Insteon Concern - Being Discontinued????

[KeithA]

I have used Insteon products now for at least 15 years in 3 different homes.  Now I've installed half of the switches/fans in a new home and am concerned with the amount of items discontinued or unavailable.  I know that some unavailability is due to Brandon, however, there are a large number of items discontinued. I use the ISY-994i with the system.

Is this the beginning of the end for Insteon products? What products would replace Insteon and work together in the same environment with the Insteon and ISY-994i?

Trying to plan ahead.

Thanks!

[MrBill]

There are several threads already in existence....

The short answer is "no one knows"... but there is LOTS of speculation....

Here is one thread, there are several more:

 

[lilyoyo1]

23 minutes ago, MrBill said:

There are several threads already in existence....

The short answer is "no one knows"... but there is LOTS of speculation....

Here is one thread, there are several more:

 

There will be another post by Tuesday about the same thing. Maybe we should create a sub forum for the topic. ?

[ThisIsTheWay]

29 minutes ago, lilyoyo1 said:

There will be another post by Tuesday about the same thing. Maybe we should create a sub forum for the topic. ?

That would be nice.  We could have a thread about when things go in stock.

I am really fed up waiting for things.  Sitting here trying to decide do I  buy zwave for the time being?  Do I just say 'heck' and move to RA3?

Its maddening.

[larryllix]

That would be nice.  We could have a thread about when things go in stock.
I am really fed up waiting for things.  Sitting here trying to decide do I  buy zwave for the time being?  Do I just say 'heck' and move to RA3?
Its maddening.

It is more about the not knowing that gives that 'lack of Control' feeling about one's own destiny.

Sent from my SM-G781W using Tapatalk

[lilyoyo1]

1 hour ago, larryllix said:

It is more about the not knowing that gives that 'lack of Control' feeling about one's own destiny.

Sent from my SM-G781W using Tapatalk

 

I'm sure that is the case for some people. But then again they still have control as long as they use a controller such as the Isy. 

We no longer live in a world where it has to be either or so why worry about it

It's not like insteon devices would stop working if they cease to exist. Buy what they have that you need and substitute the rest with other supported devices. 

[lilyoyo1]

1 hour ago, uffy said:

That would be nice.  We could have a thread about when things go in stock.

I am really fed up waiting for things.  Sitting here trying to decide do I  buy zwave for the time being?  Do I just say 'heck' and move to RA3?

Its maddening.

With the Isy, you can mix and match. I'm going with RA3 but i can use it with C4 if the Isy doesn't support it by the time I need it to. On its own, Ra is too limited with it's programming to use without a more advanced controller. That comes down to how you use your system though. 

[Techman]

4 hours ago, MrBill said:

There are several threads already in existence....

The short answer is "no one knows"... but there is LOTS of speculation....

Here is one thread, there are several more:

 

The 2 and 3 wire toggle switches are now back in stock on the Smarthome website

[ThisIsTheWay]

1 hour ago, Techman said:

The 2 and 3 wire toggle switches are now back in stock on the Smarthome website

Gone.  As are the regular dimmers...which I hadn't seen out of stock before. 

[Techman]

5 minutes ago, uffy said:

Gone.  As are the regular dimmers...which I hadn't seen out of stock before. 

Amazing, just before I posted it showed ample inventory. I wonder if someone is buying up the stock to resell.

[ThisIsTheWay]

3 hours ago, lilyoyo1 said:

With the Isy, you can mix and match. I'm going with RA3 but i can use it with C4 if the Isy doesn't support it by the time I need it to. On its own, Ra is too limited with it's programming to use without a more advanced controller. That comes down to how you use your system though. 

RA3 and home assistant maybe?  There is always a place my heart for double tap on for fast on.

[lilyoyo1]

1 hour ago, uffy said:

RA3 and home assistant maybe?  There is always a place my heart for double tap on for fast on.

As long as HA Ada support for Ra3 then that would be possible. Personally I try to avoid mixing systems as much as possible but to each their own.

 

[ThisIsTheWay]

15 hours ago, lilyoyo1 said:

As long as HA Ada support for Ra3 then that would be possible. Personally I try to avoid mixing systems as much as possible but to each their own.

 

I think that is sage advice. but what ecosystem will exist that will be as robust as Insteon with ISY?

[lilyoyo1]

32 minutes ago, uffy said:

I think that is sage advice. but what ecosystem will exist that will be as robust as Insteon with ISY?

Honestly, none. The beauty of Insteon is in its flexibility, simplicity, and openness. It was designed from the ground up to be used without a controller. This approach meant device functions had to be readily available and easily accessible. Added to a controller designed to control insteon specifically, people were/are able to do so much more than anything else since the controller (isy) was designed with insteon in mind. 

Everything is designed to be used with a controller. Because of that, there will be more limitations in place. You're only able to do what their API allows you to do when connected to their system. This locks you into someone else's idea of automation.

With that said, depending on how you use your system, you can come close. Lutron is generally an open system for what it costs and designed for. There's a reason why Lutron (and any other high end system) talks more about the experience than the automation aspect of their systems. While a switch may be a switch, performance wise they're simply at a different level. It's like driving a luxury car. The affordable ones (Lexus and Bmw) are smooth, sleek and untouchable- until you drive a true luxury vehicle like a rolls royce or Bentley. Thats when you experience true luxury...

[KeithA]

Since I’m so heavily invested in Insteon devices (150+) and the ISY994i, I haven’t followed other products. I’ve stuck with what has been a great robust & reliable system. So, what are the pros/cons of other devices compared to Insteon that can be used with my current Insteon system? I see some said Lutron and I saw RA mentioned. Any good links for research?  Thanks in advance for the help & insight!

[lilyoyo1]

1 hour ago, KeithA said:

Since I’m so heavily invested in Insteon devices (150+) and the ISY994i, I haven’t followed other products. I’ve stuck with what has been a great robust & reliable system. So, what are the pros/cons of other devices compared to Insteon that can be used with my current Insteon system? I see some said Lutron and I saw RA mentioned. Any good links for research?  Thanks in advance for the help & insight!

That's an open question in regards to links for research. It all depends on the information you're looking for. Regardless, I'm not sure if there are specific links available that's geared towards research purposes. Besides, there are too many products for a generalized statement.

If you're asking specifically about Lutron, their website would have all the necessary information.

[KeithA]

Thanks! I’m looking at Lutron site now. I probably should have phrased the question as…has anyone with a large Insteon system decided to change to another company’s devices and what systems are compatible without dumping Insteon products completely?  And can all be still controlled using the ISY994i? I’m trying to plan ahead. Thanks again for your help!

[lilyoyo1]

3 minutes ago, KeithA said:

Thanks! I’m looking at Lutron site now. I probably should have phrased the question as…has anyone with a large Insteon system decided to change to another company’s devices and what systems are compatible without dumping Insteon products completely?  And can all be still controlled using the ISY994i? I’m trying to plan ahead. Thanks again for your help!

Personally, I wouldn't dump a working at q insteon for any other diy automation system. Even if i had devices failing, I'd replace bad devices with newer ones as long as they were available. 

For the things that matter most to me, no other diy system meets my needs the insteon does. 

I will be swapping out my insteon system to RA3. Both my wife and I love the look of the new switches. With us building a new home, this will allow us a chance to use the ra system in our current home to see if we like it better than control 4. We'll still keep our current home (renting it out), so RA3 fits my desire to have a system that is self contained.

While C4 does require a controller, (should we use it in the next home), it's not as big of a deal since we've decided this is our last build

[upstatemike]

An important factor in your question that will affect the answer is what range of Insteon products do you currently use? I for example use Insteon dimmers, switches, keypads, bulbs, screw-in modules, plug-in modules, wire-in modules, desktop remotes, wireless switches (or battery keypads), door sensors, motion sensors, and dry contact modules. 

Another factor to consider is any feature of Insteon that you consider important. For me it is the direct association between devices across the entire ecosystem and not just among devices that are in close proximity to each other.

if you list the Insteon things that are important to you and then look at how to replicate them with a new protocol the options quickly narrow down to just a few potential alternatives to consider.

[KeithA]

I use dimmer switches, on/off switches, lamp modules, on/off modules, outdoor modules, thermostats (5), keypads, fanlincs, & motion sensors.  Plus it’s interfaced with Elk gold and communicating nicely. I like the ability to program everything including turning off the HVAC in the event of fire alarms, turning on all lights to alarms, etc. Amother important issue is for everything to run locally (no cloud) and, as you said “the direct association between devices across the entire ecosystem and not just among devices that are in close proximity to each other.”

[stevehoyt]

I am getting my Polisy today. I noticed that Kasa devices are supported through a node server. I have had to add a number of their plugs, due to a number of issues with my sense energy monitor not working. I am wondering if anyone has integrated Kasa devices in ISY on Polisy. Perhaps this might be a road to follow short or long term until Smarthome lets us know where they are headed? Any thoughts would be appreciated.

[upstatemike]

13 minutes ago, stevehoyt said:

I am getting my Polisy today. I noticed that Kasa devices are supported through a node server. I have had to add a number of their plugs, due to a number of issues with my sense energy monitor not working. I am wondering if anyone has integrated Kasa devices in ISY on Polisy. Perhaps this might be a road to follow short or long term until Smarthome lets us know where they are headed? Any thoughts would be appreciated.

The answer might depend on how good your LAN and Wi-Fi are and how much you intend to scale out the system. I think most reccommendations around Wi-Fi based automation top out around 20-25 devices before you need to do some serious network upgrades.

[lilyoyo1]

16 minutes ago, stevehoyt said:

I am getting my Polisy today. I noticed that Kasa devices are supported through a node server. I have had to add a number of their plugs, due to a number of issues with my sense energy monitor not working. I am wondering if anyone has integrated Kasa devices in ISY on Polisy. Perhaps this might be a road to follow short or long term until Smarthome lets us know where they are headed? Any thoughts would be appreciated.

You should probably post this on the kasa nodeserver forum since those users would be more likely to see it 

[dbwarner5]

On 12/6/2021 at 12:09 PM, stevehoyt said:

I am getting my Polisy today. I noticed that Kasa devices are supported through a node server. I have had to add a number of their plugs, due to a number of issues with my sense energy monitor not working. I am wondering if anyone has integrated Kasa devices in ISY on Polisy. Perhaps this might be a road to follow short or long term until Smarthome lets us know where they are headed? Any thoughts would be appreciated.

I purchased 3 Kasa plugs from amazon while they were on sale. They all integrate easily with Polisy and work as expected. Occasionally they lose wifi, but simply cycling them on / off the regain. The biggest drawback is that I recently had to change my wifi.. each device had to be reset. I would continue to use them sparingly due to wifi, but have no complaints.

[MrBill]

1 minute ago, dbwarner5 said:

Occasionally they lose wifi,

I have a dozen of them... I added IP reservations for them via my router and they seem to always stay connected.