jkraus Posted May 17, 2015 Posted May 17, 2015 I have an isy994 and am very happy. However for my vacation home I do not need such sophistication and was looking at the insteon hub. First off any opinions? Second, before I bring the hub to my vacation home can I test it out at home, meaning will an isy and a hub coexist on the same home HA network without any conflict or problems? Thx much Joe
stusviews Posted May 17, 2015 Posted May 17, 2015 Can the Hub and ISY coexist on the same HA network? Yes and no. If you add different devices to each, then there is no problem. But, scenes you create on each the ISY and Hub write those links to the devices themselves, so you may get unexpected results. Also, if you delete a scene and/or device from the Hub, you may need to restore those devices using the ISY.
mwester Posted May 17, 2015 Posted May 17, 2015 I cannot imagine being happy with the hub, after using an ISY994i. My biggest concern with a vacation property is that the hub is dependent upon Smarthome's servers, and thus requires an always-on Internet connection for all its features to work.
paulbates Posted May 17, 2015 Posted May 17, 2015 Joe The Hub is not very capable, especially when you compare it to the ISY. I would be sure you know what you are getting: very basic schedules, very basic notifications and remote control. The scheduling function is self contained locally. The schedules should work without the cloud. At least they did on Hub 1. My guess is that you are interested in the remote control and notifications part, The remote control and notifications won't work without the cloud. The hub will not work standalone with SmartenIt products like the EzFlora or EzIO series of products. It can, if you run a 24x7 PC at your vacation home with Houselinc. Having the hub on your home network should work, but per Stu's comments, mixing scenes and devices across an ISY and a Hub is a slippery slope. If you were wanting to learn the hub at home first, I would suggest complete isolation of devices between the two. Either set up extra devices on the Hub that you aren't using and are not defined in the ISY. Or for efficiency and learning, define the new devices you plan to take to the vacation home on the hub before you go the first time, then mark the devices, pack it all up and take it with you. And don't attempt to add the hub to the ISY. Paul
Teken Posted May 17, 2015 Posted May 17, 2015 It should also be noted that depending upon what smartphone OS you're using: Android, Windows, iOS. Not all of them function the same or support the same devices or features for a particular device. Case in point the Android App does not support full control of the latest dual outlet. It only controls the top and not the bottom. It should also be noted the latest HUB II update has supposedly corrected the time drift everyone has been seeing. The HUB II does not have a real time clock (RTC) inside and relies on the phone / cloud. Many have seen basic dusk to dawn timers not firing off due to the above time drift. You should be aware the current literature which states sms text is no longer supported also and now allows e-mail / push notification as options. I think the HUB II is a great cheap point and shoot controller for anyone so long as they walk into this with proper expectations. For $39.99 its really hard to beat based on price point given the very clean smartphone UI and set up. In my view it would be a much better investment just to purchase the lowest priced ISY-994 Series Controller either second hand or wait until another SH sale. The benefit of going this route is having the *choice* to upgrade the unit via software / hardware should the need ever arise. With the HUB II you have absolutely no option or choice in upgrade path or feature potential.
jkraus Posted May 17, 2015 Author Posted May 17, 2015 Thanks to all. I do have internet at the vacation home 24/7 and the cloud is alway available, as I have two camera set up to view with a dynamic DNS account. Also, my requirements are quite modest I.e. Some light on via a schedule etc. having said that the responses are so overwhelmingly in favor of the isy I may have to reconsider
paulbates Posted May 17, 2015 Posted May 17, 2015 (edited) Joe I think its more about growth. If you believe that your requirements will stay simple, the hub is certainly cost effective. Depending on the vacation home, I would start to think about leak sensors, thermostat, alarm, etc. I know I start out meaning simple, but end up someplace else Paul Edited May 17, 2015 by paulbates
Brian H Posted May 18, 2015 Posted May 18, 2015 I had received an email from Smarthome about the introductory price was expiring in five days. Today the new HUB-II price is $79.99 normally $99.99
Teken Posted May 18, 2015 Posted May 18, 2015 I had received an email from Smarthome about the introductory price was expiring in five days. Today the new HUB-II price is $79.99 normally $99.99 That's still a pretty good value given what it offers the general consumer. I will state this again, as I have done in the past here and in other forums. If they ever add in conditional logic and some trouble shooting diagnostics like was seen in HL2. All the while supporting all of their Insteon enabled hardware, coupled with more dusk to dawn options and some kind of RTC that ensures accuracy. At the $79.99 price point even I will buy one! As it stands I believe the HUB Pro which is slated to be released in June will be barometer of things to come.
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