ZWave, INSTEON, or what? Home automation....

In My Humble Opinion
1

So, which protocol should I buy into as I start to automate my home a bit more? I have some old X10 items around but would actually prefer to adopt a new standard and not mess with the old stuff.

I would value reliability highest. I want to be able to program or remotely control lights and perhaps light appliances. Being able to detect a contact closure would be interesting, too. Maybe I could integrate this kind of control with a new security system, too (something I have been needing to do). If I could program it over my LAN from the Mac, or inspect or change settings from my iPhone, so much the better.

But I have to start somewhere, and we want to get some modules for turning the Christmas lights on and off…

Thanks!

2

I think ZigBee is the future. Carrier-current systems have outlived any usefulness they may have had. Unfortunately, ZigBee hasn’t caught on like it was projected to, but it’s slowly coming.

I don’t know if Zwave is ZigBee or not, but I wouldn’t go with a proprietary system.

3

I have a rather extensive Insteon system. For central computer control the ISY-99 controllers are IMHO are expensive but better than the ones SmartHome puts out. Larger systems may have some quirks, but still scale up much better than X10 and is reliable enough for lighting.