 2022 Share Posted June 23, 2022 37 minutes ago, Jgoodm said: Thanks. And have to buy a private driver or is there a supported one to download? you have to pay for a driver but it is very well supported (you can talk to the dev directly on here if you want). even with a paid driver it will still be cheaper. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cyknight Posted June 23, 2022 Share Posted June 23, 2022 3 hours ago, therockhr said: you have to pay for a driver but it is very well supported (you can talk to the dev directly on here if you want). even with a paid driver it will still be cheaper. Somewhat depends. If all you're doing is a 4-5 devices ... I would just do essential switches. Consider if the limited savings would be worth having yet another puzzle piece in place. Not saying not to use Kasa - but if most of your house is already native C4, I'm not sure if adding a 3rd party lighting system makes sense (that doesn't add specific capabilities you're looking for) for a handful of 'left overs' An add-on of say $250 including driver vs $500 on a $50000 existing system- does it really make sense to cut a corner there? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
therockhr Posted June 23, 2022 Share Posted June 23, 2022 5 minutes ago, Cyknight said: Somewhat depends. If all you're doing is a 4-5 devices ... I would just do essential switches. Consider if the limited savings would be worth having yet another puzzle piece in place. Not saying not to use Kasa - but if most of your house is already native C4, I'm not sure if adding a 3rd party lighting system makes sense (that doesn't add specific capabilities you're looking for) for a handful of 'left overs' An add-on of say $250 including driver vs $500 on a $50000 existing system- does it really make sense to cut a corner there? how much are the essentials? i agree with you but they seemed to want this to be done as cheap as possible Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mstafford388 Posted June 23, 2022 Share Posted June 23, 2022 Essential dimmers are $102 MSRP. therockhr 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cyknight Posted June 23, 2022 Share Posted June 23, 2022 5 minutes ago, therockhr said: how much are the essentials? Not sure exactly - I'm not in sales, nor am I in the US - , but I'd expect the USD retail price to be around 100, 110 or so. therockhr 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jgoodm Posted June 23, 2022 Author Share Posted June 23, 2022 On 6/22/2022 at 2:39 AM, Andrew luecke said: We have a driver on: https://chowmain.software/drivers/control4-tplink which is actively being maintained (and also supports the new colorwheel capabilities of OS 3.3 too). Any questions, feel free to ask (as I actually did the rewrite) Thanks. I went ahead and ordered the Kasa's and told my installer to buy your driver. Am I right in assuming that once installed and working in C4 with your driver, if I have homebridge set up, these devices will also show up in HomeKit? Thanks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jgoodm Posted June 23, 2022 Author Share Posted June 23, 2022 Since these are just additions to places that were going to be dumb switches anyway, I bought the Kasa switches for $16/each and will but the driver for C4. It wasn't worth spending more. If it works well, great, if it doesn't it was a worthwhile gamble. Thanks for the advice. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Neo1738 Posted June 24, 2022 Share Posted June 24, 2022 6 hours ago, Jgoodm said: Since these are just additions to places that were going to be dumb switches anyway, I bought the Kasa switches for $16/each and will but the driver for C4. It wasn't worth spending more. If it works well, great, if it doesn't it was a worthwhile gamble. Thanks for the advice. It will work great. Only thing is static ip the kasa outlets. Otherwise they can jump around and C4 won't know where to find them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andrew luecke Posted June 24, 2022 Share Posted June 24, 2022 3 minutes ago, Neo1738 said: It will work great. Only thing is static ip the kasa outlets. Otherwise they can jump around and C4 won't know where to find them. If you're using TPLink Agent, it will repair the connection within 1min.. But agreed.. Better to not need to rely on it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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