Insteon

[Bwired]

Hi All,

Insteon is becoming very popular in the USA, Hope there are coming some products for the European market.

INSTEON, developed by SmartLabs, is defining the future of the home control network with a revolutionary technology that gives you the power to control your home simply and affordably, while giving you more dependability and flexibility than any other home management system on the market.
INSTEON is: affordable, reliable, simple to use:
<ul><li>Most affordable (products start at $19.99 & up)</li>
<li>Most reliable (near 100%)</li>
<li>Simplest to use (starter kit installs in minutes)</li>
</ul>How does INSTEON work?
INSTEON's unsurpassed reliability is due to its dual-mesh network, which means that messages between devices are sent both wirelessly through Radio Frequency (RF) and through your home's existing electrical wiring. Every message is confirmed as it is received, and if any errors are detected, the message is automatically resent. The network is also redundant; every device on an INSTEON network receives and sends every message to every other device, so instead of stressing the network by adding more INSTEON devices, you actually strengthen it.
<ul><li>INSTEON sends signals both through the air (RF) and over the home's electrical wires (powerline)</li>
<li>Every INSTEON device has its own unique ID (similar to a serial address) so your neighbors can't control your home</li>
<li>Every INSTEON device is a repeater - so the signal gets through every time</li>
<li>Every INSTEON message is confirmed, or the transmitter will automatically retry until a confirmation is received</li>
<li>INSTEON messages take less than 5 / 100ths of a second to get through - so things turn "on" instantly (INSTEON = instant-on)</li>
<li>No central controller or networking setup is required - a simple plug-n-tap™? is all that is required to link one INSTEON product to another</li>
<li>X10 Ready - each INSTEON product can be given one or more X10 addresses allowing X10 controllers to control it as well as allowing it to be used as an X10 controller</li>
</ul> check out the site http://www.insteon.net

www.bwired.nl Online Domotica, Home Automation house.

[felix]

Kort samengevat is Insteon een wireless uitbreiding op het X10 protocol dat met name in de USA nog steeds erg populair is. Wordt dan ook geleverd door SmartHome (http://www.smarthome.com) en wordt vooral gebruikt in combinatie met HomeSeer software (http://www.homeseer.com).
Ik heb 1 jaar geleden uitvoerig contact gehad met deze club. Er waren toen geen plannen voor een launch in Europa. Misschien dat andere Europese X10 leveranciers inmiddels plannen hebben om het systeem om te catten naar Europese normen (stopcontact, zendfrequentie, etc), maar hier is mij nog niets van bekend.

Gr.,Felix

[Snelvuur]

I found z-wave nice and tight, seen some pretty fance remotes for it too and works like a charm (and 2way traffic). Only for europe there is really nothing to get (not even stuff to build in) For me at this moment i would still prefer xanura devices because its supported and its available in the netherlands too.

[felix]

Heb vorig jaar ook contact gehad met Zensys in Denemarken (Z-wave owner). Was (en ben nog steeds) erg gecharmeerd van de potenie met Z-wave technologie. Heeft m.i. voordelen boven Zigbee, maar ook Zensys verkiest de Z-wave eerst te lancerenin de USA en pas daarna in Europa. NB via Elekhomica (http://www.elekhomica.nl/) is al wel wat Z-wave materiaal te krijgen, maar de portfolio is erg beperkt en uitbreidingsplannen zijn er voor zover mij bekend niet.

Gr.,Felix

[Bwired]

Please Guys all the forums in English. Except for the Homeseer forum.
Thank you

[felix]

Sorry, here's my translation.

In short, Insteon is a wireless extension to the X10 protocol that's still very popular in the USA (only I think). It's being sold by SmartHome (http://www.smarthome.com) and mostly used in combination with HomeSeer software (http://www.homeseer.com).

I had contact with these guys about a year ago. At that moment they did not have plans to sell in Europe. Maybe other European X10 manfacturers are considering to convert this system to European standards (plug, frequency, etc), but I'm not aware of such plans.

Alternative is the Z-wave protocol by Zensys. But like Insteon their primary focus is at the USA market (for obvious reasons). Z-wave is sold in Holland by Elekhomica (http://www.elekhomica.nl/), but the European Z-wave portfolio is small and I'm not aware of plans to extend the Z-wave portfolio.

I guess Zigbee is the first wireless system to be launched in Europe (see my input in another topic).

Regards, Felix