Insteon SwitchLincs @$39.99

[GadgetGuru]

If anyone is interested, I saw Insteon switchlincs for $39.99. I don't know if this is a new price or a sale price. Here's the link:

Smarthome

 

[Mike]

Thats a nice price. These aren't supported by the Elk are they?

 

[WayneW]

They are supported by Elk in X-10 mode. Elk Insteon support is in the works.

 

[Steve]

Boy that makes it tempting to just go Insteon instead of UPB - switches are half the price!

 

[AccessX10]

Great switch and a brilliant move on Smarthome’s part.

 

[AutomatedOutlet]

Yep, we matched it.

It was a planned price reduction. I think we'll see it for a while.

 

[Rupp]

Wow! What a way to push "your" own products. This may just be the "shot in the arm" Insteon needed.

 

[Squintz]

Chris Walker,

You mentioned you have installed many products other than Z-wave. Can you comment your experiences with UPB and Insteon and perhaps compare the two?

 

[smee]

I'd like to create a box with a cord that plugs into the wall. The two-gang box would contain one of these switches and a normal $0.39 outlet - the switch controlling the output of the outlet.

Is everything (electrical) I need to wire the switch available from the outlet?

 

[Mike]

Boy that makes it tempting to just go Insteon instead of UPB - switches are half the price!

I agree, I'm tempted to switch out to these from my x10 switchlincs. The cost reduction makes it even sweeter (and the smaller size means I don't need to replace electrical boxes).

 

[Steve]

Martin,

Do you see UPB mfg's lowering their prices to compete at all or is this a way of saying Insteon is for the DIY market and UPB is for pro installs?

 

[SpaceCowboy]

Very Interesting....

At that price I might have to "try" a few...

 

[PeterW]

I'd like to create a box with a cord that plugs into the wall. The two-gang box would contain one of these switches and a normal $0.39 outlet - the switch controlling the output of the outlet.

Is everything (electrical) I need to wire the switch available from the outlet?

Yes, I've already done two of these over the last few days. Except I cut an extension cord in half instead of using a double gang box.

Works better than a lamplincV2 IMHO.....

 

[PeterW]

Martin,

Do you see UPB mfg's lowering their prices to compete at all or is this a way of saying Insteon is for the DIY market and UPB is for pro installs?

From what I seen and heard, UPB is popular with installers because its a fairly well proven system. Its not the cheapest by far, but it is a known quanity. UPB has its roots in heavy duty commercial/industrial lighting systems (aka "Pulseworx").

Insteon is still on the "bleeding edge", but the look/feel of the switches is superior and the price is making it sorely tempting even though the software support isn't there yet. (Fortunately for me, software isn't an issue, the SDK is what makes it interesting).

I've got both Insteon and UPB devices side by side. There are both unique features and serious misfeatures about both systems that are driving me crazy. eg: the look/feel of the Insteon switches is better and the latency is better, while the UPB switches make capacitor discharge noise while transmitting. My wife is really uneasy about the audible "bzzt!" when using a UPB wall switch. But on the other hand, the computer programming interface to the UPB "system" is orders of magnitude cleaner than Insteon.

And then there's Z-wave. There is a hard core group of folks there too. Don't forget them.

But I have a feeling that over time, Insteon is going to eat a lot of UPB/Z-wave folks' lunch.

I read somewhere that future generations of Insteon devices will have the ability to download code. Imagine each device being its own local controller, and being able to download its schedules and run standalone. One could implement room timers for lights that sniff X10 motion sensor traffic and so on - running on the switch in the room itself! UPB's got nothing to say to that.

Anyway, I'm still in agony from sitting on the fence.

My current inclination is to use Insteon wall switches and UPB for everything else. How's that for messed up? And of course, start looking for somewhere to dump my 1-year-old switchlincV1's

I plan on being as close to X10-free as I can manage.

 

[Mike]

My current inclination is to use Insteon wall switches and UPB for everything else. How's that for messed up? And of course, start looking for somewhere to dump my 1-year-old switchlincV1's

I was in the same boat, however, after getting my Elk and starting to plan things out, I realized that the reliability and status held more importance and value than I considered initially when getting the x10 only switches.

I suspect that v1 switchlincs will be available for next to nothing soon on ebay (although maybe not as there typically isnt much of a used market is there?).

At the lower price, how can you compare with every switch having status capabilities, are highly reliable, almost instant, and have light bars...

I think Smarthome wants Insteon to be the next X10