Elk M1 and Insteon Dimmers

[dbourn]

Hi,
I just got an Elk M1G and put it in with the M1-XEP module (Ethernet) and ISY99i. I put in an Insteon Dimmer and want to set it up to go on at sunset to a certain level and them dim it down until sunrise where it goes off. I put in the rules but it didn't dim (I did do the export and the M1 can see the switch). I read a post on another site that said that you can not dim an Insteon switch from the Elk but have to go through the ISY99i. I would like to keep all my rules on the Elk. Is there an advantage one way or the other to putting rules or scenes on one or the other?

Cheers,
--David

 

[iostream212]

Hi, dbourn and welcome to CT!

I don't really see any benefit in programming it in one system than the other. In fact both systems program differently (ex. ISY has 'else' statement) so one thing you can do easily in one you may have trouble trying to do in the other. I would lean towards the ISY just because you have more memory for programs, soon it will have an ELK interface module, and it is just starting to support variables. Once you can set a light level percentage from a variable in ISY that will open up a lot more programming possibilities. Until then I would just use several rules starting at sunset and then change the light level after a set amount of time elapsed until sunrise where it would be turned off. Good luck!

 

[dbourn]

Thanks for the response! That's what I ended up doing last night and it worked well. I was kind of hoping I could do some nested if statements but didn't see that capability. My next step is to incorporate an Insteon motion sensor to bring the light to 100% for a set amount of time when it is tripped. I linked it today but have to play around with the rules. If you have any insights I would like to hear about them!

Regards,
--David

Hi, dbourn and welcome to CT!

I don't really see any benefit in programming it in one system than the other. In fact both systems program differently (ex. ISY has 'else' statement) so one thing you can do easily in one you may have trouble trying to do in the other. I would lean towards the ISY just because you have more memory for programs, soon it will have an ELK interface module, and it is just starting to support variables. Once you can set a light level percentage from a variable in ISY that will open up a lot more programming possibilities. Until then I would just use several rules starting at sunset and then change the light level after a set amount of time elapsed until sunrise where it would be turned off. Good luck!

 

[iostream212]

Well one cool thing about Insteon is that whatever on level and ramp rate the switch is set to at the time of linking that is how it will respond. What that means is that you can have a switch for a light that turns on to 75% brightness with a ramp rate of 2 seconds whenever it is used locally. But you could change it's settings to 100% brightness with a 19 second ramp rate, then link it to your motion sensor. Then whenever the motion sensor is tripped it will turn on to 100% brightness with the 19 second ramp rate.

Alternatively you can make a scene in ISY called 'Motion Light' and add the light to it. Then write a program that says 'Whenever it is after sunset and before sunrise and motion sensor status is on then activate scene 'Motion Light'. This way you can change the scene settings anytime (brightness and ramp rate) and also add more logic to its execution. Also I am pretty sure that you wouldn't need to reload scene changes into ELK. If the scene is activated in ELK it will use whatever the current ISY settings are for that scene.

 

[dbourn]

Well one cool thing about Insteon is that whatever on level and ramp rate the switch is set to at the time of linking that is how it will respond. What that means is that you can have a switch for a light that turns on to 75% brightness with a ramp rate of 2 seconds whenever it is used locally. But you could change it's settings to 100% brightness with a 19 second ramp rate, then link it to your motion sensor. Then whenever the motion sensor is tripped it will turn on to 100% brightness with the 19 second ramp rate.

Alternatively you can make a scene in ISY called 'Motion Light' and add the light to it. Then write a program that says 'Whenever it is after sunset and before sunrise and motion sensor status is on then activate scene 'Motion Light'. This way you can change the scene settings anytime (brightness and ramp rate) and also add more logic to its execution. Also I am pretty sure that you wouldn't need to reload scene changes into ELK. If the scene is activated in ELK it will use whatever the current ISY settings are for that scene.

That's a good suggestion. What I ended up doing was making three rules where if the light was not off and the time was between a particular period then bring the lights to 100% for 5 minutes and then return to a particular scene. This was the only way I could figure out how to return to the original scene that was active when the motion sensor was tripped. If you have any better ways to accomplish this please let me know!

 

[apostolakisl]

I have the ISY99ir pro, Elk m1G, and a bunch of Insteon stuff. I put it in 2 years ago. I would steer you towards using ISY to do most of your programming. The only lighting automation I run from Elk is the stuff that is triggered by the alarm system (door openings, alarms, and things like that).

ISY just added variables to the system which is nice. The memory is massive. The reliability is excellent. The programming is much easier to organize, and soon there will be an Elk module so that you won't even need to keep alarm system activated Insteon stuff on the Elk. Plus the support from ISY blows away Elk and they are constantly adding more features. Elk has pretty much stopped talking to the DIY guys where ISY is the exact opposite.

 

[dbourn]

I have the ISY99ir pro, Elk m1G, and a bunch of Insteon stuff. I put it in 2 years ago. I would steer you towards using ISY to do most of your programming. The only lighting automation I run from Elk is the stuff that is triggered by the alarm system (door openings, alarms, and things like that).

ISY just added variables to the system which is nice. The memory is massive. The reliability is excellent. The programming is much easier to organize, and soon there will be an Elk module so that you won't even need to keep alarm system activated Insteon stuff on the Elk. Plus the support from ISY blows away Elk and they are constantly adding more features. Elk has pretty much stopped talking to the DIY guys where ISY is the exact opposite.

Lou,
Thanks for the input. It sounds like ISY is the way to go! I will keep going with that.

--David

 

[apostolakisl]

Lou,
Thanks for the input. It sounds like ISY is the way to go! I will keep going with that.

--David

If you haven't already, you need to follow the ISY forum. Very helpful people, both ISY staff and ISY users. Michele (ISY staff) will even log into your system and help you out with problems.