Home Automation Keypads

[upstatemike]

There has been a lot of discussion about touchscreens lately but I am curious what people actually use as their primary HA keypad interface in most rooms. It seems like a touchscreen in every room is going to be a little expensive for most folks but what are the alternatives?

I currently use the RCS 7-button LED keypad ($83) or the RCS 96 menu 8-button LCD keypad ($187) in most locations because they are supported by my Stargate but I was wondering what I would have to convert to if I ever switched to a PC based system or a different hardware platform.

If you need control in dozen or more locations but are also on a budget, what is the best/most popular keypad option?

 

[TonyNo]

I have a touch screen in my foyer, palm pads in several rooms, and stick-a-switches in a couple other places. I also occasionally use my wifi pda around the house. My kids also have PC's and can control their part of the world from each one.

 

[upstatemike]

Thanks for the feedback. Unfortunately your setup won't work at my place. I prefer wired-in keypads to wireless devices (don't want to hassle with batteries, figuring out where I left it, etc.) and nobody in my house will touch a computer except me.

I was hoping for some examples of inexpensive keypads that look a little nicer than security panel keypads but still much cheaper than touchscreens so I can use a lot of them. The RCS stuff is good but as far as I know it only works with HAI, JDS, and RCS. There must be something similiar for users of Homeseer, Elk, Homevision, MisterHouse, and so on.... or are all these folks rich enough to have touchscreens in every room?

 

[bfisher]

Hi Mike - I did a little research about what to add for my HVPro setup (but I haven't done it yet). I update this thread when I get home and can look at what I found. If I remember right, there weren't many good options... RedRadio was one of my top contenders I think... And the HAI 8 button UPB keypad (HVPro can interpret the buttons as links and I can do anything with them... but I'm limited to 8 functions unless I use a combination of buttons).

 

[jlehnert]

Double check over in the HS forum. I'm pretty sure someone wrote a script/plugin for the RCS LCD keypad. I tracked the thread for a while when I was considering the RCS keypads, but eventually went in another direction.