Advice on Recommended Switch Brand

I have decided to embark on a home automation project. I am planning on buying the indigo 7 application when I return from vacation tomorrow.An acquaintance recently demonstrated a rather impressive home automation system that has been under development over the past 10 years and as a retirement project I plan to do the same. I have modest programming experience in Pascal, C++ and Apple script and have done some playing with Arduino's. I want to ask the knowledgeable members of the forum a fundamental but critical question regarding the brand of switches to buy as I start to develop a home automation system. I was given a Lutron dimmer with the Pico remote and smart bridge hub a couple of years ago as a gift from a family member and have yet to install it.. I know I’ll need to upgrade to smart bridge pro to be compatible with a indigo 7. The person who demonstrated their impressive automation system uses Insteon switches and claims that they are the hardware of choice and that Lutron isn't as stable or reliable. Everything that I have researched regarding switches suggests that Lutron is very good. My dilemma is I need to know which switch brand I should be developing my automation system with. Do I continue to invest n Lutron technology or should I start start purchasing Insteon hardware. I want to be certain that I start down the right path.

Comments appreciated

Dave Lindey
Niagara Region Canada

I would advise against using Insteon. I could never get that technology to be stable in my installations and I used it for many years. It seems to be ok when you have few devices, but as soon as you have many devices and more logic things seem to start falling apart. I have over 100 Insteon switches and sensors. Currently, I'm switching to z-wave devices. I don't have a lot of experience with z-wave, but from all I've been able to research so far, I'm moving to Homeseer switches, Aeon labs door sensors and multi sensors (motion, vibration, temperature, humidity, ambient light, UV light) There are a lot of companies that use z-wave as opposed only one using Insteon. I have no experiance with Lutron, but its a propriatary technology with only Lutron using it as far as I can tell. There are a lot of companies making z-wave switches.

Just something to think about.

I would advise against using Insteon. ...

+1

I am a newbie. 14 days and counting. I am also from Canada. Also retired. Also basic programming skills. Also played with Arduino. Long lost twins LOL. I chose Z Wave. Plenty of manufacturers and devices to choose from. I am using devices that are not (yet) directly supported by Indigo such as the Ring Keypad, Ring Contact Sensors, and a couple of motion sensors. Although not officially supported by Indigo they all work fine. I am just completed my fully Z Wave home alarm system. So far so good. If you like check out my topics re the migration from Lowe’s Iris System and my use of the Ring Keypad. All accomplished in 2 weeks with basic programming skills and tenacity. I am enjoying the challenge and the success. Indigo is the cat’s meow for me.


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+1 zwave.
Fibaro are excellent.

Second Ian's comment. Plus you have option of using standard momentary switches with modules behind then.
If you just want direct control of the load they are wired to then most will work the same. But only a few will allow scenes, IE where single click toggles on and off but a double click could turn on or off lights in another room, turn off the TV.
You can then have switches not wired to a load that are only there to control another part of your automation system.


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Switch choice depends on what you want the switches to do. Some have more capabilities than others. So a blanket statement of what is best is highly dependent on what you want to accomplish.

This is true if you are looking at specific products, I.e. individual switches. However, if you are looking for a switch technology then it is quite a different question. As others have pointed out already, Z-Wave has two distinct advantages: there is a wide choice of vendors; and there is a large choice of products. If you are outside the 120VAC world (not in North-America) then the choice is even clear: Insteon options in the 220-240VAC world are very limited.

On a more practical level, Z-Wave seems, to me at least, to be snappier and far less prone to bizarre, hard to track-down, network issues. One other potential positive. The Z-Wave technology can, and at some point, Indigo will (we all hope for this, but don't hold your breath) support multiple Z-Wave controllers or Primary/Secondary controllers. This is very unlikely to ever happen for Insteon.

OTOH... Z-Wave is generally more expensive and, depending on which manufacturer and product you choose, quality might be down in the Insteon level. Also, Z-Wave is a bit harder to setup and if you need or want to change a Z-Wave controller, there might be a fair amount of manual work.

BTW, there are other options, generally proprietary, as well as Wi-Fi based products. Some of the proprietary options seem to work quite well, but you need to totally buy into their system. Though, some work with RFXCom. As for Wi-Fi, between various plugins and doing some scripting yourself, you can do a lot. But, this is definitely a more hands-on option.

All-in-All, I think Z-Wave is the best choice for the average person starting an HA project in an existing home.

just my 0,02 € worth

I think I’m the outlier with Insteon, it has always been incredibly reliable for me, 30-40 switches across two different homes. With the exception of two Insteon thermostats, and one outdoor motion sensor, everything Insteon is lighting-only, maybe that helps my reliability. The thermostats I bought over 7 years ago and they still work so I haven’t bothered changing them. The one motion sensor is outdoors where I didn’t feel like running wires. All of my other door, window, motion, water, temp sensors are wired using Arduinos. I’ll eventually replace the thermostats with something else, and replace the motion sensor and at that point Insteon will be lighting-only. I did have a PLM failure a year or so back, but Indigo made that a 5 minute swap.


Terry


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Thanks all for the great insight. Since I posted the original message I continued researching and also determined that z-wave was a better approach to standardize on for hardware. It does become confusing though as I get deeper. I'm now investigating an approach towards the best hub technology to consider.

I will be upgrading my home network to the Velop mesh system which will add an element of stability. I currently have 3 AirPort Extremes which I will replace. Now to decide on a smart hub. Any comments?

Dave Lindey
Niagara Region Canada

Now to decide on a smart hub. Any comments?

What do you need a "smart hub" for? You're using Indigo, right?

. I was given a Lutron dimmer with the Pico remote and smart bridge hub a couple of years ago as a gift from a family member and have yet to install it.. I know I’ll need to upgrade to smart bridge pro to be compatible with a indigo 7. The person who demonstrated their impressive automation system uses Insteon switches and claims that they are the hardware of choice and that Lutron isn't as stable or reliable. Everything that I have researched regarding switches suggests that Lutron is very good.

Lutron is the Gold Standard for automated lighting and shades. Especially the RadioRa 2 and Homeworks lines. Caseta is also very good, just not as expandable. I'm assuming you were given a Caseta dimmer. If someone claims that Lutron isn't stable or reliable, well, they really don't know the hardware side of things very well.

To use the Caseta line with Indigo, you need the Smart Bridge Pro. I think Caseta tops out at 30-40 devices it can control, but don't quote me on that because I'm not really sure. I'm using RadioRa 2, which tops out at 100 or 200 devices depending on which version of the programming software you're using. It's 100 per main repeater, but you can run dual main repeaters if you have the Inclusive software. That's what I'm running, with over 100 controlled devices (dimmers, switches, shades, etc).

I will be upgrading my home network to the Velop mesh system which will add an element of stability. I currently have 3 AirPort Extremes which I will replace. Now to decide on a smart hub. Any comments?

Mesh systems aren't necessarily more stable. They're good to use when you can't run ethernet to the access points, as they communicate directly between nodes. But if you have ethernet to suitable access point locations, then I think UniFi is a better choice. IMHO.

+1 on unifi and then you can also integrate that into indigo!


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For WIFI I'm using TP-Link AC50 with three AC1750 access points in FIT mode. Each is connected by CAT5 . Since all have POE, I don't need to run power to them. They are all centrally controlled and show up as single SSID (Actually two, as I have a guest one) works like a charm. Good signal everywhere, and clients jump the access points automatically without interruption as I walk around the house or outside. Initial setup is a bit more complicated, but once setup has been rock solid for couple years. Haven't needed to touch it since initial setup.

I'm running a mixture of Z-wave and Insteon devices. Can't say I find either more or less reliable than the other. Have more Insteon than Z-wave only because I started with Insteon first and I have 4 fans that I control via the fan-link and a 6-button switch link.