Re: Time for HA, finally. Thinking Insteon. Mulling this for 20 years. What is best?

["Jeff Volp" <JeffVolp@xxxxxxx>]

The one thing X10 has going for it is that it is sourced by a bunch of
different companies.  While a couple have abandoned the business, others
seem to be going strong.  There is certainly a diverse assortment of devices
that can be controlled by X10.  With its large installed base, I would give
it a better chance of being around than some of the newer technologies.

Yes, X10 does make a wall-outlet replacement.  It has been reported that the
small plastic piece that toggles the contacts on/off often breaks.  I had
one of mine fail that way too.  It was the Leviton version that was actually
manufactured by X10.

Insteon does have some X10 compatibility.  However, most of their modules
also significantly load the X10 signal.  So X10 reliability will fall off as
more Insteon devices are installed.

Jeff

"Greg" <gharrison2@xxxxxxxxxx> wrote in message
news:1167808716.268439.114870@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
> None of my neighbors have X10, as far as I know, but, someone could
> plug into an external outlet and mess around with the signal.  This is
> far-fetched, of course.  But the Insteon has some kind of protection
> against this, if I recall correctly.
>
> 25 years of longevity would be great, but isn't X10 near the end of
> it's usable life?  Or is it being refreshed?  I think the Insteon
> people would like to believe that it would pay for their retirement,
> but the current offering does not look like it will pay for that.  It
> seems to be a good system, but is it as "High Concept" as X10?  I think
> not.  X10 sounds really cool.  Insteon is hard to type.
>
> I would like a wall-outlet replacement.  Insteon does not have this.
> X10 might.
>
> But I like Insteon, they are still there after a couple of years.  And
> they are X10 compatible, apparently.  I am leaning that way, but, after
> 20 years of watching the market, X10 is still there.
>
> Such a dilemma.
>