Product Library / Switches & Dimmers

Lutron Caséta Wireless In-Wall Switch (PD-5WS-DV)

Compiled by SmartHomeWorkflow Research · Lutron · Switches & Dimmers

Compatibility

Protocols: CLEAR-CONNECT^[1][5]

Needs before it works: Yes for anything that resembles a smart switch, and the specification submittal is unusually precise about the boundary. Without a hub the PD-5WS-DV is still a wireless switch in a narrow sense: it works with Pico remote controls, with Caséta motion sensors, and with Lutron Radio Powr Savr occupancy and vacancy sensors 'in standalone applications', and Lutron notes those sensors 'do not work with Smart Bridge or Smart Bridge PRO'. The app, and with it every ecosystem on this record, arrives only with a hub - the feature table lists 'Works with the Lutron app (via a Smart Bridge or Smart Bridge PRO)' as a distinct line, footnoted 'The Lutron App is required for setup and use with the Smart Bridge and Smart Bridge PRO.' There is a distance constraint too, which most hub dependencies do not state: the switch 'must be located within 60 ft (18 m) line-of-sight or 30 ft (9 m) through walls of a Lutron Smart Bridge, Smart Bridge PRO, or Caséta Wireless Repeater.'^[1]

What it can do^[1]

Listed capabilities are what we could establish from vendor documentation. An ability missing here is unestablished — not necessarily absent.

Subscription reality^[3]

✓ Works without a subscription: Yes.

Vendor account required: Optional — there is a documented way to use it without one.^[9]

No subscription is referenced on Lutron's specification submittal, its product-selection article or the Caséta 'Works With' page. Established by absence rather than by an affirmative statement, the same basis recorded on the Claro switch.

Maintenance reality^[1]

• Works without the internet: Yes — the core function runs on the device or your home network. A vendor cloud may still be involved in remote access.^[8]
• Line-voltage in-wall hardware with nothing to charge or replace. From the specification submittal: it is a 'Two-wire switch' operating at '120 / 277 V~ 50 / 60 Hz' - dual voltage is a PD-5WS-DV feature the neutral-wire models do not share - with a 5 A switching capacity. Load limits vary by load type and by how many switches are ganged together, which is why the submittal publishes a full table rather than one number: at 120 V a single unganged switch handles 600 W incandescent or halogen, dropping to 450 W at the end of a gang and 350 W in the middle; at 277 V the same load type runs to 1350 W unganged. General-purpose fan load is 3 A at 120 V with a 0.4 A minimum. LED, fluorescent and ELV loads have no published minimum at all - the submittal says 'Use LUT-MLC' - and carry a 5 A maximum unganged. It includes a 'Front Accessible Service Switch (FASS) for safe lamp replacement'. Regulatory approvals listed: cULus Listed, NOM Certified, FCC Approved (Class B, Part 15), Industry Canada Certified, IFTEL Certified, NEMA 410. Lutron publishes consumer installation instructions for this switch, but this record records no installation-effort rating because Lutron states none, and a two-wire line-voltage replacement is not a claim to make on inference.
• Security updates: No security-update support date is on record for this model yet. We haven't yet checked whether Lutron publishes one, so this is a gap in our research — not a statement about the manufacturer.

The catch

Lutron recommends against this switch whenever you have a choice, and that is the first thing to know about it. Its product-selection article says so directly: 'The PD-5WS-DV switch does not require a neutral connection. If a neutral connection is available in the wallbox, Lutron strongly recommends using the PD-5ANS / PD-6ANS where possible', and where a neutral is present it points buyers at the PD-6ANS or PD-5ANS instead, on the grounds that those models handle LED lamps and fixtures more reliably. This is the no-neutral fallback, not the default. Second, the reason for that recommendation is a real cost: with LED, fluorescent or ELV loads the switch may need a LUT-MLC load adapter, and Lutron's guidance is not subtle - install one with those load types 'regardless of wattage', and if the status LED flashes or glows red, 'a LUT-MLC must be installed'. Even then, 'some load types may still flicker or glow in the off state'. Third, the hub is mandatory for everything a buyer is likely to want. The switch speaks Lutron's proprietary Clear Connect and nothing else, so without a Smart Bridge there is no app, no Alexa, no Apple Home, no schedule - only Pico remotes and Caséta sensors - and the switch has to sit within 60 ft line-of-sight or 30 ft through walls of that bridge. Fourth, the load table is a table for a reason: capacity drops as switches are ganged together, from 600 W incandescent alone to 350 W in the middle of a gang at 120 V, so a three-gang box is a different calculation than a single. Finally, Matter does not appear anywhere on Lutron's Caséta compatibility page, which lists sixteen platforms and partners - so a household planning around Matter should read that silence carefully rather than assume the newest standard arrived quietly.

Who it's for

Someone with a Caséta system already in the house, or planning one, who has hit the wiring problem this SKU exists to solve: an older wallbox with no neutral wire, where the neutral-required Caséta switches cannot go. It is also the model for a 277 V commercial or multi-family circuit, since it is the dual-voltage one. The Clear Connect radio is the reason people choose Caséta at all - it does not sit on the Wi-Fi network, and Home Assistant reaches it locally through the bridge - and this switch inherits that. It is the wrong pick if the wallbox does have a neutral, because Lutron itself says to buy the PD-5ANS or PD-6ANS instead for better LED compatibility; if the load is LED, fluorescent or ELV and the extra LUT-MLC adapter is unwelcome; if there is no Lutron hub and no intention of buying one; or if the plan depends on Matter, which Lutron does not name for Caséta anywhere on its own compatibility page.

Sources & method

Numbered sources below back the facts marked with the matching number above. This is a research profile: compiled from manufacturer documentation, certification registries, and published testing — we state facts, not verdicts, and we have not physically tested this unit. How we work →

1. [1] Lutron specification submittal 369831e, Caséta Wireless In-Wall Switch PD-5WS-DV / PD-6ANS — vendor-document research, verified 2026-08-01
   Backs: Product identity, Protocols, Required hub or bridge, Power source, Maintenance, Capabilities, Market availability
2. [2] Lutron support article, 'Caséta Wireless In-Wall Switches - PD-5WS-DV, PD-5ANS, PD-6ANS' (product selection) — vendor-page research, verified 2026-08-01
   Backs: Product identity, Installation, Research status
3. [3] Lutron Caséta 'Works With' compatibility page — vendor-page research, verified 2026-08-01
   Backs: Amazon Alexa compatibility, Google Home compatibility, Apple Home compatibility, SmartThings compatibility, Subscription, Price
4. [4] Home Assistant lutron_caseta integration documentation — counterparty-page research, verified 2026-08-01
   Backs: Home Assistant compatibility
5. [5] Lutron Caséta 'Works With' compatibility page - the platform enumeration — vendor-page research, verified 2026-08-01
   Backs: Protocols
6. [6] Lutron specification submittal 369831 (PDF), fetched 2026-08-18 — the document returns as compressed PDF content our fetcher cannot read as text, so it establishes nothing either way. A submittal sheet is in any case a wiring and ratings document; outage behaviour would not normally appear in one. — vendor-page research, verified 2026-08-18
7. [7] Lutron support, 'Apple HomeKit and how to set up and use voice commands with the Caséta or RA2 Select Systems' — vendor-page research, verified 2026-08-19
   Backs: Apple Home compatibility, SmartThings compatibility
8. [8] Lutron support, 'What is the Caseta Smart Hub and when do I need one' — "The Caséta Smart Hub controls Lutron's Caséta Wireless family of products." and, of that hub, "The smart hub connects to an available LAN port on your router using the included ethernet cable. It does not communicate over Wi-Fi, so the system still works locally even if your internet is down." — vendor-page research, verified 2026-08-21
   Backs: Works without the internet
9. [9] Lutron Pico Controls product-selection FAQs — "Do I need a Caséta smart hub to use a Pico paddle remote? No, the Pico paddle remote can be paired directly with Caséta smart products." and "Once a Pico paddle remote has been added to a Caséta system, the Pico paddle remote does not require internet, but it does require power to the smart hub." · Lutron Caséta technical-support FAQs — "The Lutron App connects to the Smart Bridge via the cloud using an account (email address and password) that you create during initioal system setup." (vendor's spelling of 'initioal' preserved) — vendor-page research, verified 2026-08-21
   Backs: Vendor account required

Compatibility and lifecycle information reflects the last-verified date above and can change without notice (firmware updates, cloud-service changes, discontinuations). It is provided as-is, for information — verify with the manufacturer before purchasing. Spot an error? Tell us and we'll fix it. Full terms: Terms of Service.

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