Introduction to Insteon
Insteon is developed in Irvine, California. After a ‘soft launch’ in December 2012, Insteon is off to a great start in the UK. Joe Dada, Insteon said “’We’ve been in development of 230V/50Hz products for some time. All of the powerline products are dual-band Insteon (both powerline and RF communications)”.
Unlike other networks, Insteon commands are simple and universal and are guaranteed to be backwards and forwards compatible. One command is sent to all devices simultaneously for instant, elegant scene control.
Insteon is designed to enable devices, such as light switches, thermostats, motion sensors, etc. to be networked together. All Insteon devices are peers, meaning each device can transmit, receive, and repeat any message of the Insteon protocol, without requiring a master controller or routing software. All Insteon compatible devices repeat each message they hear, in contrast to other mesh networking topologies where only “advanced nodes” repeat.
Every Insteon device has its own unique ID, so neighbours and potential hackers can’t control your home. Insteon features Ethernet, USB and serial bridges to allow communications with the Internet, computers, smartphones, tablets and wide variety of security and wiring panels.
There are over 200 Insteon products and millions of units in use. Consequently virtually any control or sensing solution in a home or business can be accomplished. With the your smartphone or tablet, you can easily access, control and check on the status of your Insteon network.
Insteon Network topology
Insteon is an integrated dual-mesh network that combines wireless radio frequency (RF) with the home’s existing electrical wiring. This improves reliability by providing a backup system if these is wireless interference.
Since issues with both wiring and RF seldom co-exist at any particular location, each helps to work around issues on the other. Data indicates that error rates are approximately 100 times less likely.
