Lighting control on small network
- Thread starter royalj7
- Start date
A couple options (I've found) to reduce your cost:royalj7 said:
- buy in quantity. AO (and others) are willing to work if you buy in bulk
- Frys carries UPB. Their website (Outpost) carries UPB too but it's hard to find. They are selling a lower capacity HAI switch but they seem to work pretty good. Switches are around $39 if I remember right.
Steve
Senior Member
Correct! There is PCS, HAI and SAI. They differ in several different aspects, here is a quick overview:royalj7 said:
PCS - Inventor of the protocol, fewest items to choose, high quality, best warranty, has a device with IR, most expensive
HAI - Larger selection, good quality switches. Nice blue backlit multibutton controller
SAI - Widest selection, changeable faceplates on the US240
Also the LED colors are different on all the brands so you'll probably want to standardize on one so the switches look consistent. I personally like the selection and quality of the SAI devices but really all of them are very good.
The lower cost devices from Fry's are the older SAI US1130's (branded as HAL)which which be phased out shortly. One problem is the LEDs are different on them then on the US240, so if you go for those, you'll need to buy the whole houseful or deal with he different LED color issue.
Other than that they all interoperate fine together and are all quality devices. If you can ever make it to an Ehx show (one coming up in March in Orlando) the SAI switches usually have a show special thru Automated Outlet.
AnthonyZ
Active Member
Pros and Cons to HAI and SA. I personally have limited experience with SA switches. I don't like the "flimsy" feel of them. The I/O and Rcptl. modules are bad a$$, though! All the dimmers in my system, as well as hundreds of others in client's homes are HAI. They are a little more limited in feature sets and the standard HLC protocol leaves a bit to be desired but they can be configured via UPStart to function better.
Rupp
Senior Member
Sweethip,Sweethip said:
Excellent observation. Z-Wave has switches that do not require a neutral. UPB requires them. If you use a software interface like HomeSeer it really doesn't matter what protocol you choose because you can use all of them together. This way you can choose the best hardware that each protocol offers and use it. I have 3 UPB switches, 8 Insteon, 8 Z-Wave, and many X10 modules.
palmerozo,
There are several software solutions available for controlling UPB. Mainlobby now has a UPB plug-in that I will be playing with in the near future.
However, you do not have to have a central controller with UPB. Once you setup the devices with Upstart (free software) Get it Here. Your system can operate very nicely without a controller. If you want to have a few timers, sunset sunrise, or other, try the Simply Automated Timer Scheduler. See it Here. It is so easy to learn and operate (a caveman could do it)
Good luck
Dave
There are several software solutions available for controlling UPB. Mainlobby now has a UPB plug-in that I will be playing with in the near future.
However, you do not have to have a central controller with UPB. Once you setup the devices with Upstart (free software) Get it Here. Your system can operate very nicely without a controller. If you want to have a few timers, sunset sunrise, or other, try the Simply Automated Timer Scheduler. See it Here. It is so easy to learn and operate (a caveman could do it)
Good luck
Dave
BraveSirRobbin
Moderator
Great, now I can see the staff of CocoonTech being shown on TV taking a caveman out to an expensive lunch apologizing for this post!Event5 said:
