edokid

Great thanks so much! It will probably be a bit before I need to get a Keypadlinc but I can see it being handy. Was going to just mount an android tablet or something on the wall but I think for family and visitors, having a keypad on the wall that clearly says like "LAMP ON", or "ALL LIGHTS OFF" type thing is easier than knowing to go to the tablet on the wall and use an app.

Awesome thanks for the tips that's good to know! Yeah was just thinking when you said 2 lines, that all pretty much have to be.

Great thanks! I'll check the custom inserts option, hopefully they ship to Canada

It's funny but it's very true! I mean for a few of my lamps I put the LED bulb in because I went crazy and bought a bunch then realized it was kind of dumb to since now there's no way to locally control the lamp. I even removed the knob on it so people can't go and try to turn it off or on manually. So now I have to get a Keypadlinc or something easy that someone can just push "LIVING ROOM LAMP" and turn it on!!! Question about the Keypadlinc's, do they let you make custom inserts? Or do you have to use ones that are pre-made? Can't tell if they are paper inserts or if they are custom. There's certain things I'd want to do on them but haven't seen any for.

Couple other things I just thought of. Do Z-Wave devices work the same as Insteon ones with the ISY? As in (assuming the devices work), can I have a Z-Wave wall switch turn on Insteon lights? Same with mobile apps like MobiLinc, will it show and control both Insteon and Z-Wave? Or do apps like that only see Insteon?

Thanks everyone that's a big help. I think the ISY is the way to go eventually. I have all these big dreams in my head and am trying to figure out the best controller, but then I have to stop and realize that I still need a ton of Insteon devices to even make any of this work, so might as well start out small and get all my components first. I bought at on that are coming today but most don't really require If, This, etc so I'm fine for now I think. Glad to hear that Z-Wave seems stable though with the ISY as that definitely helps. It would be nice if the ISY would support the Hub so that I don't have to buy a $80 2413S, so not sure if that would ever happen or if it's worth waiting for since I'm not in any rush. HomeSeer is really nice and works well but I can't really justify the cost, just because although my house isn't small, I don't have a pool or driveway lights or many areas where lots of scenes are necessary. If I watch a movie in the basement, all the light switches are right beside the couch, and we turn every one of them off, so it's not like there's any mood lighting to set. Most of what I want to accomplish is basic things, like opening a closet door and turning the light inside on automatically, etc. So I think the ISY will be the best option, since it's hardware based and not a PC, and then if it supports Z-Wave well like everyone is saying, I can at least add on those pieces later on as well.

That's great thanks so much! Huge help then as that's what made me nervous as it seemed really hit or miss. Just a hard pill to swallow to buy HomeSeer even if it is good, as it's just so expensive. $250 for just the software, and then $200 for the designer to do your iPad and android tablets and so on (although cool) definitely adds up. Even if it was a physical piece of hardware for that $450 price it wouldn't be so bad, but expensive for software. My other issue with them also is every little add on and so on is an extra cost. It all sounded fine and dandy until I stopped and actually thought out what exactly I want to accomplish, and that's when I realized my programs are pretty basic. "If front door sensor goes open after 5PM and the front door light is on, do nothing. If it goes off and front door light is off, turn it on. If the door sensor changes to closed and the front door light was on, do nothing. If the door sensor changes to closed and the front door light was off, turn it off." I also wanted to put android tablets throughout the house running some interface, but I don't see MobiLinc for it and I liked that HomeSeer lets you really customize it if you buy their $200 program. Then I started thinking though, how often honestly would I really use that panel? Like I'd use it to enable Home vs Away mode or what not, plus the odd scene I suppose, but it would be pretty rare, and I think make more sense to go with the Keypadlinc. What I think I'm going to do is go with my Insteon Hub plus HouseLinc for now, and then when I have more devices I'll get the ISY. Right now I only have a wall dimmer switch, 4 LED bulbs, a motion sensor, 2 hidden door sensors, leak sensor, and 2 wall plug in dimmer modules. So all my ideas of "If I walk into the kitchen after dark, turn on the lights to 25% brightness" etc wouldn't even work since I don't even have the components to do it! Thanks!

I'm trying to figure out what system go with as I have a bunch of Insteon devices and the Hub, so either getting the ISY994 or HomeSeer on a PC. I'm really leaning towards HomeSeer as I like the interface, Insteon seems to work great, and although expensive, I love their HSTouch designer to let me make iPad and android interfaces. My main reason though is because it supports Z-Wave, which I want because I don't like any Insteon door locks or thermostats. I was originally going to get the ISY994 since I saw you can add Z-Wave, but a lot of forum posts seem to make it sound like it's spotty. I saw ones talking about the Yale locks and the trouble making it work, then he had it finally working and then a week later more posts saying it's not working anymore, and these were all from August 2014. Is Z-Wave on a ISY994 feasible with those people just being exceptions? Or is it basically hit or miss with it? I'm just trying to determine how important Z-Wave door locks, thermostats and the tablet apps really are, or if I could live without them since the ISY probably is more stable and supports Insteon better. The other thing is there doesn't seem to be as many good Android tablet apps, as I think MobiLinc is just for iPad since I don't see any HD versions in the app store, just ones for android phones. The reality here is that the iPad or android tablets that I wanted to mount on the walls in various places are really more just aesthetic since I can do the same thing on my own phone, or with Keypadlinc. So just wondering mostly I guess how well Z-Wave actually does work with it, or if it would be more like 1) Google the device you want to see if it actually works with Z-Wave on the ISY, 2) Try to follow someones guide to see how they made it work, 3) Pull your hair out for 2 days trying to make it work before giving up. Lol, or something like that! Thanks everyone!