Implementing INSTEON (And X10) Home Automation: Suggestions Appreciated

My long weekend in the mountains wasn’t fully (or even mostly, come to think of it) for ‘pleasure’. Instead, I spent most of my waking hours fine-tuning the various elements of my existing CAT5e-plus-802.11g-plus-HomePlug AV-fed-by-DSL data network up there, along with attempting to bring up an INSTEON powerline home automation network…all in preparation for writing my next feature article (a hands-on follow-up to Rich Quinnell’s writeup from earlier this year), which you’ll be able to read on November 22.

SmartHome (owned by Smart Labs, who developed INSTEON) and Intellon (the original developer of HomePlug technology) had both previously assured me that INSTEON and HomePlug AV networks would mutually coexist…although my Intellon contact cautioned me post-mortem on Monday afternoon (sigh) that I might encounter some HomePlug AV bandwidth degradation in such a situation. I’ll save the complete description of my trials and tribulations (and ultimately, hopefully, triumphs) for late November. Suffice to say, I think it’ll be an educational (as well as entertaining) writeup

For now, since my article’s not due for another 1.5 weeks and since I have remote access from Sacramento to my equipment up there, I’m looking for advice. I realize that few of you may have personal experience with (relatively new) INSTEON, but since (as this PDF document describes in detail) INSTEON is in many respects an X10 superset (also transferring data on AC zero-crossings, for example), I’m hoping that you X10 veterans out there might also have some ideas.

At the moment, I’ve got a fairly modest setup (I eventually also plan to add thermostat and wall-mount switch control, the latter for both inside and outside lights, as well as outside temperature and windspeed monitoring), in the spirit of crawl-before-walk-before-run:

• A Model 2412S PowerLinc Modem
• Two Model 2443 Access Points (currently employed only to RF-bridge the two phases of the home’s incoming 220V feed), and
• Two Model 2856S3B Appliance On/Off Adapters, feeding lamps

I’ve controlled the 2414S via two peripherals:

• A standalone IP-cognizant Model ISY-26 Home Automation Controller from Universal Devices, and
• HomeSeer’s (excellent!) HS2 software running on a Windows XP SP2-based laptop, in conjunction with a SIIG Model JU-HS2012-S2 USB-to-dual-RS232 adapter (since the laptop doesn’t have built-in COM ports)

So what problems have I encountered? Well, I’m having flashbacks to my earliest experiences with HomePlug 1.0 technology (which, to clarify, have gotten much better with subsequent HomePlug technology iterations). Even with the phase bridges in place and (supposedly, based on LED indicators) operating as designed, I wasn’t able to ’see’ the on/off-adapters from two of the three power outlets I tried plugging the PowerLinc modem into. Visibility of (and subsequent success in controlling) the on/off adapters from the third (albeit, unfortunately, least convenient) outlet is mostly, but not completely, predictable.

Sometimes I get indication of an on/off transition when one hasn’t actually occurred. If I wait long enough (i.e. tens of seconds), the power transition at the lamp usually (but not always) happens. If I wait even longer (minutes, to tens of minutes), the control interface eventually reports the correct on/off adapter status (i.e. the non-transition) so that I can at least try again (a feedback loop is one key INSTEON enhancement over X10, and the fundamental reason why I went with INSTEON instead of X10, considering that the mountain abode is a 2-hour one-way drive from my Sacramento primary residence). Not to mention the fact that the ISY-26 Home Automation Controller won’t work at all unless I ensure that the 2412S PowerLinc Modem is powered up and fully operational before powering up the ISY-26. How realistic is that scenario in an unstaffed remote location which frequently loses premises power for seconds-to-hours…especially when INSTEON gear can’t be run through an uninterruptible power supply?

Regarding the above point, some other qualifiers:

• I’ve ensured (from past experience) that none of the INSTEON equipment is run through, or even sharing the same wall outlet with, a signal-attenuating UPS or surge protector.
• The three outlets I tried using with the 2412S are only a few feet away from each other, and within the same room. While I realize that proximity is effectively meaningless from a power grid phase standpoint…
• The total premises footprint is quite small (only ~1,000 square feet, with a miniscule second floor by virtue of its geodesic dome design), and the home is only around 20 years old, both factors suggesting to me that the residence has a fairly unchallenging power distribution topology.
• I have not yet attempted to install noise filters at the refrigerator or whole-house heater, but the INSTEON system seems to be equally unpredictable when they’re running and when the’re not. Similarly, I think INSTEON’s RF link runs at 900 MHz, the same ISM frequency my cordless phones use (intentionally chosen for non-interference with Wi-Fi), but the phones spend most of their time non-broadcasting in their charging cradles.

Sigh. If I can’t get this stuff nailed, how is the average consumer supposed to? I’ll keep plugging away (pun intended). And I welcome your insights.