Lutron’s Caséta is one of our favorite smart home ecosystems and includes in-wall and plug-in lighting controls, smart shades, fan controllers, and motion sensors. Caséta products can also be integrated with the Ring family of smart home products. Now the company is taking the show outdoors with the Caséta Outdoor Smart Plug.
Lutron’s outdoor smart plug carries an IP65 weatherization rating, meaning it’s fully protected from dust incursion and water sprayed from a hose in any direction (you can read more about IP codes in this story). A built-in timer can be programmed to turn devices plugged into the smart plug on a few minutes before sunset and off and sunrise using the Lutron app.
Unlike competing smart plugs that operate via Wi-Fi, however, you’ll need to add a Lutron Smart Bridge to get the most benefit from the Caséta Outdoor Smart Plug. If you already own other Caséta products, you almost certainly already own one. It is broadly compatible with other smart home technologies, including Alexa, Google Assistant, Apple HomeKit and IFTTT, but it must be hardwired to your router. Having the bridge on your network will also allow you to control Lutron’s outdoor smart plug with one of its Pico remote controls.
Unlike most of its competitors, however, Lutron’s outdoor smart plug has a single outlet. Our current favorite outdoor smart plug, the TP-Link Kasa KP400, has dual outlets that can be controlled independently over Wi-Fi. Lutron expects to ship the Caséta Outdoor Smart Plug, when it will sell for $79.95.
Author: Michael Brown, Executive Editor
Michael is TechHive's lead editor, with 30+ years of experience covering the tech industry, focusing on the smart home, home audio, and home theater. He built his own smart home in 2007 and used it as a real-world test lab for product reviews. Following a relocation to the Pacific Northwest, he is now converting his new home, an 1890 Victorian bungalow, into a modern smart home.