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how to integrate ISY994I with my setup? (Brilliant, ring, insteon)


studioso

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HI!

I'm renovating my home and am very busy planning my home automation/control before we close up the walls.

My first purchase was a case of insteon switches and a 994I+ because I like the dual band and the flexibility of automation the ISY gives. plus it seems to be the one component in every automation system that generally people are most satisfied with and find it reliable.

However I was having trouble finding a solution that fits the rest of my needs. Now I discovered Brilliant switches and they basically tick off all of my boxes:

1-a single non-smartphone or cloud dependent controller/touchscreen with a nice GUI

2- the same interface also automatically displays doorbell camera (ring) something even amazon doesn't do with it's own Echo. (don't like ring's cloud dependency, but still seems like best option out there)

3-same single interface allows for audio or even video intercom between units (not a huge mansion but we have 3 floors)

But I wonder if it will be possible to also control my insteons/isy through these... I'm planning to install several insteon wall keypads to control scenes, and the scheduling can be kept through  isy, but would be nice if I can also control them through Brilliant,

additionally, i wonder if I can link automation between the 2 both ways. for example, can I still control thermostats(ecobee?)  with both systems? 

I see brilliant is compatible with smartThings and Alexa, so maybe there is a way to communicate thru that?

I haven't had a chance to play with ISY yet, as I said I'm trying to learn all I can about HA within a few weeks... but I would appreciate your input and generally your ideas on how to implement it all together most elegantly...

thanks!

Alex

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1 hour ago, studioso said:

HI!

I'm renovating my home and am very busy planning my home automation/control before we close up the walls.

My first purchase was a case of insteon switches and a 994I+ because I like the dual band and the flexibility of automation the ISY gives. plus it seems to be the one component in every automation system that generally people are most satisfied with and find it reliable.

However I was having trouble finding a solution that fits the rest of my needs. Now I discovered Brilliant switches and they basically tick off all of my boxes:

1-a single non-smartphone or cloud dependent controller/touchscreen with a nice GUI

2- the same interface also automatically displays doorbell camera (ring) something even amazon doesn't do with it's own Echo. (don't like ring's cloud dependency, but still seems like best option out there)

3-same single interface allows for audio or even video intercom between units (not a huge mansion but we have 3 floors)

But I wonder if it will be possible to also control my insteons/isy through these... I'm planning to install several insteon wall keypads to control scenes, and the scheduling can be kept through  isy, but would be nice if I can also control them through Brilliant,

additionally, i wonder if I can link automation between the 2 both ways. for example, can I still control thermostats(ecobee?)  with both systems? 

I see brilliant is compatible with smartThings and Alexa, so maybe there is a way to communicate thru that?

I haven't had a chance to play with ISY yet, as I said I'm trying to learn all I can about HA within a few weeks... but I would appreciate your input and generally your ideas on how to implement it all together most elegantly...

thanks!

Alex

Brilliant is not compatible with the ISY nor Insteon so you would not be able to integrate them together. I dont own one but do have touchscreens mounted that I never use. I think its a great idea for those who want a fancy remote but overall falls short from an automation standpoint.

If I wanted home control- I would actually go for that device as it appears to be a very capable device. However I want automation. For what this stuff costs, I want the best bang for my buck. I want to limit my interactions and let the system do most of the work for me.

One thing Ive learned is to keep it simple. Trying to automate every detail will drive you crazy. I stick with an 80/20 rule. Automate 80% and the rest I do manually somehow via my keypads. Pretty much everything is preset in my home. I dont want to stand next to a switch to simply dim a light, play music, set volume, etc. Walk in, hit a button and it does it all for me. Depending on area, day, and time, I dont even have to touch anything.

This isnt something you want to learn in a few weeks. Take a few weeks to figure out what kind of home you want, lifestyle, etc. Those answers will tell you what system will work best for you. Sometimes its the eye candy that is the best fit. Others its the old, boring, trusty piece that overcomes all.

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I've been eyeing Brilliant for awhile now, but haven't pulled the trigger.  So I don't speak from actual experience.

Yes, I believe there will be no issue with controlling your Ecobee from any and all systems that it is compatible.  I can control mine from my Harmony Remote, ISY (nodeserver), Home Assistant, as well as phone app and the actual thermostat.  All stay in sync and I would assume Brilliant would mesh with everything just fine too.  The same should apply to Sonos too.

It is possible to have ISY communicate both ways with a SmartThings hub, and thus, presumably, with Brilliant.  Possible.  Not necessarily easily, but it is possible.  I used to have this set up, but I found a different/better way to do what I needed.  It involved using ISY network resources, ISY portal, and IFTTT.  Not ideal, but it did work.  I always suspected there would be a way to eliminate the IFTTT portion from my setup, but I was never able to figure it out with my limited knowledge of SmartThings programming.  If and when I go with Brilliant I will figure out some way to do this.  Even if I have to dig out my old SmartThings hub again.  You mentioned Alexa, but I can't help you there.  I know nothing about Alexa.

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thanks for the help.

@lilyoyo1 I understand your distinction between automation and control. for me what pulls me is that anyways I'd like an intercom and a video doorbell. and while I will certainly take advantage of isy's automation and keypad's scenes, I'd like ease of control for those times automation doesn't apply. especially for my wife who doesn't own a smartphone (on principle!) and my young kids who I don't want to give a smart phone. automation works for "away" and "nighttime" morningtime" scenes, but with a family of 7 with different ever-changing schedules there are going to be hands on controls for light and music...

as per the price, yes it's not cheap. and to take full advantage of it I'd need probably 4 units. I am justifying the expense to myself because of the intercom and video door, which I'd otherwise buy elsewhere, plus the fact that they include a ~40$  lifx with each switch...

@carealtor thanks again, good to know about the ecobee, I was just cooming to terms that I will have to start sharing my life's secrets with alexa, now I'm might need to do the same with smartThings!

 

will keep you posted...

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34 minutes ago, studioso said:

thanks for the help.

@lilyoyo1 I understand your distinction between automation and control. for me what pulls me is that anyways I'd like an intercom and a video doorbell. and while I will certainly take advantage of isy's automation and keypad's scenes, I'd like ease of control for those times automation doesn't apply. especially for my wife who doesn't own a smartphone (on principle!) and my young kids who I don't want to give a smart phone. automation works for "away" and "nighttime" morningtime" scenes, but with a family of 7 with different ever-changing schedules there are going to be hands on controls for light and music...

as per the price, yes it's not cheap. and to take full advantage of it I'd need probably 4 units. I am justifying the expense to myself because of the intercom and video door, which I'd otherwise buy elsewhere, plus the fact that they include a ~40$  lifx with each switch...

@carealtor thanks again, good to know about the ecobee, I was just cooming to terms that I will have to start sharing my life's secrets with alexa, now I'm might need to do the same with smartThings!

 

will keep you posted...

The good thing about automation is not needing a phone or other peripheral devices if done properly and thought out fully; even with ever changing schedules, there is still routine built in (I have this conversation weekly). You'd be surprised how routine your non-routine is. I know my customers are once they start tracking things so I can automate tasks for them. Let us know how it goes

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  • 4 months later...

I've been working with @Jimbo to get the Polyglot Hue Emulator to work with Brilliant, but he has a life outside of this forum (go figure) and we aren't there yet.

What I have successfully done is get the Emulate Hue integration on Home Assistant up and running and it seems to work well.  So I DO, in a roundabout way, have control of my Insteon with the Brilliant.

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  • 7 months later...
On 4/28/2020 at 12:11 PM, carealtor said:

I've been working with @Jimbo to get the Polyglot Hue Emulator to work with Brilliant, but he has a life outside of this forum (go figure) and we aren't there yet.

What I have successfully done is get the Emulate Hue integration on Home Assistant up and running and it seems to work well.  So I DO, in a roundabout way, have control of my Insteon with the Brilliant.

Has anyone been able to get the hue emulator working with Brilliant?

Thanks,

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26 minutes ago, oberkc said:

Just got one a few weeks ago and does not connect to hue emulator as far as I can tell.  Still, for me, music (sonos) control was also important and it does this well.  

No, it doesn't connect.  But it sure seems like it should (layman's opinion), since the Home Assistant Emulated Hue connects easily.

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