Anybody? Bumping in the hopes of some help here!

A lot of it depends on the system you go with which has a lot of other variables: house size, number of loads, intended functionality, whether third-party integration is important. Several systems are also designed to be able to be retrofit pretty easily.

We ended up going with a Lutron RadioRA2 system but it's kinda pricey. I also did a lot of pre-planning and have a lot of individual circuits throughout the house. For example, the kitchen has the sconces, island lighting, can lights, pendant light over table, and cabinet lighting...all individually circuited and switched. But, then I wanted a lot of control throughout my house, and probably 80% of the downstairs lighting and all the exterior lighting will be fully "smart". The upstairs and remainder of the downstairs will be mildy smart as well (e.g. occupancy/vacancy sensors, moisture sensors on bathroom fans, etc)

We aren't super techy either. We went with Lutron and have the downstairs great room, kitchen, dining on the Lutron system. Everything else in the house in normal switches. This was the best of both worlds for us...specialty lighting that can turn in and off and be dimmed, etc. Without having to pay for the whole house. We had to explain how we wanted it all to work to electricians before they wired the house..we were very detailed. We also have our outside lights on a daylight sensor and I love it. And our laundry and pantry lights are sensor lights that you never have to turn on and off. This is a very inexpensive upgrade they can do easily and it's very handy.

You need an automation consultant. This can’t be designed on the internet. There are far too many variables.

You don't need to use a consultant but talking to one does help you decide what you want. We spoke to one then designed our own system, purchasing Lutron parts on eBay and Amazon. Electricians worked with us to complete the plan the way we wanted but we had to be very involved and there daily making sure it was done correctly.

Generally, if you haven't been dreaming from day one for an automated lighting system, just go conventional.

I think one thing that is nice is that you can minimize the large banks of switches with an automated system. The systems done later - Lutron Caseta for example - do nothing to minimize the wall warts.

I did Lutron RadioRA2. No wiring needed, it communicates wirelessly (not WiFi). It does connect to your home network and can work with Siri. I found a seller who offers wholesale pricing - way less than local electric suppliers. I programmed it myself - Lutron lets any purchaser take an online course and get access to the software (up to 100 devices. To use more devices, you have to go to in-person training and become an approved installer). I’m pretty tech-minded so I also integrated it with my alarm system (Elk), which acts as a more full-functioned automation controller.

If you’re decent with tech, and have the time to learn and make it a mini-hobby, you can certainly do most of it yourself. Theres a mobile app called RoomieRemote that can interface with your lighting and AV equipment to do creaton style control programmed by you right on your phone/iPad. oCheck out cocoontech.com.

Thank you all - this is so helpful. I spoke to a dealer of control4 today which also helped. I think I need to understand if I need to go with a central hub like control 4 or something more basic that uses Alexa or the like. Any advice appreciated

We did it after the fact once we moved in and figured out how we lived in the house. I had the electrician come back out and install
Lutron caseta. I know it might feel backwards...and yes it was more money...but I was able to learn what groups of lights I wanted control over. For me, it was my kitchen lights, exterior, most of my main floor, and bedroom. I wanted to be able to ask Alexa to “turn up the kitchen pendants to 100%”.
I can also use the Lutron app to turn everything off when I leave or enter, or ask Alexa to do that for me.

It’s pretty simple. And I can always add more to it by adding more switches in whatever room I’d like.

Our house is pretty “smart” but the lighting was something I wanted to figure out after living in the house for a while.

If you have the budget for Control4, enjoy :) I would also look at Savant.

I don’t care for the centralized lighting control approach as it necessitates a completely different approach to high-voltage wiring. What happens when the system fails/is obsolete and the the company is no longer around? Either you spend a fortune for replace the components or you use flashlights. RadioRA simply replaces standard Switches, with the addition of keypads. If one breaks, they are easy to buy and replace. If you ever want to ditch the whole thing, you just replace the switches with standard dimmers. No, it doesn’t solve the “wall acne” problem, but there’s nowhere in the house I have more than 4-gang.

I also prefer discrete subsystems to a monolithic system. Lutron does lighting and motorized shades extremely well, with many levels of systems. It isn’t a home automation system, but it can integrate with most of them.