So far, installation my Insteon SwitchLinc dimmers has been pleasantly uneventful. I have three installed, all on circuits controlling PAR 20 halogen pot lights. Smarthome's installation video provides clear instructions, and my house, fortunately, is wired compatibly. It was easy to identify the hot, load, and neutral connections.
One minor challenge was space in the electrical boxes. Insteon SwitchLinc dimmers are larger than the original switches, and the house wiring is thick copper, which takes lots of man-handling to get and keep it where you want it. With equal parts of wire origami and force, I was able to get all the switches back together.
I love the fact that you can control the ramp rate. In hopes of lengthening the lifetime of the fragile PAR 20 halogen light bulbs, I set nice long ramps for each switch. Having the lights fade on and off is a nice effect too. It's not exactly home automation yet, but it's a start.
The next two switches will be a bit more complex to install because they are in a 3-way circuit. I didn't purchase the pre-linked 3-way SwitchLinc dimmer kit, but reading the installation instructions, it looks straight-forward enough to install and link standard SwitchLinc dimmers.
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Today I placed the first order for Insteon gear. Here's what I ordered:
5 pack of SwitchLinc V2 Dimmers (2476D)
5 pack of SwitchLinc V2 Relay (2476S) switches
6 button KeypadLinc Dimmer
Access Point & Phase Coupler Pair (2443P)
This is just a small step towards my lighting automation goals -- the main floor of my house has 20 switches. But it will get my Insteon system up and running. While I'm waiting for the shipment to arrive, I will figure out where I want to put them.
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My first shipment arrived yesterday, so I know what I'm going to be doing this weekend...
This morning, I noticed two burnt out pot light bulbs in the kitchen, so that's where I am going to start. As the highest traffic room in the house, the kitchen lights are turned on and off most often, and these PAR 20 halogen bulbs just don't like it. In a room with 12 pot lights, we lose a bulb about every two weeks, usually when they are switched on. After installing the Switchlinc dimmers, I will track how often bulbs burn out and publish the results.
In preparation for installing my switches, I did a quick YouTube search for tutorials. SmartHome has some good videos online. Here's their Switchlinc dimmer switch installation tutorial: