I'm new to all of the home automation and trying to make a decision. Can someone either explain or point me to an article as to why I would purchase one controller vs another.

 

Thanks!

The Insteon Hub is designed to be super easy to use and will do only simple things. I would say it is designed for people that do not want to get in too deep into programming and want stuff to be plug and play. Basically, you use this to control your lights with your smartphone.

 

If you want to do more complicated and more powerful programming, you definitely need the Isy. You can then create programs to do some actions based on different things (time/date, other lights or sensors being turned on, etc.). You can also use it to control network enabled devices in your home (smart TV for example), send infra red commands to some devices, etc. Some expansion modules are available (network, weather, X10, etc.) and different Isy flavors are available (zigbee, IR, etc.). Then adding a dedicated smartphone App like Mobilinc can make you control all these things remotely with your smartphone.

 

To summarize, if you want it easy, use the Insteon Hub, if you want to do all kinds of crazy automation things, get the Isy!

 

Note that my opinion might be biased as I own an Isy-994i and absolutely love it!

I'm new to all of the home automation and trying to make a decision. Can someone either explain or point me to an article as to why I would purchase one controller vs another.

 

Thanks!

IMHO the Hub is not Home Automation. It is Home remote and local control. It will do timers and scenes (grouping devices to be synchronised). The Hub can be controlled by various PC software to do conditional logic but more cost and a PC left on 24/7. The ISY consumes 2-3 Watts and is tiny. Mine sits on top of a surface mount electrical outlet box where it is plugged in.

 

The ISY can do conditional logic like.

 

If it is 6:00 PM and Wed, Fri, or Sat AND House_is_occupied

Then Set Furnace_Fan On Wait 20 minutes Set Furnace_Fan Off

 

If you like to challenge yourself with logic and programming the ISY is the one to get. You will also need to get a PLM 2413S to make the ISY talk to Insteon devices, another $80. Remote control via your smart phone can be done with it also.

Thanks. That made my decision easy.