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Thread: How to integrate Insteon Devices or control with Lutron Devices on an iPhone or iMac?

  1. #1

    How to integrate Insteon Devices or control with Lutron Devices on an iPhone or iMac?

    I purchased a new home that came with a limited number of Lutron PD-5NE Dimmers and a Pico remote. In my previous home I had installed 69 devices throughout the home with everything from T-stat control to fan/light control to water valve controls for my garden. It had timers, what-if commands and the best thing was that control signals were sent via the neutral wire and so sent via UHF signals. Every switch sent out the signal that the original transmitter or switch sent out. I brought with me several Insteon Dimmers that I planned to use in my new home until I found the Lutron system here.

    The Insteon System works with Alexa and Siri as well. I looked at all of my options before choosing Insteon and pricing was similar across the board.

    The best operation of my system was that on all bathroom and kitchen light switches when it was activated another wall receptacle became hot and activated a Hot Water Pump that was inserted into the out going hot water flow from the hot water heater. When I built my previous home my hot water flowed in a race track closed pattern thus when the pump was activated it began pushing the cold water back into the hot water heater and replacing the cold water that usually has to run out of your hot water faucet to purge the cold so it runs from a minute to several minutes before any hot water comes out of the faucet. With a closed hot water loop that had short branches that ran to the sink faucet or shower faucet, the circulation of hot water started as soon as the light switch was turned on. I was not paying the water company for dumping the cold water down the drain while waiting for the hot to arrive. My Master Bedroom and Bath was as far away from the HWH as I could get and I usually only had to wait 10 seconds for real hot water to flow out of the faucet. Here in this new home I can wait for minutes to get hot water.

    I know that there are some special valves that return the cool water back to the HWH using an expensive valve that reverses the flow but my rough-in plumber told me about the racetrack flow and I was glad I listened to him. The Insteon system signal can go to any device(s) you choose and without limitation on the number of devices that can act or react to the signal. It also provides a history of what devices were activated and which other devices were programmed to react. Real easy to troubleshoot your system.

    It may require me to operate two separate control systems but with Alexa already in my home as well I think both systems can operate as one large system.

    I am also looking at a controller made by Universal Controller called “ISy”. It operates several different protocols including Z-wave, ZigBee, Insteon and many others including Alexa.

    But for now I am in need of a solution for my current issue on another thread.

    I am pretty much happy with Lutron but also disappointed because of my other experiences.

  2. #2
    Junior Member
    Join Date
    Sep 2021
    Posts
    2

    boil it down

    Quote Originally Posted by Andyhutch1947@gmail.com View Post
    I purchased a new home that came with a limited number of Lutron PD-5NE Dimmers and a Pico remote. In my previous home I had installed 69 devices throughout the home with everything from T-stat control to fan/light control to water valve controls for my garden. It had timers, what-if commands and the best thing was that control signals were sent via the neutral wire and so sent via UHF signals. Every switch sent out the signal that the original transmitter or switch sent out. I brought with me several Insteon Dimmers that I planned to use in my new home until I found the Lutron system here.

    The Insteon System works with Alexa and Siri as well. I looked at all of my options before choosing Insteon and pricing was similar across the board.


    The best operation of my system was that on all bathroom and kitchen light switches when it was activated another wall receptacle became hot and activated a Hot Water Pump that was inserted into the out going hot water flow from the hot water heater. When I built my previous home my hot water flowed in a race track closed pattern thus when the pump was activated it began pushing the cold water back into the hot water heater and replacing the cold water that usually has to run out of your hot water faucet to purge the cold so it runs from a minute to several minutes before any hot water comes out of the faucet. With a closed hot water loop that had short branches that ran to the sink faucet or shower faucet, the circulation of hot water started as soon as the light switch was turned on. I was not paying the water company for dumping the cold water down the drain while waiting for the hot to arrive. My Master Bedroom and Bath was as far away from the HWH as I could get and I usually only had to wait 10 seconds for real hot water to flow out of the faucet. Here in this new home I can wait for minutes to get hot water.

    I know that there are some special valves that return the cool water back to the HWH using an expensive valve that reverses the flow but my rough-in plumber told me about the racetrack flow and I was glad I listened to him. The Insteon system signal can go to any device(s) you choose and without limitation on the number of devices that can act or react to the signal. It also provides a history of what devices were activated and which other devices were programmed to react. Real easy to troubleshoot your system.

    It may require me to operate two separate control systems but with Alexa already in my home as well I think both systems can operate as one large system.

    I am also looking at a controller made by Universal Controller called “ISy”. It operates several different protocols including Z-wave, ZigBee, Insteon and many others including Alexa.

    But for now I am in need of a solution for my current issue on another thread.

    I am pretty much happy with Lutron but also disappointed because of my other experiences.
    Any device that shows up in Homekit should be able to integrate any action

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