Product Library / Switches & Dimmers

Research profile · last verified 2026-08-20

Lutron Claro Smart Switch for Caséta (DVRF-5NS)

Compiled by SmartHomeWorkflow Research · Lutron · Switches & Dimmers

Exactly which product this is[1]

Model number
DVRF-5NS
Generation
Not established
Region this page covers
Not established
Also sold or listed as
Not established

“Not established” means we have not sourced that detail yet — not that the product has no model number, generation or regional variant. We publish the gap rather than filling it.

Compatibility

EcosystemSupportThe catch
Amazon AlexaWorksWorks with this ecosystem[2][18]Requires a Lutron Smart Hub; the switch carries no standard radio.In Amazon Alexa you also need: a Lutron hub
Google HomeWorksWorks with this ecosystem[2][18]Requires a Lutron Smart Hub; the switch carries no standard radio.In Google Home you also need: a Lutron hub
Apple HomeWorksWorks with this ecosystem[2][9][18]Lutron states the Smart Hub contains Apple Home technology — the hub provides it, not the switch.In Apple Home you also need: a Lutron hub
SmartThingsWorksWorks with this ecosystem[2][9][18]Requires a Lutron Smart Hub plus a SmartThings account. Caseta scenes cannot be imported into SmartThings.In SmartThings you also need: a Lutron hub
Home AssistantWorksWorks with this ecosystem[3][19]Official lutron_caseta integration with local push via Smart Hub or Bridge PRO; wall switches expose as switch entities. Lutron does not list Home Assistant on its own works-with page — support is documented only from the Home Assistant side.In Home Assistant you also need: a Lutron hub

Protocols: CLEAR-CONNECT[1]

Needs before it works: Yes for anything smart. The switch works standalone as a wall control and pairs directly with Pico remotes without a hub, but Lutron states a Smart Hub is required to monitor or operate Caseta products from a smart device and to create scenes or timeclock schedules. No app, no voice, and no ecosystem integration without it — a real added cost on top of the switch.[1]

What it can do[11]

You can tell it to

  • On/off

It reports

Not established — we could not confirm this from vendor documentation

Whether each platform's automations and routines can use it — not just whether its app shows it.

What it doesApple HomeGoogle HomeAlexaSmartThingsHome Assistant
On/off✓ routines can use it✓ routines can use it? not stated✓ routines can use it✓ routines can use it

Platform documentation: Amazon Alexa — automation engine ceiling (eight terms observed; residue inconclusive by refusal) (2026-09-01), Apple Home — automation engine ceiling (2026-09-01), Google Home — automation engine ceiling (2026-09-01), Home Assistant — automation engine ceiling (2026-08-29), SmartThings — automation engine ceiling (2026-09-01)

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

Subscription reality[16]

✓ Works without a subscription: Yes.

Vendor account required: Optional — there is a documented way to use it without one.[12]

No subscription appears on Lutron's product or support pages. Established by absence rather than by an affirmative statement.

Maintenance reality

The catch

The switch is useless as a smart device without a Lutron Smart Hub, which is a separate purchase. It also requires a neutral wire — if your box has none, Lutron's PD-5WS-DV is the only Caseta switch that works without one. Every 3-way option, including the accessory switch and Pico remotes, is sold separately.

Who it's for

Households that already run a Lutron Smart Hub, or are willing to buy one, and want a paddle-style on/off switch with Lutron's dedicated RF reliability rather than Wi-Fi. Works with every major ecosystem once the hub is in place. Not a fit for hubless setups or boxes without a neutral wire.

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 →

21 numbered sources· read them in the source's own words
  1. [1] support.lutron.com article 'Claro Smart In-Wall Switch DVRF-5NS' and casetawireless.com Claro Smart Switch product page — Read on the maker's own site, verified 2026-07-26
    Backs: Product identity, Protocols, Required hub or bridge
  2. [2] casetawireless.com/us/en/works-with — Read on the maker's own site, verified 2026-07-26
    Backs: Amazon Alexa compatibility, Google Home compatibility, Apple Home compatibility, SmartThings compatibility
  3. [3] home-assistant.io/integrations/lutron_caseta/ — Read on the maker's own site, verified 2026-07-26
    Backs: Home Assistant compatibility
  4. [4] Absence check across casetawireless.com and support.lutron.com — Read on the maker's own site, verified 2026-07-26
    Backs: Price
  5. [5] support.lutron.com article 'What is the Caseta Smart Hub and when do I need one' — Read on the maker's own site, verified 2026-07-26
  6. [6] casetawireless.com Claro Smart Switch product page and support.lutron.com DVRF-5NS article, verified 2026-07-26
    Backs: Market availability
  7. [7] Re-verification pass, 2026-08-20, re-read at Lutron's own Claro product page. ✅ IDENTITY unchanged: the switch is DVRF-5NS with six colour codes — White (WH), Ivory (IV), Light Almond (LA), Black (BL), Gray (GR), Brown (BR). ⭐ HUB SCOPE, and it is more precise than a yes/no: a Caséta Smart Hub is NOT required for basic operation, and the page states "Smart hub required for scheduling feature". ⛔ PRICE: Lutron publishes no price on this page, so this record carries none — unchanged and correct. ⚠ The product page names no ecosystem by name, grouping compatibility under "Voice Assistants", "Thermostats", "Audio" and "Shades and Fans"; the named list lives on the separate works-with page (re-read the same day, ©2026). — Read on the maker's own site, verified 2026-08-20
    Backs: Research status, Service status
  8. [8] home-assistant.io, Lutron Caséta integration documentation — Read the platform's own documentation, verified 2026-08-18
  9. [9] Lutron support, 'Apple HomeKit and how to set up and use voice commands with the Caséta or RA2 Select Systems' — Read on the maker's own site, verified 2026-08-19
    Backs: Apple Home compatibility, SmartThings compatibility
  10. [10] casetawireless.com Claro smart switch product page, re-read 2026-08-20 as truth maintenance: the switch is still published on Lutron’s own site as a current product under DVRF-5NS with six colour codes (WH, IV, LA, BL, GR, BR), with no discontinuation notice and no successor named. Lutron publishes no price on the page, so this record carrying no price is unchanged and correct. — Read on the maker's own site, verified 2026-08-20
    Backs: Market availability
  11. [11] casetawireless.com's Claro Smart Switch page, read 2026-08-20, describing it as "A smart switch that provides on/off control" and "A wired, in-wall switch for on/off control of lights or ceiling/exhaust fans", with stated uses "Control your non-dimmable outdoor lights remotely", "put them on a schedule to go on/off automatically based on the time of day or the sun's position", and "Automatically turn your smart switch off after a set amount of time". Home Assistant's own documentation for its Lutron Caséta integration, read 2026-08-20, adds what a connected platform receives: "Wall switches as switches". Lutron's own Caséta Load Controls specification submittal (369987o, dated 08.14.25), read in full 2026-08-20 lists DVRF-5NS under conventional 3-way wiring and distinguishes it from the accessory switch, which "control[s] Diva Smart dimmers and switches from additional locations and do[es] not directly control the load". — Read on the maker's own site, verified 2026-08-20
    Backs: Capabilities
  12. [12] 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) — Read on the maker's own site, verified 2026-08-21
    Backs: Vendor account required
    Checked 2026-08-21. This page no longer lets us re-check it automatically, so that date is where this fact stands.
  13. [13] https://www.casetawireless.com/us/en/products/dimmers-switches/claro-smart-switch (read 2026-09-09): 'Neutral wire required — All homes built after 1973 in the US, or 1980 in Canada, are required to have neutral wires.' A line-voltage in-wall switch with a required neutral is hardwired, from the wiring requirement rather than from the device class. — Read on the maker's own site, verified 2026-09-09
    Backs: Power source
  14. [14] Attempted 2026-09-09. https://www.casetawireless.com/us/en/products/dimmers-switches/claro-smart-switch is live and names no phone platform. The two support.lutron.com pages cited on this record — including the one about using the app — have told us in writing not to read them, and a refusal like that is never worked around. The platforms the app runs on stay unrecorded, and the reason is a site that has said no rather than a fact nobody looked for., verified 2026-09-09
  15. [15] this record's own provenance, re-read 2026-09-16: every entry was checked for a statement by Lutron itself — its own app, its own hub or bridge, its own documentation for controlling the device over the home network, or its own statement about this model — that the DVRF-5NS keeps working when the internet is down. No such entry exists on this record. What the old value rested on instead: Home Assistant's own documentation for its Lutron Caséta integration, which describes a certificate-authenticated connection to the Caséta bridge over the home network, with the bridge pushing changes rather than being polled., verified 2026-09-16
  16. [16] Lutron's Caséta consumer site enumerated whole from its own sitemap — 72 addresses, none of them a plans, pricing or membership page — with the FAQ, the Works With page and two product listings read in full, verified 2026-09-17
    Backs: Subscription
  17. [17] Lutron's own Caséta product page for the Claro Smart Switch, re-read in full 2026-09-18 (7,889 characters of visible text, footer ©2026). ✅ STILL SOLD AND STILL CURRENT: the page publishes the switch as "Claro Smart Switch", model "DVRF-5NS-(color code)", with the same six colour codes — WH | White, IV | Ivory, LA | Light Almond, BL | Black, GR | Gray, BR | Brown. No discontinuation notice, no successor, no "legacy" or "replaced by" language anywhere on the page. ⛔ NO PRICE, AND THE PAGE SAYS WHY IT HAS NONE: a whole-page scan returns zero currency figures and zero occurrences of the words price or MSRP. Instead the page routes a buyer out — "Do you want to buy in-store or online?", "Choose one of the retailers below", and "Selecting any of the retailer links will redirect you from a Lutron operated website to a site operated by that retailer." Lutron runs no first-party store, so there is no vendor surface on which a price could appear. ✅ FEATURE TEXT UNCHANGED against what this record already carries: "A wired, in-wall switch for on/off control of lights or ceiling/exhaust fans", "Controls up to 5A of LED, ELV, MLV, or fluorescent lighting, as well as 3A fan", "Neutral wire required", and the 2-or-more-location options (wired toggle / Claro accessory switch / Pico smart remote). The hub conditional this record makes a point of carrying is still on the page verbatim: "Smart hub required for scheduling feature." — Read on the maker's own site, verified 2026-09-18
    Backs: Price, Market availability, Research status
  18. [18] Lutron's own Caséta "Works With" page, re-read 2026-09-18 (4,603 characters of visible text). All four platforms this record publishes as fully supported are still named on it, in Lutron's own words: "Amazon Alexa — Alexa will get the lights for you. Just say the word."; "Google Assistant — Enjoy hands-free control of the lights in your home with the Google Home voice-enabled speaker powered by the Google Assistant."; "Apple Home — The smart hub (formerly smart bridge) contains Apple Home technology, so you can use Siri® to control your lights, shades, and more."; "Samsung SmartThings — Control lights and shades from the SmartThings app and add more automation to your home." The page names no Home Assistant and no Matter, exactly as it did on 2026-08-20. — Read on the maker's own site, verified 2026-09-18
    Backs: Amazon Alexa compatibility, Google Home compatibility, Apple Home compatibility, SmartThings compatibility
  19. [19] Home Assistant's own Lutron Caseta integration documentation, re-read 2026-09-18 (12,445 characters of visible text). Unchanged in every respect this cell rests on: "Its IoT class is Local Push."; the integration "is responsible for communicating with the Lutron Caseta Smart Bridge for the Caseta product line of dimmers, switches, shades, and sensors"; the supported-device list still carries "Wall switches as switches"; and the supported bridges still include the Caséta Smart Bridge PRO (L-BDGPRO2-WH), configured by the Smart Bridge's IP address on the local network. — Read the platform's own documentation, verified 2026-09-18
    Backs: Home Assistant compatibility
  20. [20] https://www.casetawireless.com/us/en/products/dimmers-switches/claro-smart-switch, read 2026-09-18. The page DOES carry installation language, and it is marketing language: "15-minute install — Installation only requires three steps and one screwdriver. The interactive Lutron Wiring Wizard tool further simplifies the installation process", and lower down "DIY Installation — Installing Caséta dimmers and switches is easy – it only takes 3 steps and 15 minutes with step-by-step videos and guides." Beside it, on the same page, Lutron offers the other door: "Have a Pro Install for Me — Don't want to do it yourself? We hear you. Let a Lutron Pro take care of the install." The page links an "Installation Guide" and a "Specification Submittal" as separate documents; neither was opened. — Read on the maker's own site, verified 2026-09-18
  21. [21] Conduct was checked before anything was read, 2026-09-18, on every host this record cites. Lutron's Caseta consumer site and Home Assistant's documentation site both answer normally and were read. Lutron's support site turns our reader away and was not asked again today — eleven addresses on that site have refused us., verified 2026-09-18

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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