Advice for a newbie

[mcgedoue]

Forgive me if this is in the wrong topic
Trying to setup Elk M1 system at my house, and possibly integrate with INSTEON devices
(already have one of their wireless garage sensors (item 74551) installed, but no others yet at this point and no controller yet)

Here is what I need some direction on...
Smarthome sells an Elk M1 package (Item#
128301D) which includes these two devices with it  ISY-994i Controller (Universal Devices has software to run this)
and INSTEON Dual-Band PLM (PowerLink Modem)

On the other hand I see also the ELK-M1XEP which you can then use Elks RM software with.
So what I don’t want to wind up having is two different software to have to manage.
Can this all be done with just one software? 
Is the INSTEON choice going to make me need two? 
If so maybe it’s not my best choice, at this point I’ve not invested too much to go a different way.

It doesn’t seem like ELK themselves has wireless automation devices other than some recent two way door/windows sensors & keyfobs, with more to come like smoke detectors 
Maybe there is a better choice for wireless home automation devices than Insteon, that will allow me Thermostat, smoke detection, leak detection, garage status and lighting control??
 
Any pointers is appreciated. 
 
Thanks

 

[RLSinOP]

I use an ELK M1 Gold, an ISY994i and Insteon devices.  In this configuration, you're going to need the M1XEP which basically provides the M1 an ethernet connection to your home network.  Once you have this, you can either use ELK software or ISY software for setup, configuration, programming, etc.  There are many threads of this forum which discuss using the ELK or ISY software for programming your security and HA environment.  The good news is you have choices with these two excellent systems.  As for wireless, the ELK system does have add-ons for wireless connectivity to things like Z-Wave devices.  See here.  You'll still need a Z-Wave controller (Leviton VRC0P+3 Z-Wave Serial Interface), but this is how you make that connection.
 
Hope that helps.

 

[oberkc]

My perception is that this forum is a good one for lots of things, including help deciding between the various automation protocols (insteon versus z-wave versus...), but that other forums are better for device-specific help.  There are a couple around here that may be able to comment on the insteon/elk/isy relationship, but you may want to poke your head into the universal devices forum if you want to get broader support.
 
Try:
 
http://forum.universal-devices.com/index.php?sid=8869597acf2c6858ffab2882976aed18
 
My general perception is that you may be able to control inseon with elk rules and software, but that the capability of the ISY is a bit more sophisticated.  Both play very well together.
 
As far as whether insteon is the best choice, much has been written on this already and I doubt there is much to add.