Updates: after 21 months the Serena shades are showing a low battery. Motion sensor: It looks like the sensor had a 1 minute timeout option, yeah!

Motions sensors are more difficult to setup than they initially seem. For instance when you set a time off amount that is short what happens is that your wife is taking a shower and the lights cut out midway. I don’t put sensors in small rooms I replace the switch with a Lutron wired dimmer or switch with built in PIR sensors. These are 19.99 or 34.99 depending on if you need on/off or dimming fuctionality respectively. I’ve put these in every bathroom, laundry room, Garage and they work great and when you think about it the location that works betst in Bretts situation is right by the wall plate so may as well keep it clean and replace the switch itself. The Aura is clever. Locks a toggle on and gives us that old school rotary feel. Lutron was smart here. I’ll likely buy a couple.

Brett, there is a way to set the occupancy’s sensor to 1 minute. I just did it. Hold the timeout sensor button until all three lights start flashing green. Then hold the timeout again until all three lights are solid green. Done. The sensor will cut off the lights if the room is vacant for 60 seconds. I just set up 3 different sensors this way. I did it with the lamp dimmers, instead of the wall switch. Big up to “The Smart Home Solver” channel for showing me the way!

@TechWithBrett

4 жыл бұрын

Of course he found that, Reed is sooo smart. Thank you for letting me know. That helped out a ton, really wished it let me dim light lights at night when motion was detected.

Love your channel 👍

Awesome video and info as always Brett! 👍👏 I hope all is well with you and the family. You constantly dropping stuff was funny. 🤣 😂 🤣 Thanks for leaving it in. One question do the shades show you the battery lvl or when do you know that the battery is almost empty.

great job! Very informative and super helpful.

Brett, hi again Thank you for answering my question in yt stories? It worked in the end, I have my ambient mode. Thank you sooooo much for the mini tutorial. ❤❤❤

@TechWithBrett

4 жыл бұрын

I'm glad it worked and you are welcome!

awesome , thanks for your posting .

Wow those are really cool

Hey Brett, great video as always. How do you compare these with the Ikea Fyrtur blinds. Also, maybe for another video, but if I plan to sell my home home and all the "smart devices" in it (i.e. lutron caseta smart switches, MyQ garage, and nest thermostat/hello, etc.) how easy is it to transfer those device to the new owner?

I'll be going with switchbot curtain for my next home, they seem like a much better solution all round. I understand I'm comparing curtains to blinds but I've chosen curtains for the home based on the switch bot.

@TechWithBrett

4 жыл бұрын

I am excited to see the final product. I have tested the pre release version and it is a great concept, it just failed to perform well for me.

I like the decal on the mirror 👍🏻

@derekcockrell376

2 жыл бұрын

I thought the same thing! 😊

I love Lutron Caseta, but I don’t know if I would place it in a bathroom or laundry with a motion. You can achieve the same effect with a $20 Lutron Motion Light switch.

We're having a wall of four windows put in our living room (each one 45" wide x 64" long). Can I set the shades to go up and down together, using the Lutron hub? If I do that, can I still control them individually when I just need to block sun from one window?

How do you change the battery on the pico remote if it can't be removed from the wall plate easily?

How well would the Aurora integrate into something like Home Assistant or some other third party appliance? Does it need the Hue Bridge or could it work directly in a hub with ZigBee?

@TechWithBrett

4 жыл бұрын

It requires the Hue Bridge to operate so it mostly likely is not possible with other systems.

2 questions 1st can I use smart switches with non smart ceiling lights (cant get smart bulbs for them) and 2nd if I can what switch do you suggest?

@TechWithBrett

4 жыл бұрын

Yes you can. There are a ton of different switches out there. Wemo's have worked well for me and they connected directly to Wifi: kzread.info/dash/bejne/nW2CsbaRp8nYpM4.html

According to Lutron, battery life for typical usage (2 actions per day) is about 2 years, less if sensors are used (temperature/light).

Those batteries must be still kickin, nice

@TechWithBrett

3 жыл бұрын

Yep! No issues so far.

Super helpful video! What was the battery life like?

@TechWithBrett

3 жыл бұрын

6 months later and they are still going strong.

Hi! I’m wanting to start a smart home, but don’t know the best hub to choose. I want to go with Alexa so I can play Apple Music with it. What’s the best Alexa hub? By the way I have 0 smart home features as of right now, so I’m starting from scratch.

@TechWithBrett

4 жыл бұрын

If you get an Echo Plus or an Echo Show 10" they have a hub option built.

So how long did the batteries last?

Can u describe power shades

I have a little confusion for the Lutron Aurora Smart Bulb Dimmer. I saw you connected the 2 electrical wires behind the plate, so is this dimmer some sort of a wifi device, no need the electrical wires? Or you connected the 2 wires to leave the state in the ON position hence you do not need the toggle switch?

@TechWithBrett

3 жыл бұрын

Yes it is battery powered and connects directly to the Hue bridge so it keeps the light in the on position. Or removing the wires keeps it on and you can add the switch so you still have a manual control.

@geek2330

3 жыл бұрын

@@TechWithBrett Thanks much. Is there a similar switch to replace the toggle switch but that it not only works with Hue bridge? Really need something like this Aurora but I don't plan on buying Hue lights.

HAPPY APRIL FOOLS DAY BRETT!

@TechWithBrett

4 жыл бұрын

Thank you!

$500 for one shade! Too expensive for a regular family

@aliciafaulkner416

3 жыл бұрын

$900

Can you manually lift the shades up and down or can they only be opened/closed by the motor?

@TechWithBrett

3 жыл бұрын

They can only be controlled by the motor.

@JacksonWearn

3 жыл бұрын

@@TechWithBrett thanks for the quick response

I realize you were probably just having a less dexterous day that day but here's a tip from a carpenter. First off if you don't have holes for the screws already (like the shade brackets) drive the screw first without the bracket then remove it and reinstall the screw with the bracket essentially predrilling without a drill bit. Secondly (for the Aurora mounting plate) don't worry so much about lining up the holes to put in the screw, you can put the bracket on the screw all the way and then only have to worry about lining up the screw and not holding two things up at once. Notice how at 18:34 your trying to hold the bracket in place on the wall with one hand and put the screw in with the other hand, instead you should be holding the bracket on the screw with one hand and driving the screw with your other hand.

@TechWithBrett

4 жыл бұрын

Those are great tips! Having the camera camera on always changes things a bit but your tips would have helped a ton!

I’m pretty sure there is a 1 minute option on the motion sensor, but you have to press a different combination of buttons Found it: Edit: It's under the first point under the Sensor section in ​www.casetawireless.com/faqs How you do it is hold down the Timeout button and the current setting light will start blinking but keep holding the button until all 3 LEDs start blinking fast. Then let go of the button and hold the button one more time to lock in the 1 minute time out. To make sure it's in 1 minute timeout just press the Timeout button and all 3 LEDs will light up.

@TechWithBrett

4 жыл бұрын

Wow great find! I looked through many FAQ pages but couldn't find anything so that is very helpful. Now I just need to figure out scheduled dimming.

I want to know how much the pico remote is

@TechWithBrett

3 жыл бұрын

Pico remotes are $15-$20.

Did we ever find out how long these batteries last?

those aurora dimmers are nice but really pricey ikea had a similar tradfri product for $10 and much easier install they got discontinued unfortunately , i had bought 3 of them then they went on clearance for $1 ! i bought like 12 more ,i should have bought 20 or 30 of them for that price such a great unique product i wish they didn't discontinue them i got them paired to as many as 4 HUE lights and i got 2 dimmers paired tot he same set of 4 lights ,no tradfri hub ,,paired directly to hue eventually i will try and experiment with getting the extra ones paired with smartthings , but it requires a custom device handler to get the dimming to work

Good video. But only for the USA. I don't think Lutron sells products in the EU.

I don't get why Lutron wants everything to be battery powered. It just adds more things to have to deal with. I would think the outside edge could have a solar panel so you don't have to keep replacing batteries. Especially for the price!

So it's been 4 months and you still haven't posted a pinned comment about battery life so I assume they're still working on the original batteries? If they go up and down at least once a day and are still working at 4 months that's promising. Let us know, thanks!

@duritank

3 жыл бұрын

The battery should last 1 to 2 years depending on use and automations

Not tape! They sell a light switch cover that deters the use of the switch. Home Depot has them as does Amazon.

You can now set the lutron motion sensor to 1 minute.

It’s a shame that the Lutron motion sensor is dumb. Seems like the time out and other issues could be fixed in app.

@TechWithBrett

4 жыл бұрын

So another users commented there is a way to make it timeout after 1 minute and that is working great. The good news is the battery is supposed to last 10 years.

$600 a shade, that's nuts! Cool product but very expensive.

hi

Wow, my house needs thousands of Dollars. I need to buy a house that does not require blinds. Save a fortune.

your lucky you got your shades for free, very expensive

Too expensive . I had 2 Ikea, cheaper .