Hello from Houston!

[Osro]

Hey guys,
I live in Houston and I've got an Insteon based system with the following hardware:

ISY-99i (controller)
IR-Linc
4 dimmer switches
3 motion detectors
3 lamp lincs
8 button keypad linc

Everything works OK, but I feel like things should be just a bit better. The IR-Linc works inconsistently, there is a noticeable lag on the motion detectors, and I'm not aware of a way to control my blinds. I've got over $1K invested in this system and I'm not exactly made of money, but I only live in a 1600 square ft. place so its not like I'm fixing up a mansion either.

One of my big problems is the ISY-99i doesn't give me the flexibility to do what I want as far as programming is concerned. I'm a professional software developer, so the ultra simple "if-then-else" approach to programming makes me want to cut myself. Does anyone have any recommendations on what I can do with my system to make me happier? I'm open to any and all suggestions from complete replacement to just getting a new controller, but since I'm not made of money I would like to keep the costs down if possible.

 

[electron]

hi Osro, welcome to CocoonTech!

You could either go with a PC based software package (here is a home automation software list which indexes all software out there, and you can filter the list by many features), or maybe take a look at the Mi Casa Verde Vera controllers. While their main focus is Z-Wave, they do support INSTEON, and support the LUA scripting language.

I would probably go the software route, since the ISY-99 is one of the favorite INSTEON hardware controllers on the market, and isn't meeting your requirements.

 

[Rupp]

Welcome to CocoonTech forums. If you have a spare PC laying around load the free 30 day trial of HomeSeer and have a play. There is an ISY plugin available if you want to keep using that interface or you can control your insteon devices directly using a PLM interface. HomeSeer is a great way to glue all of your peices together and make them work seemlessly. It will also allow you to integrate other protocols as well like the Z-Wave locks, or UPB light switches, etc.

 

[Osro]

Thanks for the quick responses guys!

I've been planning on building an always on server for my house for awhile, andthis sounds like it might be the right catalyst. So far HomeSeer seems to me like it might be the best option, but on their website I can't figure out what the difference (other than $380) between the HS2 and pro versions is. Can anybody weigh in on that?

 

[Rupp]

Thanks for the quick responses guys!

I've been planning on building an always on server for my house for awhile, andthis sounds like it might be the right catalyst. So far HomeSeer seems to me like it might be the best option, but on their website I can't figure out what the difference (other than $380) between the HS2 and pro versions is. Can anybody weigh in on that?

The biggest difference is HomeSeer Pro includes all HomeSeer developed plugins as well as the touch screen interface HSTouch and all of it's add-ons.
Check out this comparison chart. The first 2 are the software packages.
http://store.homeseer.com/store/HomeSeer-Control-System-Comparison-W13C5.aspx

 

[kertofer]

One other things to keep in mind on Homeseer is that they do sales on the software periodically. Black Friday, iirc, was a huge sale on the software last year and so they may repeat that again.

Hope this helps!

 

[apostolakisl]

What exactly are you trying to do that an ISY can't do for you? While the if/then/else method may not make sense for writing a spreadsheet program, I am not sure how it might fall short in controlling home automation. Odds are, it can do what you want. It is a very reliable device. I have written several hundred programs for my ISY and have never been able to think of something I wanted to happen that it can't do (keep your mind out of the gutter here). :mellow: Home automation pretty much lives in the world of a trigger happens and you want a response, so if/then works. What flexibility is it you need that ISY isn't capable of?

Also, throw away the ir-linc, it is useless. I returned mine after 2 days of worthlessness and bought a global cache itach. You need the network module for the ISY to operate it, but it works very well. It also works with a very nice iphone app as a universal remote.

I have never tried insteon motion detectors so I can't comment. I use my security system motion detectors to trigger scenes via the isy. This has worked quite well.

 

[etc6849]

There's free software that is very similar to homeseer (and very powerful). Follow the external external links at the bottom of the wiki:
http://www.cocoontech.com/wiki/Premise