Starting from scratch

[66splitbus]

Hi all,

I just bought a new house in a rural area and wanted to get a ISY system to start home automation and monitoring.  I've used Insteon in the past and while they work great they sure do seem to die quickly and at usually $50 a pop that sucks.  Im was wondering, if you all were starting from scratch what would you use?  I dont know much about Zwave for Zigbee so I figure I'd ask.

Thanks!

[larryllix]

Insteon. I have read other forums and  listened to the complaints and used X10 since the 70s and Insteon has them all beat except for the lack of device variety.

[Techman]

You should also make sure you have a stable power source. If your area has frequent black outs, brown outs, etc then you should first look into a whole house power line filter as power line surges can reek havoc on electronics. 

[stusviews]

Insteon. I have read other forums and  listened to the complaints and used X10 since the 70s and Insteon has them all beat except for the lack of device variety.

 

Do you mean the variety of devices (Insteon beats them all) or the variety of manufacturers (Insteon has only one)?

[stusviews]

Hi all,

I just bought a new house in a rural area and wanted to get a ISY system to start home automation and monitoring.  I've used Insteon in the past and while they work great they sure do seem to die quickly and at usually $50 a pop that sucks.  Im was wondering, if you all were starting from scratch what would you use?  I dont know much about Zwave for Zigbee so I figure I'd ask.

Thanks!

 

That's unusual. OTOH, most Insteon devices have a 2 year warranty, so if they die quickly, then there's a no-cost replacement available.

 

But, if that's what you're experiencing, then I agree with Techman, a whole house surge suppressor is needed.

[larryllix]

Do you mean the variety of devices (Insteon beats them all) or the variety of manufacturers (Insteon has only one)?

Well I did mean just devices but since you raised it....

[oberkc]

With the ISY, you have a viable z-wave option, also.  I have not used the ZigBee capability, but understand the device support is more limited.  While I am 90+% insteon, I have started to incorporate some z-wave devices when I find good deals.  I find this combination very good.  I have not had the insteon failure rate you describe, either.

 

If I were starting a new house, there is not question I would use the ISY-994 with z-wave.  I would continue to use a combination of insteon and z-wave, and even a bit of x-10 devices I still have.

[larryllix]

With the ISY, you have a viable z-wave option, also.  I have not used the ZigBee capability, but understand the device support is more limited.  While I am 90+% insteon, I have started to incorporate some z-wave devices when I find good deals.  I find this combination very good.  I have not had the insteon failure rate you describe, either.

 

If I were starting a new house, there is not question I would use the ISY-994 with z-wave.  I would continue to use a combination of insteon and z-wave, and even a bit of x-10 devices I still have.

I still use some x10 devices also but can't wait to get rid of them finally. In applications where they operate dynamically with motion or other fast action sequences they can tie my ISY/PLM up for up to 60 seconds. For low action background devices they work just fine. eg. China cabinet light, Christmas tree lights.

 

Now if Insteon would just produce a decent beeper or doorbell chime for dryer done and/or garage door open indicators I wouldn't have these X10 problems.

[66splitbus]

Thanks for all the replies, good info...  As for my situation, I have great power where I live.  We have zero lightning strikes and I cant remember the last time a light has dimmed or my battery backup alarms have even chirped so I dont think its that.   Of my 20 or so wall switches 3-4 have completely failed and a few others get increasingly hard to turn on with a tap.  I need to hold them or push hard.  I dont ever smack them or anything, always gentle but they seem die.  Ive had the expensive lawn timer controller die too.  

Anyway, sounds like I'll order a second isy and keep on going with Insteon.

[oberkc]

"For low action background devices they work just fine. eg. China cabinet light, Christmas tree lights."

 

I use x10 only for temporary (holiday) stuff or outdoor applications where I still have those B&D modules. I argree that I would like a chime, but I never had any x10 versions of those, either.

[Techman]

Thanks for all the replies, good info...  As for my situation, I have great power where I live.  We have zero lightning strikes and I cant remember the last time a light has dimmed or my battery backup alarms have even chirped so I dont think its that.   Of my 20 or so wall switches 3-4 have completely failed and a few others get increasingly hard to turn on with a tap.  I need to hold them or push hard.  I dont ever smack them or anything, always gentle but they seem die.  Ive had the expensive lawn timer controller die too.

Anyway, sounds like I'll order a second isy and keep on going with Insteon.

 

Make sure you're not exceeding the rated wattage of the devices. If you have more than one device installed in the same box then the wattage of the load must be reduced due to heat.

 

If a device is acting up you could also try doing a factory reset on the device, then a restore device from the ISY.

[stusviews]

Thanks for all the replies, good info...  As for my situation, I have great power where I live.  We have zero lightning strikes and I cant remember the last time a light has dimmed or my battery backup alarms have even chirped so I dont think its that.   Of my 20 or so wall switches 3-4 have completely failed and a few others get increasingly hard to turn on with a tap.  I need to hold them or push hard.  I dont ever smack them or anything, always gentle but they seem die.  Ive had the expensive lawn timer controller die too.

Anyway, sounds like I'll order a second isy and keep on going with Insteon.

 

How old are the devices that failed? BTW, if the, "expensive lawn timer controller," is an EZFlora, then that's not an Insteon product. The EZFlora is an Insteon compatible product made by a different manufacturer.

[Brian H]

How old are the wall switches?

The early ones in the 2006-2007 era. Have a known tact switch problem. Where the local paddles would click the tact switch but no action happened. Remotely they where fine. Smarthome actually extended the warranty on them to seven years.

[apostolakisl]

Thanks for all the replies, good info...  As for my situation, I have great power where I live.  We have zero lightning strikes and I cant remember the last time a light has dimmed or my battery backup alarms have even chirped so I dont think its that.   Of my 20 or so wall switches 3-4 have completely failed and a few others get increasingly hard to turn on with a tap.  I need to hold them or push hard.  I dont ever smack them or anything, always gentle but they seem die.  Ive had the expensive lawn timer controller die too.

Anyway, sounds like I'll order a second isy and keep on going with Insteon.

 

Sadly you missed the boat on your dead devices.  This was a known flaw and Insteon extended the warranty on all of those switches to 7 years.  I sent every single one back and got new ones about 5 years ago.  No problems since, except the PLM had issues, which we all know how to fix now (bad capacitors).  If you are the original purchaser of those devices and bought from Smarthome, there might be an outside chance you could convince them to replace on warranty explaining that you didn't know.