How do X10 and Insteon compare? Will I get better reliability if I switch to Insteon? I have a large house and my X10 is not that reliable. Certain lights go on about half the time that they are supposed to. I think my options are to put in a CR234, but I am not that handy with electricity. Is another option switiching to Insteon? I have read some articles that suggest that Insteon will be much better than X10. Is that hype or is that a real consideration for me?

Thanks for the thoughts!

I recommend the switch to Insteon, I have Insteon and it has been 100% reliable while X10 definitely was not. Yes Insteon is great give it a try and you will love it.

Hmm, I would love to replace my mysteriously completely non-functional X-10 system right now (I just can't get Point A to talk to Point B any more).

Hey guys,

I'm unfamilar with Insteon... Does it operate in the same manner as X-10 devices?? I did a quick search but couldn't find anything that would act the same as...lets say a IR543AH. The IR control being the improtant part.

Also I couldn't find anything that actually describes how the Insteon devices communicate. Again is it different? If someone could post a link that could point me in the right direction, I would appreciate it....

Thanks

LMAO...

Never mind guys.... It's amazing how many search hits you can get when you spell what your looking for properly....:)

Me again...

Just read that Insteon is backward compatible with X10. Meaning that the Insteon devices will operate with X10 controllers. Seeing as Insteon doesn't have a controller that has a IR interface does the X10 IR543AH work well with Insteon devices?? Or does that defeat the purpose of buying the Insteon devices in the first place? What exactly makes the Insteon systems more reliable??

Thanks

Yes, Insteon will work with X10 and the IR543 and IR543AH work with Insteon, there are rumors that there will be an Insteon IR controller available in the Insteon line maybe sometime soon.

I have Insteon throughout my home and a IR543 to work with my remote. Insteon is great and has been 100% dependable, but the X10 IR543 has only had about 80% dependability so I am hoping that an Insteon IR controller will be out soon and work as well as the other Insteon products I have.

No, using the IR543 does not defeat the purpose of buying Insteon, I recommend you use Insteon it really works well, Insteon works the same as X10 but also adds RF control that talks between the Insteon units strengthening the connections and also letting the system know that the signal has been connected.

SmartHomes Insteon seems to be made very high quality and works very well from my experience so I have been giving it high recommendations.

Rich_Guy,

So how exactly do you know it's the IR543 unit that is causing your issues??? Are you also using a Insteon piece to base a comparison on the reliability?

smokinghot,

Insteon uses powerline control as well as RF control of each unit. In addition, the insteon protocol includes error checking and every insteon device will repeat the insteon command. This gives insteon very good reliability. However, when using insteon products in X10 mode, you are using the X-10 protocol which does not have error checking and is not repeated by each insteon unit. When using insteon products in X-10 mode, you will have nearly the same reliability as X-10 products.

There is a good FAQ here:

[Link: smarthome.com]

Hope that helps

Thanks russ,

Great link... Explained what I was in search for. Hopefully the possible IR controller will be released soon.

Does anyone have experience with the Insteon HouseLinc Computer Interface that uses software and your computer to create macros and timed events? Is there any reason to suspect if I converted from X10's Active Home to Insteon's HouseLinc that I would see any degradation with my X10 modules? My pool works great with the X10, but my lights do not. Thus, I was considering converting my X10 lights to Insteon, keeping my pool on X10, and controlling it all with the Insteon HouseLinc. Would this work? Is it a good strategy?

tipsord, I use SmartHomes INSTEON PowerLinc Controller V2 USB computer but I use their free Manager Essential Timer software not their HouseLinc software. The free Manager Essential software does everything I need and has one major advantage over the paid HouseLinc software, the Manager Essential software downloads commands to the INSTEON PowerLinc Controller V2 USB so that everything will work with the computer turned off where as the HouseLinc software requires that the computer be turned on to work. The software and the INSTEON PowerLinc Controller V2 USB is designed to work with either Insteon or X10.

I use the IR543 to control my Insteon components via IR and using only X10 technology as the IR543 is only X10 and not Insteon. I believe the difference in dependability is the difference between X10 and Insteon technology. At any rate the IR543 works OK but I do look forward to SmartHome coming out with an Insteon IR controller in the future to replace my IR543.

The Insteon in my system always works and always on the first push of a button from any of my Insteon controllers. I often have to play with button presses to make things work via the IR543 controller both through the remote (IR) or directly at the IR543 controller itself. The IR543 is the only X10 piece I have, everything else is Insteon.

Guys, just to clarify something here.

Insteon DOES NOT use any RF to communicate between devices. The only component that is RF is the phase coupler.

When I was trying to research Insteon for some description on how it was better. I came across pics of some of the plug in devices. They have an antenna attached to the bottom of them. What was this antenna for if not communicating with RF??