Jay M

I decided to spend some money and do some testing before I spends thousands of dollars. i3 vs. 2477D: The i3 has a satin finish and the 2477D is glossy. If you are an OCD type of person. you'll want - no, need it all to match. The i3 doesn't have a frame around the rocker. That can be problematic when you need to cram a bunch of switches into a small box. The i3 rocker can get stuck on the wall plate. On the plus side, it will be a cleaner look if you can make it work. I bought 3 brands of dim to warm down lights to test - Lotus $80 each, DMF H series, also about $80 each, and a $25 Halo from Lowes. The i3 didn't allow the LEDs to dim as low as the older 2477D. So I don't plan to use it. One thing I noticed in testing was how the lights would power on. All 3 would sort of pop on at 20%, then smoothly continue to brighten. But if I used the app to control the dimer and set the slider to 3%, after a second or so, the LED would softly begin to glow. It's as if the LED driver needs to energize first. I think with some clever programming, I can make a scene that will fade on almost as nice as a $1 incandescent bulb. In case you are interested here's how the lights look... DMF H series - great color, but when you dim down to 15%, they just cut off instantly- they don't fade out slowly. Lotus LF4R-HO - outstanding dimming, but they never get very warm. The spec is 3000 k to 2000 k. But at the dimmest point, they looked pretty cool white. The Halo dimmed nicely - not as nice as the Lotus, but close. They are 2700 k at the brightest and dim to 1800 k. I don't think that is accurate - they get really warm when you dim them, almost a yellow-red color like a candle. In a log cabin or a 100+ year-old house, that color range would be perfect. But maybe too warm for my somewhat modern new construction. Also, the Halo are large 6" retrofit fixtures, where the Lotus and DMF are more modern 4" fixtures. To get the absolute best dimming from an LED, I believe you need to spend $200+ per fixure and use a more modern Dali LED driver to dim. Stuff like that is for commercial or really high-end residential. Sadly, not for me. Insteon impressions: I went ahead and bought the eisy just for testing. It's fine. It uses the software you are used to, but you lose ir control if that matters to you. I tested Insteon in what I would describe as a worst case scenario. It's in the new house that is under construction. The eisy and Wifi router are in the master bedroom, and I added one lamp dimmer in that room just to create a bit of a network. The other Insteon dimmer is about 100' away in the pool gazebo. It gets its power from the sub panel that powers the pool equipment. And it works! Insteon is owned by the passionate people who created it. For that reason, I believe the Insteon product line will outlast most others. Many big name companies are dabbling in smart switches, but how strong is their commitment? My personal investment into Insteon will be about $5000. If the company goes under the day after I install them, they will still work for 10 years - I plan to buy lots of spare switches. If, in two years, there truly is a better solution, then in my case the $5000 expense and time commitment isn't the end of the world, but the new thing would need to dazzle me! Even though Insteon is old, I can still control it with the brand new Alexa Hub. Plus, the Insteon product line is huge and very complete. For all those reasons, I think Insteon is best for me.

They do! https://domotinc.com/products/i3-keypad Thanks for the tip. ~Jay

I'm referring to the new i3 Keypad. I'll see if the people you linked can etch this one too. ~Jay

Thanks for your insight. I'm going to take a risk and stich the the devil I know. Have you looked at URC remotes? I still love my MX-780. URC is a bit hostile to the enthusiast community, but in my case, because I purchased through an authorized dealer who closed his business, they allowed me access to their programming software. With MX-780, I have 100% control over my remote. Every button does what I want it to do. Even though I had one break, I found a like new replacement on ebay for $19. ~Jay

That's a really good idea. I just hope Insteon will offer an etching service for their new 4-button switch soon. I decided to go with Insteon again but with a new Eisy - not to be confused with easy! haha. It's as if they try to make it difficult just to keep the riff raff out. I bought a few i3 devices to test out. I haven't installed them yet, but the feel and perceived build quality is outstanding. I'll add them to one of the rooms to test while the house is under construction. One thing that impressed me with Insteon was that I have one older switch in the Gazebo out by the pool which gets its power from the pool's sub panel. The Eisy is in the house 60 feet away an communicates perfectly with the gazebo. I decided that the risk to install Insteon is low. I think it's great that it's back in the hands of the enthusiasts who made it. It was, however, nice when Smart home had those incredible sales - that's when I would stock up on spare switches and expand my system. I don't even think the new Insteon had a black Friday sale. But the overall investment isn't too high. maybe $2500 in switches. I haven't added them all up yet. If I buy some spares, I'll be good to go for many years even if the company folds. ~Jay

My current house has an ISY 994 and it's working well with over 50 Insteon devices. I'm remodeling our new/future house and plan to use mostly all new Insteon devices with an Eisy controller. Can one Portal account handle both houses? I don't want to migrate or import anything, I want to start with a clean slate in the new house. What would you suggest? Buy a second portal account and and cancel the old one when I'm out of the old house, or can I use one account for both houses? Thanks, ~Jay

I should ask. What is the i3? Is it significantly different than the old stuff? ~Jay

Thanks Paul, That's really helpful information. I am keeping the same wife in the new house, so it's good that she already knows how to work the Insteon stuff. Actually, they are just switches, so there isn't really a learning curve, but either way, she'll appreciate the familiar look. I tend to be obsessed with gadgets and electronics, and my wife tends to be more Amish. haha. Even though Insteon is a bit of a risk, they have been around for a really long time and it all still works together. ~Jay

YES! In my current house, some of the switch plates are bulging. It looks terrible. The new house is 20 years old, but I'll be adding a lot to it and remodeling. I told the contractor to use deep boxes. I hope he understood. Thanks for your reply! what you say to wait, what are you waiting for? Is there a specific product that you have in mind? ~Jay

I have been using Insteon with a 994i for a very long time. Maybe 15 years? I don't even know how many Insteon devices I have, but maybe 50. Every light switch is Insteon, I have a main water valve controlled by Insteon and integrated with Insteon leak sensors. I use Kaypads, wireless remotes, and ir from my URC remote to control the lights. Through the 994ir I've had everything controlled by Alexa for many years too. I'm all in on Insteon. But for the new house, starting from scratch, is Insteon the way to go? Here's what I like: The switches feel good, and look good The switches are link together independently of the hub or internet. a switch can control a load, on just be a hard wired controller adjustable ramp rate While not perfect, communication only fails 1 out of a 1000 times - unless something is broken, then all bets are off. huge product line dimmers relays motion sensors keypads wireless remotes low voltage sensors and controls inline dimmers outdoor relay What I don't like is that the new ownership might fail and Insteon will go away, so I'll lose an investment $4000 and a lot of time. Also, the build quality of the Insteon products is hit or miss. What's the best solution? The Insteon feature set is hard to beat. Thanks! ~Jay

It worked! Thanks everyone I restored the outlet and now the button and the scene works. ~Jay

Thanks. I'd bet $1 that that's going to work ~Jay

Thanks, I'll try that. What exactly does "restore device" do?

Thanks for the reply. I did read about updating. I think I’ll wait until it’s an absolute need because it does look like a potential nightmare. For now, I’m just using an Alexa routine for the fountain timer. I don’t really need to button to work if Alexa can turn the fountain on and off. Tonight I’ll unplug the fountain and low-voltage lights and see if that solves the problem. I’d consider dumping Insteon and getting a fresh start with something more modern, but I can’t think of any viable replacements. Plus, replacing 40+ devices will be very time consuming and not cheap. Things Insteon has that I really like: keypads Insteon relay that I use to shut off the water main Insteon sensors to tell me if a door is open Insteon leak sensors that can shut off the main water line and notify me of a leak. The Insteon dual outlet clean IR integration with the 994ir wireless Insteon remote What other platform can do all that?~Jay

The firmware match, they are both 4.9.0 I might try to update it. ~Jay