Having decided to automate my home, the next biggest decision is which home automation technology to use. There are many to choose from, including X10, UPB, Insteon, Z-Wave, Lonworks, Homeplug, Zigbee, and more... Yikes! Few of these systems interoperate well, so it's important to make a choice you can live with.
The fundamental enabler for home automation is communication between devices. Three different communication mechanisms are commonly used by home automation systems:
- Dedicated control wires. The most reliable way for a home automation system to communicate between devices is over dedicated control wiring. Unfortunately, you need to run control wires to every switch when the house is constructed. My house was built 5 years ago, and did not have any control wiring run, so systems requiring control wires are not an option for me.
- Power line communication. Power line communication is a perfect solution for home automation since so many devices, like light switches, are powered. Unfortunately, power distribution systems in homes were not designed to act as communication busses, so they can be noisy and unreliable. Newer powerline technology like UPB and Insteon seem to have largely addressed the reliability problems the granddaddy of home automation technologies, X10, has a reputation for.
- Wireless communication. Wireless communication is more reliable than power line communication, but also tends to be more expensive. Using wirelss communications for home automation is ideal, because all home automation devices have power (from 120 VAC or battery), and modern wireless protocols can easily span a typical home.
It's easy to get stuck in analysis paralysis choosing a home automation technology. Changing your mind after installing 10-20 devices is expensive, so you need to choose wisely.
After several weeks of such paralysis, I have decided to use SmartHome's INSTEON technology. It is reasonably priced, sounds reliable enough based on forum posts, has a good selection of nice looking devices, and interfaces well with X10, which opens up a huge selection of devices.
At my previous house I installed some Z-Wave devices. They worked well, but in Canada, cost about 60% more than Insteon devices. Unless I find that Insteon is unreliable, a 60% savings will get me a much more automated home.
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