Initial Equipment List - New User Wants to Order All Gear Necessary for Small Pilot System

[Mike Brook]

I'm a new comer to ISY (although not to Home Automation), and trying to put together an initial order.  I'm building around the ISY 994i ZW and Serial Power Line Modem. Using Macintosh laptop for building and maintaining the programs and an iPhone to do some of the fooling around that we seem compelled to do on our smartphones.  The goal of this post is to check my bill of materials so that I get everything I need to build and play with a small prototype network on the first round of gear ordering.

The center of the system:

1) Controller: Universal Devices ISY994i ZW

2) Power supply to ISY994i?  (see question about PLM below).  Some product listings seem to indicate a power cord, others that a separate power supply is necessary.

3) PLM / Power Line Modem:  The current version of the Serial PLM offered by Smart Home looks like it's the "Insteon 2413S PowerLinc Modem INSTEON Dual-Band Serial Interface".  The concern is that the older version of the PLM is "2412S" is the only version of the PLM that looks like it supplies electrical power to the ISY controller over RJ45.  The 2413S looks like a newer model that does not support power over RJ45.   Does this mean that there is an additional power supply unit for the ISY 994i that I need to order?  Is the 2413S the best part to buy?

4) Macintosh Connection Interface (physical):   Do I need to find a USB to Serial Connector, such as:  Tripp Lite Keyspan High-Speed USB to Serial Adapter, PC & Mac (USA-19HS) (for example)

5)  Light Switches (house is old, and has some switches without a neutral wire), fixtures are incandescent at moment - hoping to upgrade to dimmable LED (advice welcome):
* INSTEON On/Off Switch MFR # 2434292 (3 Wire).   
* INSTEON SwitchLinc 2-Wire Dimmer #2474DWH2 (2 Wire)
* INSTEON Dimmer Switch  # 2432-292 (3 Wire)


6) Other Cords & Connectors:  Relying on cords that come in boxes, and an assortment of wire nuts, etc., in my electrician's tool bag.

Leaving anything critical out?  Any all advise welcome.

[paulbates]

Hi Mike and welcome to the UDI Forums!

 

Answers in line in blue

 

Paul

 

2) Power supply to ISY994i?  (see question about PLM below).  Some product listings seem to indicate a power cord, others that a separate power supply is necessary.

The retail ISY you order should come with a power supply. If it doesn't say on the ad you're looking at, ask the seller to confirm

3) PLM: The first question relates to the Power Line Modem.   The current PLM looks like it's the Insteon 2413S PowerLinc Modem INSTEON Dual-Band Serial Interface.  The concern is that the older 2412S looks like the model that supplies electrical power to the controller over RJ45.  The 2413S looks like a newer model that does not support power over RJ45.   a) Does this mean that there is an additional power supply unit for the ISY 994i that I need to order?

 

The older model of PLM, the 2412 supplied power. The newer 2413 does not. Per above, the power supply normally is shipped with ISY in retail settings. Ask if the ad you are looking at does not say. It is an RJ45 port that is used to pass bi-directional serial comms between the ISY and the 2413 PLM.

 

4) Macintosh Connection Interface (physical):   Do I need to find a USB to Serial Connector, such as:  Tripp Lite Keyspan High-Speed USB to Serial Adapter, PC & Mac (USA-19HS) (for example)

No, you'll use the java admin console on your mac over your local LAN/network to communicate with the ISY, and the ISY will communicate via RS232 serial with the PLM.  Note that when you download the java admin console, sometime specific steps are needed with the Mac. They are called out on the forum where you download.

5)  Light Switches (house is old, and has some switches without a neutral wire), fixtures are incandescent at moment - hoping to upgrade to dimmable LED (advice welcome):
* INSTEON On/Off Switch MFR # 2434292 (3 Wire).   
* INSTEON SwitchLinc 2-Wire Dimmer #2474DWH2 (2 Wire)
* INSTEON Dimmer Switch  # 2432-292 (3 Wire)

Nothing inherently wrong with these switches.  The 2 wires have some restrictions you can search for that MFR # on the forums. You may want to start with incandescents before moving to LEDs to reduce the number of variables.... knowing whether the install is ok, and if the LED introduced problems. Unfortunately LEDs can be trial and error. I've had good luck, but you'll find posts here where some don't work so well with automated switches.

 

One initial thing you need to do is make sure that both legs of your electrical system are bridged. That can be with a passive signalinc bridge in the panel, or it can be with 2 dual band devices... one on each power leg. The  2413 PLM is one of those devices, and there are steps in the PLM's guide on how to test that the power legs are bridged.

6) Other Cords & Connectors:  Relying on cords that come in boxes, and an assortment of wire nuts, etc., in my electrician's tool bag.

Yes, regular wiring techniques apply. The thing to note is sometimes the wires are thicker on some insteon switches and take up more room, Wire nuts need to be replaced with bigger ones, which take more room in the box. Don't use pressure on the pushing the switches in the box to make up the difference... use the newer 'push in' style connectors, etc.  Goes without, follow code.

 

Get familiar with the forum layout and wiki, tons of good info... eg search for your switches by MFR# and see what other forum users have to say

 

[stusviews]

You may want to consider using Insteon dimmers plus a Micro Module in the boxes without a neutral wire in the event you want to use LEDs sometime in the future. Just reconnect the wires at the fixture so that white is neutral and black is line, cap the red (load wire) from the dimmer and connect the load to the Micro Dimmer.

 

Edit: The Micro Module is installed in the ceiling box, not the wall box.

[Mike Brook]

Paul - Thank you for the detailed and thoughtful reply, and for the tip on the "push in" style wire connectors!    Very helpful in visualizing how this will be set up.

 

Stu - Thanks for suggesting Micro Module.   I'm not sure I can realize visualize how this works at the moment (which may be because of my experience level) - is it redundant having both a 2-wire wall dimmer controlled by Insteon and then putting a Micro Module up in the ceiling in the light's J-box?     The Micro Modules look like terrific problem solvers, so I'd love to play around with integrating them - for now, I'll plan on coming back to them after I get some experience with the 2-wire dimmer switches.   If there is a link I can follow to put this in better perspective, please pass along.

 

I've worked with Lutron Radio RA2 and some other home automation stuff over the years, the fact that this forum is here, and the ISY device seems to allow serious system design is fantastic.  Thanks.

 

Mike