Insteon Home Automation Modules

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I recently converted the home automation modules in my home to INSTEON from Smarthome. SmartHome has built most of these modules to work with both the new Insteon protocol, and the older X10 protocol. By doing this, it allows you run run your home automation network as a hybrid of the two systems, with X10 controlersd capable of operating Inston modules, and with Insteon controller also capable of controlling X10 modules.

The Insteon Protocol is more Reliable

The main reason I am making the change is that the Insteon protocol is signifiantly more reliable than X10, providing for acknowledgements and and automatic retries. Additionally, each Inston modules operates as a repeater extending the range of signals from other Inston devices. Unlike X10 installations which become less reliable as you add modules, an Insteon network becomes more reliable.

Software available to Control Insteon Networks

Many software programs available to control home automation have extensions that are available to support Insteon. Some of these extensions are beta versions, but over time this support is expected to improve.

One limitation that I found is that I have been unable to find software that will download macros into the Insteon computer controller. If your PC is running and connected to your controller, macros can exceute in your PC. Additionally, the desription of of the Insteon PowerLinc™ Controller (2414U) says that "macro's can be downloaded without the need to keep your computer up and running", but the software to download the macros does not seem to be available yet. Software to download timers into the controller is available from the SmartHome website.

Additional Home Automation Information

Main page for home automation
Dimmable lamp modules - includes list of Insteon enabled modules
Debugging X10 systems - includes discussion of signal strength and Insteon