CQC and UPB

[robertmee]

As a Professional Installer I sell three lines of lighting to fit the budget of the home owner. I agree that UPB is not as good as hardwire but far better than INSTEON and Z-Wave in my opinion. If I am doing a new home I always first try to sell them on a Hardwire system like HomeWorks but if it is an existing structure running wire and or redoing electrical is not always an option. Sure RadioRA is a great choice any day over Z-Wave but some homeowners feel that it is more costly then what they want to invest. This brings us down to Z-Wave, INSTEON and UPB. With the High failure rate of INSTEON it is not a good choice for me to install due to replacement costs, Z-Wave adds a lot of wireless traffic to a house and is generally not excepted looks and feel wise by the homeowners wife. This brings us to UPB which is an economical option, looks and feels good to the homeowners, provides them with lighting control with an expectable reliability for the price they are willing to pay and has a low install cost that does not require patching the drywall. Most of my Installs with UPB do have an Elk but I am getting more and more request for Installations with CQC and them not wanting to redo or add a security system at this time. With working with the Beta UPB Driver I am finding that it takes care of a lot of the short comings that the M1 has with UPB. I plan on adding the UPB Driver on all my installs even if they are using an M1 for this reason. I will still have the lighting programed in the M1 but CQC will be my primary UPB Controller instead of the M1.

Thanks for the synopsis, TM....What happens on those retrofits where a customer doesn't want RA prices and they have no neutrals, which is common among older homes. As you know, I've been straddling the fence between Z-wave and UPB and am leaning more and more towards UPB, but I've yet to open up all my boxes to inspect for neutrals.

 

[robertmee]

I've always wondered, and maybe the CQC folks can answer for me. Dean has always said CQC was aimed at the professional market first and DIY as a side note. Why has it taken so long to get UPB support, when of all the powerline technologies, UPB is the number one choice of pro's?

Not a knock on CQC by any measure, and the other things added are valuable I know.

--Jamie

Do pro's really install PLC lighting? Given the history, I would expect them not to touch it with a 40' pole.

Do they have much of a choice for existing homes? How big of a project is it to re-wire an existing home for a hardwired lighting system?

As noted, they have lots of wireless choices that don't involve PLC technology in Lutron's RadioRA, CentralLite's starlite, or even, z-wave.

 

[toymaster458]

Thanks for the synopsis, TM....What happens on those retrofits where a customer doesn't want RA prices and they have no neutrals, which is common among older homes. As you know, I've been straddling the fence between Z-wave and UPB and am leaning more and more towards UPB, but I've yet to open up all my boxes to inspect for neutrals.

Here in around the Chicago Area they require all electrical to be run in conduit so it is not allways hard to get a neutral where needed. If that is not possible then Z-Wave or Radio-RA here we come.

 

[toymaster458]

The Two-Way Beta version is now posted.