Re: Laying out a new house - looking for Wiring and controller advise

[nobody@xxxxxxxxxxxx (Dave Houston)]

"Jeff Volp" <JeffVolp@xxxxxxx> wrote:

>
>"Dave Houston" <nobody@xxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote in message
>news:4479b531.153010593@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
>
>> I think the Insteon technology is really promising but worry that
>secondary
>> issues like these will give it a blackeye.
>
>Insteon was supposed to be the panacea, but it is starting to show its
>warts.
>
>Remember, X10 worked great 30 years ago in a clean environment.  Its main
>problem today is the multiplicity of signal suckers, which can be addressed
>with filters and a more powerful transmitter.
>
>Insteon was supposed to cohabitate with X10, but reports indicate installing
>more than a few Insteon devices kills X10 communication.  That's a sleazy
>way to force out the competition.

In pre-1980 business ethics it might be seen as sleezy but, these days, it's
just good marketing. ;) While I wish they had designed it to disconnect the
transmitters when idle which would have addressed the X-10 issue, in all
honesty, had it been my decision, I probably would have done the same thing.


There haven't been many people here recommending replacing X-10 for those
who understand how to keep it working. I do recommend that newcomers give
Insteon serious consideration. Overall, it's faster and two-way with ACK/NAK
so it has high reliability. My interest in HA has always been from the POV
of those with disabilities who need reliable, low-cost automation.

I've noted that, as it uses 131.65kHz, it will have the same signal-sink
issues as X-10.

SmartHome really hasn't tried to snooker anybody. They are quite open about
Insteon causing problems for X-10 as the number of Insteon devices
increases.

Also, Europe has limits (5Vpp) for powerline carriers so a more powerful PLC
transmitter is only a viable solution in N. America.