Question on insteon.

[ingeborgdot]

No matter what forum I go to people are bashing insteon, but it appears even in a poll hear that the majority of people are using insteon. Is there a post that tell why zwave is better than insteon? I would like to know before I finish off my house with switches etc.

 

[electron]

Well, if you go by the poll that's currently running, even X-10 seems to be more popular. Granted, it has been around much longer than Z-Wave, but X-10 alternatives have been around for a while now.

IMO, the problem with Z-wave is that if you want nice looking switches, and/or high quality, you end up paying MUCH more than insteon or UPB.

 

[Steve]

You wont ever find a post that says ZWave is BETTER than Insteon because it's not. They are just different. I think most of the Insteon 'bashing' has to do with some bad tact switches and Smarthomes reaction to it. There is also alot of talk about some of the powerline interface stuff and the 'completeness' of the protocol. But as a whole I think Insteon works well for the majority of people. ZWave also works well for many but it has its own set of issues. If you have alot of Insteon and it does what you want and works well for you then I wouldn't worry about people trying to persuade you to switch.

 

[Digger]

The poll is who is currently using what. It does not ask if people are happy with what they are using nor does it ask if they switched from another type (X-10 to Insteon or Insteon to UPB etc).

It is like when gas was $4 a gallon asking people if they drive an SUV or a compact car. Probably many people driving SUV's but that does not mean they were happy about it at the time.

 

[David D]

I have been using Insteon for a few years and am quite happy with it. FWIW, I had several devices with the tact switch issue and they were promptly replaced by Smarthome without any fuss whatsoever. Having used X-10 for the better part of 30 years, I could do my share of X-10 bashing. Again, I'm quite happy with Insteon.

 

[ingeborgdot]

I have been using Insteon for a few years and am quite happy with it. FWIW, I had several devices with the tact switch issue and they were promptly replaced by Smarthome without any fuss whatsoever. Having used X-10 for the better part of 30 years, I could do my share of X-10 bashing. Again, I'm quite happy with Insteon.

Well, if more people are using it, it has more of a chance of having a higher percentage of bad responses also. I was just curious how zwave was to insteon. I have insteon and do love it. No problems at all except for one switch that went bad a year or so ago. It has been 99.9 % responsive to all my commands.

 

[royalj7]

I have been using Insteon for a few years and am quite happy with it. FWIW, I had several devices with the tact switch issue and they were promptly replaced by Smarthome without any fuss whatsoever. Having used X-10 for the better part of 30 years, I could do my share of X-10 bashing. Again, I'm quite happy with Insteon.

Well, if more people are using it, it has more of a chance of having a higher percentage of bad responses also. I was just curious how zwave was to insteon. I have insteon and do love it. No problems at all except for one switch that went bad a year or so ago. It has been 99.9 % responsive to all my commands.

So why are you looking? I If you are getting 99.9% success on you commands, then I say insteon is working for you. In response to your first question, the thing I think z-wave has going in its favor is the wide berth of 3rd party devices that use the protocol.

--Jamie

 

[jhdale]

Considering how failures seem to cluster (some people have had a lot of units die, others none), I wouldn't be at all surprised to eventually find out it has something to do with the stability or quality of your house's electrical system.

I don't use my Insteon stuff on a continuous basis so I can't really comment on long-term reliability. Functionality is definitely a step up from X10, which is what I was looking for.

 

[Digger]

Considering how failures seem to cluster (some people have had a lot of units die, others none), I wouldn't be at all surprised to eventually find out it has something to do with the stability or quality of your house's electrical system.

I don't use my Insteon stuff on a continuous basis so I can't really comment on long-term reliability. Functionality is definitely a step up from X10, which is what I was looking for.

Tact switches failing, LED's failing, poorly soldered leads to tbe PWB, firmware issues have nothing to do with the quality of anyones electrical system. They have to do with the quality of the product itself.

 

[ingeborgdot]

I have been using Insteon for a few years and am quite happy with it. FWIW, I had several devices with the tact switch issue and they were promptly replaced by Smarthome without any fuss whatsoever. Having used X-10 for the better part of 30 years, I could do my share of X-10 bashing. Again, I'm quite happy with Insteon.

Well, if more people are using it, it has more of a chance of having a higher percentage of bad responses also. I was just curious how zwave was to insteon. I have insteon and do love it. No problems at all except for one switch that went bad a year or so ago. It has been 99.9 % responsive to all my commands.

So why are you looking? :hesaid: I If you are getting 99.9% success on you commands, then I say insteon is working for you. In response to your first question, the thing I think z-wave has going in its favor is the wide berth of 3rd party devices that use the protocol.

--Jamie

But after looking they are some might ugly switches unless you go with the EXPENSIVE ones. The reason why I checked is that if something is better in the long haul I like to get that. I have been checking site after site and find out that there have been some problems but they really seem to be fixed at this time and have no more problems than any other out there.

 

[ingeborgdot]

Considering how failures seem to cluster (some people have had a lot of units die, others none), I wouldn't be at all surprised to eventually find out it has something to do with the stability or quality of your house's electrical system.

I don't use my Insteon stuff on a continuous basis so I can't really comment on long-term reliability. Functionality is definitely a step up from X10, which is what I was looking for.

Tact switches failing, LED's failing, poorly soldered leads to tbe PWB, firmware issues have nothing to do with the quality of anyones electrical system. They have to do with the quality of the product itself.

Sounds like we have someone that had a couple of bad switches here or sells another brand. :hesaid:

 

[Digger]

Considering how failures seem to cluster (some people have had a lot of units die, others none), I wouldn't be at all surprised to eventually find out it has something to do with the stability or quality of your house's electrical system.

I don't use my Insteon stuff on a continuous basis so I can't really comment on long-term reliability. Functionality is definitely a step up from X10, which is what I was looking for.

Tact switches failing, LED's failing, poorly soldered leads to tbe PWB, firmware issues have nothing to do with the quality of anyones electrical system. They have to do with the quality of the product itself.

Sounds like we have someone that had a couple of bad switches here or sells another brand. :hesaid:

bad switches and yes now sells a few other brands..

I will say the insteon keypads are the best looking on the market.

 

[ingeborgdot]

Considering how failures seem to cluster (some people have had a lot of units die, others none), I wouldn't be at all surprised to eventually find out it has something to do with the stability or quality of your house's electrical system.

I don't use my Insteon stuff on a continuous basis so I can't really comment on long-term reliability. Functionality is definitely a step up from X10, which is what I was looking for.

Tact switches failing, LED's failing, poorly soldered leads to tbe PWB, firmware issues have nothing to do with the quality of anyones electrical system. They have to do with the quality of the product itself.

Sounds like we have someone that had a couple of bad switches here or sells another brand. :hesaid:

bad switches and yes now sells a few other brands..

I will say the insteon keypads are the best looking on the market.

But won't you agree that it does look like insteon has righted a sinking ship?

 

[Digger]

Considering how failures seem to cluster (some people have had a lot of units die, others none), I wouldn't be at all surprised to eventually find out it has something to do with the stability or quality of your house's electrical system.

I don't use my Insteon stuff on a continuous basis so I can't really comment on long-term reliability. Functionality is definitely a step up from X10, which is what I was looking for.

Tact switches failing, LED's failing, poorly soldered leads to tbe PWB, firmware issues have nothing to do with the quality of anyones electrical system. They have to do with the quality of the product itself.

Sounds like we have someone that had a couple of bad switches here or sells another brand. :hesaid:

bad switches and yes now sells a few other brands..

I will say the insteon keypads are the best looking on the market.

But won't you agree that it does look like insteon has righted a sinking ship?

Absolutely NOT.

I agree they fixed the tact switch problem. All of their firmware issues that continue are a real problem. Also there lack of customer service is a HUGE problem. Their attitude towards developers is a problem etc etc etc.

 

[123]

Ingeborgdot, What evidence have you discovered that leads you to that conclusion?