I read the Insteon vs. Z-wave thread. It seems some are disappointed with Insteon, particularly the reliability of some of the modules. But there are still some aspects of Insteon that are very attractive to me, not the least of which is price. I already have most of my lights controlled by X-10, but as I acquire more PCs, surge protectors, and other electronic gadgets, the reliability of my X-10 system is degrading rapidly. A recent subwoofer upgrade to my den has pretty much taken out that entire room, in addition to other issues I had even before that.
I have (and have had for some time) a passive phase coupler. At this point, to increase reliability, I'd be looking at installing filters at problematic devices, and probably some repeaters too (which I know some can make dimming commands flaky). By the time I invested in all that, I could start replacing the problematic devices with Insteon, and the wireless repeaters are actually more economical than good X-10 repeaters. The ability to slowly upgrade to Insteon, only as needed for problem areas, while keeping compatibility to the existing X-10 devices, is a huge plus to me. Z-wave, or even UPB, may be better, but they aren't really financially feasible for me at this point in time.
So for those who have made the switch, do you consider Insteon a decent upgrade over X-10? Has it helped you in areas where X-10 may have been problematic? I know the Insteon devices support soft-start (fixed in the low end devices, and programmable in the better ones), and I also believe they both support two-way communication, so automation software always knows the state of device (correct?). Is my assumption correct that they (both the Icon and higher end units) also support direct dim commands, so that automation software wouldn't have to force them to 100% first to get to a specific dim level? And I'm assuming that that combined with the increased speed, I could set multiple dimmers in to various levels MUCH faster than the relatively long time it takes now for everything to ramp up and back down using X-10? Since all my current devices are the "old" (not extended) models, this would be a huge upgrade for me that I could implement one at a time.
Any input would be greatly appreciated!
I have (and have had for some time) a passive phase coupler. At this point, to increase reliability, I'd be looking at installing filters at problematic devices, and probably some repeaters too (which I know some can make dimming commands flaky). By the time I invested in all that, I could start replacing the problematic devices with Insteon, and the wireless repeaters are actually more economical than good X-10 repeaters. The ability to slowly upgrade to Insteon, only as needed for problem areas, while keeping compatibility to the existing X-10 devices, is a huge plus to me. Z-wave, or even UPB, may be better, but they aren't really financially feasible for me at this point in time.
So for those who have made the switch, do you consider Insteon a decent upgrade over X-10? Has it helped you in areas where X-10 may have been problematic? I know the Insteon devices support soft-start (fixed in the low end devices, and programmable in the better ones), and I also believe they both support two-way communication, so automation software always knows the state of device (correct?). Is my assumption correct that they (both the Icon and higher end units) also support direct dim commands, so that automation software wouldn't have to force them to 100% first to get to a specific dim level? And I'm assuming that that combined with the increased speed, I could set multiple dimmers in to various levels MUCH faster than the relatively long time it takes now for everything to ramp up and back down using X-10? Since all my current devices are the "old" (not extended) models, this would be a huge upgrade for me that I could implement one at a time.
Any input would be greatly appreciated!