I used to have X10 stuff all over the house and unlike a number of folks, I had really good luck with it for 8+ years. As close to 100% reliable as discernable.
Then about 8 months ago, something happened in the neighborhood and X10 stopped working completely. I did all the standard stuff (turn off all breakers and add one in at a time) and it clearly was coming from outside the house (even bought two different X10 line analyzers). Finally installed two back to back X10 noise filters (the ones you have to run the main house neutral wire through -- one wasn't enough) and while things were better, I was still at about a 30% reliability rate (i.e. 30% of commands actually got through). Had the power company out and they monitored the line for a month and showed there was a lot of noise on the line, but since it didn't impact appliances and such, there was nothing more they would do.
I did a lot of renovation on the place and tucked a lot of switches out of the way (controlled via the computer and touch screens) so I didn't have banks of switches on the walls (just ceiling lights). As such, llighting absolutely depended on reliable control. So I couldn't live with this situation.
Anyway, I tried out Insteon and UPB. I felt the Insteon stuff was pretty par for the course of SmartLinc stuff -- nifty features, disappointing implementation and/or QA. In past years, I had tried nearly every new X10 based SmartLinc product as they were released because they had features I wanted. But on average, they were less reliablethan an old standard X10 lamp modules bought from BSR 15 years ago. When they worked, they were nice. But mostly they disappointed (and customer service was virtually never a help). The Insteon modules I tried out from SmartLinc felt the same way as their X10 products and after having an eval kit for 2 weeks, I boxed it all up and shipped it back.
Then I got a UPB Eval kit (from Worthington, though most UPB suppliers have them).
Heaven on Earth! The UPB stuff is 100% reliable (at least for me), has all the features I always wanted in a switch (direct level control, two way reporting, etc). I can change definitions of the switches at any time from a PC without visiting them. Heck, I can even change the color and action of the pilot light on each switch. I have reliable feedback for my touch screens and other controllers, etc. I found that UPB switches, purchased in quantity, weren't much more expensive than the higher quality Leviton X10 switches I had installed before. And control was via an easy to understand serial protocol. The UPB stuff just feels professional (I have a mix of SimplyAutomated and HAI switches).
Short version -- I still recommend X10 for folks who want to do a few lights and who have done testing to make sure it works for them. Anything larger and I recommend UPB. I have 74 UPB wall switches and my friends have 22 (in one house) and 19 in another. No one has had a problem yet. And with iinterfaces like xPL and very good HomeVision UPB Support*, I've done all sorts of nifty things.
For example, I have a script that knows when any closet, fan or basement light is turned on and turns them off automatically after a predefined time (varies per switch). Because it's script based, I was able to put a "bypass" action in too (double tap the top of a timed switch and the script detects it and disables the timer when you're going to be working in an area for a while).
Another nifty thing is kitchen counter lights. I have 6 light switches in the kitchen -- 4 for the under counter lights (north, south, east and west), overhead and over the sink. Any switch turns on the expected load, but double tap and your turn them all on. So you have discrete control without having to run all over the kitchen when you want them all on (this didn't require scripting -- just uses the built in scene activation stuff in UPB switches). I've used the same concept in other places so switches control discrete loads, but you can still flood an area easily with a double tap (on or off).
UPB isn't perfect. Perhaps the most annoying thing is there is a noticible delay between turning a switch on (by tapping the top) and when the light actually comes on. I wish that wasn't so, though you get used ito it within a month. Also, at the time I purchased, while I could get some pretty nifty controller units (i.e. 4 buttons plus load control in a single decora opening), there were no lights on the buttons. I beleive SimplyAutomated is coming out with or has come out with that sort of thing since then. But that is about the extent of my wish list after 6 months.
Gerry
* On the HomeVision support, HV has pretty nice UPB support via a series of macros you install (you need a recent firmware chip). But if you are going UPB and have HomeVision, seriously check out the HomeVisionXL software. In addition to being a nice upgrade compared to the stock stuff (and working on many different platforms, Mac, Windows, Linux, etc), it has a UPB Setup Wizard that gets rid of the but and paste macro setup and gets UPB setup with all switch/load names imported in about 10 seconds. Will save hours or typing and avoids typos that could cause problems.
