Ultimate Protocol List?

[ver0776]

On the topic of Protocols, what about xPL and xAP? I know they don't control lights, but are by definition home automation protocols (ok, I don't know about the "by definition" part hehe)

Also, does anyone know about the A10 protocol. Is it just an overseas replacement for X10, an enhancement, does it have a future?

Vaughn

 

[ginigma]

What do you like so much about Insteon? How many devices do you have? Is there anything that you don't like about them? I had pretty much thrown them out because it sounded too much like X-10, but I'd like to hear why you like them so much.

Since you asked, here's why I chose Insteon:
I fooled around with X-10 a long time ago, but got tired of coming home from work and finding different lights on, or lights turning on/off by themselves. Luckily I didn't have much invested in it at the time.

Recently I bought a Logitech Harmony 880 remote (yeah, that's a whole different story. Some people have had a bad experience with them, but so far so good with me.) It's IR and since it would setup an "activity" such as "Watch TV", I figured I'd like it to dim the lights as well. I looked at the Lutron Maestro, but they couldn't be controlled independently, so I hit the HA forums, like this one. My requirements were: inexpensive, reliable, DIY, remote & local control, software controllable, Web interface. I started reading the Insteon white papers and other docs and the technology looked pretty good. The only issue were lack of devices, especially the IR interface. I decided to take the plunge and hope for the IR interface. If it came down to it, I know there's an X-10 IR interface that I can use, but right now I'm pure Insteon and plan on keeping it that way.

As for the software, there are a few people on the different forums that are writing some real good applications. Right now I just want "Scene Management" but I think that in a few months I will be going with something like PowerHome. I also bought the SDK so I can fool around myself, but I'm just a hacker. This also gives me insight on the new devices which are being developed and the timeframes.

I only have about 6 devices installed so far, but when SmartHome had the 15% off sale, I spent a few hundred dollars and bought a few switches. They are waiting deployment. There's no W so I don't have WAF problems. However, the GF does get annoyed when I spend more time fooling around with the lights than fooling around with her.

Anyway, that's my Insteon story. I read all the forums pretty regularly and there's a huge amount of knowledge between everyone. The exact purpose of forums like these.

 

[MrGibbage]

Well, Insteon is a lot more popular than I originally thought. However, it does seem to have reliability issues. What protocols are 100% reliable. It will not be very WAF if I have to keep telling her "push it twice. umm.. push it again... just go over and turn it off *sigh*"

 

[Digger]

I have about 8 Insteon devices in use at the moment. At first I had a lot of problems with missed commands. After several frustrating phone calls with Smarthome telling me to add more devices to improve teh mesh I got a tech that asked me some really good questions to get to the heart of the matter. He suspected that the CFL's I was using was causing a lot of noise and that was makng the devices unreliable.

Well after replacing my bulbs with incandescents I havent been able to duplicate the previous problems. But I wanted the CFL's since I have a huge electric bill as it is. I went out and bought new CFL's (the old ones were abuot 5 years old) and started to intergrate them slowly. So far so good.

In a week or so I think I will put the old bulbs back and see if the problems start again.

Overall the Insteon device are great. They got a great look, the relays are very quiet, the one dimmer that hums is barely noticable (most dimmers hum), the price for the Icons is perfect (when on sale), and they plan on adding a ton of other products in the future.

Insteon is still in its infancy and most likely will only get better and better.