General Questions about Insteon

[MikeB]

I see it has a serial cable. Does the serial cable need to be plugged into a PC, or does it recieve the X10 signal like an X10 transceiver by being plugged into the wall? I would prefer to use the Powerlinc USB & no serial if I can help it.

I use it plugged into an electrical outlet, no serial cable.

If its too strong, is it possible that I could pick up my neighboors X10 remote controls (I am planning to use the X10 device to Insteon translation via software) if they have them & have them turn my lights on & off?

Absolutely. You should change your house code if that's a possibility.

 

[Herdfan]

Sorry, one other quesiton. Do the Switchlinc relay devices (http://www.smarthome.com/2476s.html) make a loud clicking sound when turned on or off (or any noise at all)?

This might be a silly question but my Leviton/DHC light switch that handles my outdoor lights (150w bulbs x 4) makes an audible clicking noise when turning on & off.

Yes they do.

 

[Digger]

Sorry, one other quesiton. Do the Switchlinc relay devices (http://www.smarthome.com/2476s.html) make a loud clicking sound when turned on or off (or any noise at all)?

This might be a silly question but my Leviton/DHC light switch that handles my outdoor lights (150w bulbs x 4) makes an audible clicking noise when turning on & off.

Yes they do.

I do not think it is that loud. Nothing like the old clunky X-10 devices. To me its a suttle click. You hear it but its not as annoying. One of the better features of Insteon in my opinion.

Dimmers are SILENT.

Just my opinion

 

[RichTJ99]

I have a few places I would put a relay. I have 4 150W floodlamps for two outdoor lights. I think I might swap those out for two X10 motion floodlamps.

Its 600watt total lighting but I would not ever dim it, so I thought the relay was a safer ON OFF only option. It would fall into that 1000w dimmer switch zone but I'm not sure if a relay or dimmer is better.

my front walk lights are a total of two florescent 150W bulbs & 3x 60w bulbs. I wouldn't be dimming so is a relay better?

In my office I have 6 florescent light bulbs & figured a relay would be better.

my attic fan also would need a relay but the power is adjustable in its current regular state.

On a side note to Mike B - do you prefer Homeseer or CQC? I am either going with one or the other. I do not like that homeseer charges significant money for every extra feature. CQC is more money up front @ 700 bucks.

thanks
rich
posted from his treo

 

[MikeB]

I have a few places I would put a relay. I have 4 150W floodlamps for two outdoor lights. I think I might swap those out for two X10 motion floodlamps.

Its 600watt total lighting but I would not ever dim it, so I thought the relay was a safer ON OFF only option. It would fall into that 1000w dimmer switch zone but I'm not sure if a relay or dimmer is better.

my front walk lights are a total of two florescent 150W bulbs & 3x 60w bulbs. I wouldn't be dimming so is a relay better?

In my office I have 6 florescent light bulbs & figured a relay would be better.

my attic fan also would need a relay but the power is adjustable in its current regular state.

On a side note to Mike B - do you prefer Homeseer or CQC? I am either going with one or the other. I do not like that homeseer charges significant money for every extra feature. CQC is more money up front @ 700 bucks.

thanks
rich
posted from his treo

Rich -

Haven't spent any time with HomeSeer, but like we discussed in that other thread - I went with CQC and am happy so far.

One comment I can make about the dimmer/relay issue -

Originally I went with relays for areas that I didn't need to dim. While the click isn't too annoying, I did find it annoyed me a LOT in 3 or 4-way circuits where the light switches were close together. Foe example, the stairway going to my 2nd floor has 3 switches controlling the same light. With relays installed, they all made that same click, milliseconds apart, which drove me nuts.

I ended up using relays only where I NEEDED them, and used dimmers everywhere else (even if I didn't have the need to dim) just for their silent operation.

But, it's true that the click is much quieter than the old X10 relays.

 

[Digger]

If you do decide to use Insteon I have a few opinions you may wish to consider.

1. Some people have found you need to have about 15 devices or so before the mesh is truly reliable. I have found that above 15 devices reliability is better but not perfect (yet). SH tech support kept telling me to "Buy More" and they may be correct.

2. I would go with the Switchlinc V2's over the Icons now that the price difference is only $5 or so. The waranty is 2 years vs the 1 year on an Icon (and you will need the waranty most likely). There are also more color choices etc. If you can afford the extended waranty you might want to go that route.

3. Use Powerhome or Houselinc etc to make linking easier. If you find that a device doesnt link swap it out. If the new one links there then the first one may be bad. Dont spend hours frustrating yourself thinking its you (once you have done it succesfully a few times). Device are bad out of the box often enough to drive you to drink.

4. Do your homework and make sure Insteon is what you will be happy with compared to others.

5. Budget accordingly. Their prices are skyrocketing. Some products are double what they cost a year ago and they havent stopped going up it seems.

Good Luck!!

As a footnote there are reasonably priced dimmable CFL bulbs around if you really look around. I am buying mine on eBay for about $2.30 a bulb (including shipping) for a 15 W (equals a 60 to 75 watt) and they are 1100 lumens. Not a bad deal. The guy is SUPER FAST at shipping them (From CA to NY in 2 days on average via priority mail).

 

[MikeB]

1. Some people have found you need to have about 15 devices or so before the mesh is truly reliable. I have found that above 15 devices reliability is better but not perfect (yet). SH tech support kept telling me to "Buy More" and they may be correct.

True, I think if the devices are far apart on the powerline you may have difficulty without switches in between to repeat the signal. That being said, I had awesome reliability with only 3 switches installed in my house.

2. I would go with the Switchlinc V2's over the Icons now that the price difference is only $5 or so. The waranty is 2 years vs the 1 year on an Icon (and you will need the waranty most likely). There are also more color choices etc. If you can afford the extended waranty you might want to go that route.

I second that, especially the extended warranty. Normally I am against extended warranties on electronics, but I think it's worth the $3 or $4 on at least the mechanical switches for the 7 year warranty. I didn't purchase the extended warranty on things like InlineLincs or LampLincs.

3. Use Powerhome or Houselinc etc to make linking easier. If you find that a device doesnt link swap it out. If the new one links there then the first one may be bad. Dont spend hours frustrating yourself thinking its you (once you have done it succesfully a few times). Device are bad out of the box often enough to drive you to drink.

I'd recommend PowerHome, if you don't mind the learning curve, especially if you want to use PLC groups.

4. Do your homework and make sure Insteon is what you will be happy with compared to others.

Absolutely!

As a footnote there are reasonably priced dimmable CFL bulbs around if you really look around. I am buying mine on eBay for about $2.30 a bulb (including shipping) for a 15 W (equals a 60 to 75 watt) and they are 1100 lumens. Not a bad deal. The guy is SUPER FAST at shipping them (From CA to NY in 2 days on average via priority mail).

I got most of mine from a local Big Lots store, and they were under $1 each! They were Honeywell, they turn on instantly (no millisecond delay), but they DON'T like to be dimmed.

Best of all, they don't seem to cause any powerline interference (at least not enough to affect my Insteon install).