Re: New HAI lighting controls

["Mark Thomas" <mrt@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

david.k.cornutt@xxxxxxxxxx wrote:
> Well, I was all set to pull Cat5 to all of my switch locations in the
> new house that I'm building this year in order to accommodate ALC
> lighting controls (OmniPro II).  But just now, I went over to HAI's
Web
> site (haven't looked there in a while), and they have this new UPB
> powerline protocol.  Has anyone done anything with this yet?  Things
in
> particular I'd like to know:
>
> * They claim good protocol reliability, but I'm generally suspicious
of
> all powerline systems.

You can learn more about UPB at www.pulseworx.com. The stats there say
>99% reliability without any couplers, filters, or repeaters necessary.

> * Does the protocol allow the controller to read the status of a
> switch?

Yes. Every device is 2-way.

> * I'm a bit confused by the description of the addressing.  As I
> understand it, it allows 256 addresses on each of 256 house codes,
for
> 16K addresses total.  Is this correct?

There are 255 possible Network IDs (1 - 255) and 250 possible Unit
IDs (1 - 250) which makes 63,750 addresses possible.

> * Anyone seen any pricing on this yet?  I'm interested in how it
would
> compare with an ALC installation (roughly $90/device last time I
priced
> it).

Sure. There are already a few manufacturers of UPB devices. The prices
seem to be about $75 for a dimmer switch (with all the high-end
features). Here are a few places selling 'em:

http://www.digitalavnew.com/
http://www.homecontrols.com/cgi-bin/main/co_disp/displ/carfnbr/260/sesent/00
http://www.smarthome.com/upb.html

> I'm really interested in the possibilities here.  But that powerline
> stuff... I've had very bad experiences with X-10 in the past and I
> would have to get myself comfortable with that idea.

I have tried a couple UPB modules, and so far... they just work. Zero
problems.   It coexists with existing X-10 stuff just fine.

- Mark.