Lutron Radio RA - Anybody tried it??

Herdfan

Active Member
If you have read my "Disapointed in ViziaRF" thread, then you know that I don't think I can make it work for me. And if you have read any of my posts on Insteon, then you know I think the products are not up to snuff quality wise.

So where does that leave me? Well it may have led me to Lutron's Radio RA. I looked at Radio RA about a year ago and at the time it was really only sold through dealers and installers and it would have cost upwards of $40K to do my house.

It seems some things have changed. Lutron may have accepted the high-end DIY'er as it has tonsof install information on its site and I found several internet retailers of the products.

Based on some quick calculations, it won't cost anywhere near $40K. Granted its not cheap, but at least I can space it over time and buy equipment a room at a time.

There are still some issues I will have with some lights and I may have to mount some dimmers in the attic, but for the most part, I can use master controllers to control everything. And with expansion, I will be allowed 14 masters which should be more than enough.

One nice thing I did learn is that each button in a master controller can be either a "zone" or a "scene". So there is no compromise as to which one to put in a location.

Plus its Lutron. I don't know how you can go wrong with Lutron.

So, a couple of questions:

1) Has anyone used RadioRA and were you happy with it? Plusses/minuses.

2) Does the Homeseer Lutron Homeworks plug-in work with Radio RA?

And any other information that I might benefit from would be appreciated.

Thanks.
 
We have a number of customers who use it. It is solid and reliable, so you do get what you pay for. It doesn't provide feedback of dimmer levels to the connected automation system, if that is a concern. You only get on/off feedback.
 
I'm currently installing a Centralite Elegance system. These are dealer install only, but if you inquire, you can find one that will sell you the equipment.

They publish all the tools and documentation on their website.

I found the Lutron Homeworks to be too expensive for me. I believe the Centralite does the same job at a lower cost.

I purchased a 96 load system with about 155 switches for ~$13,500.

Here is a shot of one of the 48 slot dimmer cans.

centralite%20relay%20panel.jpg


Brian
 
a bunch of cqc'ers tried to get me to go radiora, they all love it and its stability.
 
Rupp said:
Why not UPB?
I know UPS is robust and stable, but I am just not a fan of any of the keypads available. I like the look of the large engraved buttons.

If someone made a UPB keypad that looked like the Lutron/Leviton one or even one of the Insteon ones, I would be there yesterday.
 
Herdfan, I am very familiar with Lutron Radio Ra since I sold against it for a couple of years. You should look at Centralite Systems StarLite system. Very similar to Ra but at a much better price point and lots of new features that Lutron does not offer. They sell the product through distributors and dealers so it should be no problem to find. Good Luck
 
Boarhead said:
You should look at Centralite Systems StarLite system.
I got a PM yesterday regarding this and looked at it. You are right it looks very nice, but there are a couple of things missing. (Actually they are missing for the wife as I don't care.) There are no Black switches or Controllers. We redid the kitchen last summer and all the switches, outlets etc. are black.

I am already half in the doghouse because switches won't operate (Insteon), so I sure don't want to try and explain that she can't keep her black switches. ;)

Otherwise it looks great. The documentation on the website is limited which is also a negative because I like to read all the installation manuals I can before I order something.

But thanks for the tip.
 
Herdfan said:
Otherwise it looks great. The documentation on the website is limited which is also a negative because I like to read all the installation manuals I can before I order something.
You can find the installation and programming manual here.

Brian
 
Back
Top