1) If you have a large investment in UBP technology, how happy are you with the purchase? From a financial investment standpoint, installing a HA lighting system is not cheap. For my system, I estimated it would cost about $1800. I was trying to probe to see if actual users are happy with their purchase. I know that I can get my feet wet and purchase $182 UBP trial kit. The trial kit may work fine if only 4 load devices are being used. What happens when the number goes up 40 devices? Does the lighting system become less stable?
I've got nearly 60 UPB switches, mostly SA US2-40's. I am very happy with the purchase. UPB is pretty rock solid. The number of switches doesnt really matter. The upstart tool let's you check out signal strength to and between devices. Unless you have an odd source of intermittent noise, you'll know what to expect of a device right away. I had only two switches that gave a very low signal strength. Adding a phase coupler did the trick.
As for a controller, I do have an Elk but dont use it much for lighting. With my initial UPB purchase I bought a PCS TEC (Timed event controller). It's a small wall wart sized device that is programmable through upstart. My plan was to use it initially with the more sophisticated Elk replacing it eventually. Three years in and I am still using the TEC. Putting timed schedules into the Elk is a bit of a pain. Changing the schedule is more of a pain.
The Elk is really an alarm panel that has some home automation functionality built in (or bolted on). As an alarm panel it is quite nice and more than capable. As a home automation controller it leaves a lot to be desired. While more difficult to program than the TEC, it is more capable. My rules for dealing with the garage lights would be impossible to do with the TEC, but the Elk handles it just fine.
Most of my lighting commands come from the UPB rocker switches. This is, in my opinion, how people expect to control lighting. The TEC is great at giving the house the lived in look when we are away and at turning on the outside lighting and inside "path" lighting at sunset.
2) I wanted to understand if any Elk/UPB user’s are using M1G as the scene controller – instead of using the UBP link command. The documentation says that 528 rules are supported. Would one scene only use a single rule – even if the action list is large?
A rule in the Elk is very simple, one trigger and one action count as a rule. If you want two actions (a second light) it will cost you another rule.
It would be great if the Elk tracked the state of the lighting devices. That it doesnt isnt all that much of a problem unless you are trying to compensate for a noisey UPB environment. Most of my Elk lighting rules simply send "link" activation commands. A "link" is what UPB calls a scene. Each UPB device can belong to 16 or so links and can adjust it's load differently in response to each. So for example, each of my UPB devices belong to at least 4 or 5 links: All Lights, All Inside, All <room name>, Device Name. (Having a link for each device makes some programming easier). Then some devices belong to links like Bedtime, Wake Up, Midnight Snack, or Watch TV. These links can be used equally well from either the Elk or the TEC.
In regards to the delay if M1G is scene controller, I would only be concerned about a delay would cause any household user to start questioning whether the lights were broken. Talking about 100, 200, 300ms delays is much different than if you have actually experienced the delay first hand.
All of the SA switches have a built-in 300-400ms (750ms by default) delay used to disambiguate a single click from a double click. Many posts have been written on the subject. They take some getting used to. I tried pretty hard to make the lighting in the house seem "normal" to guests. Most people get it pretty quickly but some have trouble. The biggest problem is that some folks will press and hold the rocker waiting for something to happen. The problem is that a press-and-hold causes the load to start dimming up from nothing. So with the delay it can take quite a while for a visible difference to show at the load. I find myself telling guests to "just click the button and wait".
If the Elk were to do nothing but activate a single light I doubt you would notice the difference between it doing it and a UPB switch sending the command itself. If the Elk were to send separate commands to say 10 different lights, you will notice it. Each UPB command will take at least 300ms to transmit. That's why UPB has links.
Before purchasing the M1G, one of the criteria was that Security/HA controller had to be 24x7 device. If Elk M1G cannot do HA/Security reliably, then the whole premise of original purchase will need to be reexamined. I can live with some limitations if I understand them up-front before plunking down lots of dineros. Problems like lights “frequently†not turning on/off, in my eyes, would be a deal breaker.
The Elk is certainly a reliable 24x7 security and HA device. UPB is, for most, a very reliable lighting platform. The two do work together nicely. When I think of what I'd like in a home automation controller, I think of like something Premise. The Elk doesnt get you anywhere near there. The more important a task is, the less software, hardware and wires I want involved in it's execution. I control the heating system with the Elk, but turning the light on over the bar at 5pm, that's a job for Premise (which, btw, tracks UPB link state changes). A "fancy system" will give you a nice user interface and allow easy changes to the configuration. The Elk is not fancy. Think of it as your alarm system as well as the eyes (sensors inputs) and hands (relay outputs) of your automation system and you wont be disappointed. From your questions, however, I think you are expecting more.
