Insteon vs. Z-Wave - status and experiences?

Steve Horn · Post by **Steve Horn** » Mon Apr 02, 2007 10:20 pm

I've read a bunch of the posts, but not all of them, regarding Insteon vs. Z-Wave as an alternative to X10. I'm at the point of wanting to replace some or all of my X10 and am wondering what the conclusion, if any, is regarding these two alternatives. At the time I first was looking into this, Insteon had just come out and Scott had developed a plug-in for its support. But there were issues with ramp time, two way support, pricing, etc. that made me decide to wait until things stabilized. Have they? Is there a clear winner in the X10 alternatives war?

roussell · Post by **roussell** » Wed Apr 04, 2007 8:34 am

I've tried both, for me the choice was Insteon. My problem with Z-wave was (when I evaluated) the lack of a keypad device and and inexpensive dimmer. I also found the delay to be a little longer than I wanted. I've read a lot about the problems some are having with Insteon - so far the few devices I have purchased have been perfect. The response is pretty much instant and the communications have been 100% reliable so far. I'm having a little issue (http://www.cebotics.com/phpbb2/viewtopic.php?t=855819) with a keypad and HouseBot control so far but I'm confident I'll solve that in time (with Scott's help and maybe HB V3). Smarthome home has teased that a new version of the PLC - called a PLM - will ship sometime in April. It promises easier and direct control of Insteon without the requirement of the SDM as the middleman. Homeseer has chosen to use the PLM as their main device for Insteon communication and I'm assuming (hoping) Scott will do the same.

Terry

JonFo · Post by **JonFo** » Sun Jun 03, 2007 11:36 am

I've stuck with Z-wave for over two years.

I have 8 devices, a mix of dimmer switches, dimmer plugs and relay plugs. All used in my home theater.

It's been remarkably reliable. Although with some RF congestions in my house, the tabletop remote from Intermatic will occasionally not get through to one of the switches.

I'm looking forward to ordering some Leviton Vizia series switches for the Living room and kitchen and seeing how well they do. The status notification is something I'm keen on leveraging.

Scott, is incoming status supported in your Z-Wave module?

Post by **ScottBot** » Sun Jun 03, 2007 5:09 pm

JonFo wrote:Scott, is incoming status supported in your Z-Wave module?

Unfortunately, no. When I can figure out how it's done (I haven't looked too hard) I'll definitely add the support.