My GEM, ISY, Dash Box, Insteon Home Automation Install

[Teken]

INSTEON HOME AUTOMATION INTEGRATION:

A few months ago someone asked me what the Insteon system looked like. More detailed information can be obtained by going to the vendors site: http://www.insteon.com/

Below are a few pictures to illustrate what I have done to make my install a little more professional and easy to use.



The entire home is automated using Insteon except for a few mission critical rooms. There are control panels located in key areas of the home to ensure full control and notification, should it be required.

The main entrance has all of the important loads at a hands reach. The *All Lights* key has been programmed to turn on every internal light in the home.



This is one of several key pad lincs (KPL) located by the hall way just entering the kitchen. The beauty about Insteon is having the ability to program and assign a load where an existing switch never was.



This is one of my most favorite key pad controllers. This one can indicate & control the garage door if its open / closed. It has also been assigned to turn on the microwave, dishwasher, and all the various house fans. All of which when idle consume various amounts of power so this reduces the amount vampire draw.



This is a video of the system in action:

This week end I retro fitted one of the rooms with an amazing ceiling fan / light. This along with the other fans will be tied to the ISY-994iZ, GEM, to regulate the air flow and HVAC.

FanLinc:









Keypad Linc:

The master bedroom has all of the major loads at a hands reach. During an emergency or fire the *All On* key can turn all the interior, exterior lights, and strobes on.

This is to ensure there is a lit path and emergency crew are fully aware which home is in distress and needs help.



Some areas of the home did not require the same level of control or links. So these now discontinued Icon switches reside in low usage areas.



Switch Linc:

This is the big brother of the Insteon line. The SwitchLinc can handle more power, dim, and has more internal memory for links.





Smoke Bridge:

The Smoke Bridge is a new offering from Insteon. This unit ties into all the First Alert One Link smoke / co detectors in the home. Part of my smoke, fire, heat system is hardwired. While others are wireless battery operated to ensure a level of redundancy and back up.

There are two hard wired Smoke / Fire units on the main floor and in the basement. There are five more wireless smoke, fire, CO detectors in each room, floor, zone, area. Five more are still pending install once the entire home has been renovated.

If there is a fire, smoke, CO, condition the Smoke Bridge will turn all of the lights in the home to fully on.



A few years a go a major storm blew in and and wiped out my smoke alarms. If it wasn't for my monthly fire checks I would have never known they were damaged.

With a combination of the alarm system and the smoke bridge. I will have sms text, e-mails, and Insteon notifications of a device fault.





Right now I have installed a few test units to see how some of the back up systems work. Below are two of 12 portable units housed in the Tabletop Enclosure that are programmed to alert and notify of a water, smoke / fire, electrical, heating / cooling fault.



I have been slowly integrating all of the keys in the most commons sense locations. The hard part is to deploy the system where it makes sense, is clean looking, and not too busy.





The next four projects I am working on is to have control of some mission critical systems in and around the home / property. Right now I am building a automated solar tracking array.

Hence the solar motor key you see below. The solar power key you see serves a dual purpose in my install. It will alert me of a power condition, it will also allow me to manually kill the power, or even divert the power to the off grid battery system.

All of which can be controlled remotely, directly from this single button, and receive sms text, e-mails, and siren / strobe notifications.

The various alarm, network, camera, DVR systems will allow me to take devices off line, rotate, reboot, enable perimeter grids around the home.

I am currently testing a geo fence, along with a laser grid system in the garage. Once it has been fully tested its going to be quite the Gong Show in some parts of the property.



Currently, I am building a movie theater / game room. This was a temporary key pad I set up to test how the dimming and scenes would operate. Right now its trying to come up with the correct mood lighting, sound, and shutter modes.

Once all done pressing any of the buttons, remotes, cell phone, or even just entering the room will start off a sequence of events that should bring some jaw dropping moments!

I have been building a hydraulic ramp floor, drop down screen, with automated scenes in hopes to have a great movie / gaming experience for all.



Appliance Linc:

These are some of the Appliance Linc Relays / Dimmers deployed in various parts of the home. These previous generation devices were only single band. Meaning they sent their signals over the electrical power line.



Lamp Linc:

This is a Insteon dual band Lamp Linc. Unlike the devices listed above this new generation of products can send their Insteon signal over RF and Power Line. This addition not only allows phase coupling of the two sides of the electrical feeds. But, also allows RF devices to be controlled and communicated to.





Flood Stop:

This is a 3/8" Flood Stop unit coupled to a Insteon Open / Close sensor.





This device is coupled to a motorized ball valve under the kitchen island sink. Upon detection of water from the dishwasher it will turn off the main water supply line.



Inline Linc:

At the same time the power to the dishwasher will be turned off to prevent appliance damage and electrocution to the occupants via a Insteon Inline Linc module.



Two more of these Flood Stop devices are installed in the bathrooms coupled to a Insteon Open Close sensor.



A similar two valve Flood Stop is installed down stairs to protect the clothes washer.



The clothes washer is also protected by a Leviton type 3 point of use surge alarm outlet. It is also coupled with an Insteon Appliance Linc module which is Normally Open (N.O). Both units protect the appliance and disconnect the main power once water is detected from the Flood Stop unit.



The following video's illustrate the entire system at work





This is the 3/4" Flood Stop Wireless main line water shut off kit. Five of the wireless remote detection units are placed in key areas around the home. They can be powered by AA batteries or via AC transformer.

Upon detection of a water leak the main water line to the home is turned off.

This is the entire kit out of the box.



These are the water sensors which can be daisy chained to one another for more area coverage.



Thermostat:

There are currently five Insteon enabled Venstar thermostats in the home. They have been installed in key areas of the home to read the temperature and humidity. Based on program variables in the ISY-994, the Insteon network system will react to regulate the temperature and humidity.

The system is programmed from least invasive to full on to maintain the homes ambient temperature and environment. This can be as simple as turning on a remote fan, ceiling fan, venting the over head range, central exhaust, to turning on the HVAC system.

The system is also tied to a basement dehumidifier which helps remove excessive moisture and humidity.



These are the Insteon 2441V adapters which allows the Venstar TSTAT's communicate in the network.




iMeter Solo:

This device allows a person to measure a point of use appliance or equipment. I use it as a secondary *At a glance* method to see what sub systems in the home are consuming.



This is what the device is able to generate in terms of energy consumption stats with in the House Linc software.



This is one of the iMeter Solo's in a COM closet monitoring a few key items in the network. I am currently using a combination of a Brultech point of use CT. Along with measuring the entire circuit via the GEM on a global scale.



Energy Display:

Local energy monitoring is also done with the Insteon Energy Display.



These are three, of four units installed in various portions of the home. This allows the user immediate access and visibility of the power use.



Timer Linc modules:

These discontinued Timer Linc modules allow me to have a stand alone seven day event timer linked to various Insteon controlled devices. This serves as a fail over timer for equipment that must be turned on / off.

This is to ensure if their is a network problem or a computer issue with the ISY-994 iZ IR Pro. That the expected device can be turned on / off with out reliance on the network infrastructure within the home.



Insteon I/O Linc:

This multi purpose device can be used to connect various dry contact devices to the network. This unit is tasked to fire off its siren when ever specific conditions exists. With programming ability of the ISY-994 iZ IR Pro one of its jobs is to fire off its siren when garage door is open from a specific period of time.

It is also used to sound off when there is device fault with a particular Insteon device. This is accomplished with how many siren chirps this device will emit for better awareness. Keeping in mind a sms text and e-mail is also sent out indicating exactly which device is faulty.



The I/O Linc is also used for remote control of the garage door.



This is the Seco-Larm armored contact sensor that tells the I/O Linc of the door position.



Insteon Motion Sensor:

There are many Insteon motion sensors through out the home. Their primary role is to turn on the lights and to monitor activity. This unit is in the laundry room and turns on the lights upon entry and after a set amount of time will turn off automatically.



This simple device has provided so much energy savings, along with security and safety for my family. Coming down stairs before with arms full of laundry and trying to grab the pull chain lights was a chore! Now, all I have to do is enter the room and boom the lights come on and turn off when I am done.



One of several in rooms through out the home. Some are used to turn on the lights, while others are used for presence detection. Upon detection, computer systems and A/V gear turn on for the home owner to use.





Outlet Linc:

In areas where a plug in device such as a ApplianceLink would be a eye sore. These OutletLincs are installed to control the load remotely. This is one of many ways I am able to cycle power to a electronic device or computer system. It also helps avoid the night time arguments of can I play longer / watch TV etc!

The system is programmed to turn on / off, or cycle power when required based on the needs of the user. It is also a great method to add a timer to the garage outlet for a block heater. No need to worry about the car being plugged in all night wasting power when the temperatures are moderate etc.



Filter Linc:

Because Insteon uses the homes existing power line to send and receive its data. There are countless electronic items or motors that can either suck the signal or create noise on the line. These FilterLincs are used to bypass the problem and allow the Insteon signal pass through with out hindrance.



Dryer Linc:

As a means to actively bridge and couple both sides of the electrical system. Smartlabs came out with a plug in 240 VAC Dryer Linc. This gave the user a plug & play device to bridge both sides of the electrical feed with out installing the same in passive device in the service panel.

The beauty of this device is that it did not take up a breaker slot in doing so.









240 Load Controller:

This is a 240 VAC 30 amp N.O / N.C load controller. My long term goal is to use this device to control the hot water tank and hopefully reduce some energy costs.



Access Point:

In the early years of Insteon most of the devices offered by the company were single band (SB). Meaning they sent their Insteon signal over the power line in your home. Devices that were RF only such as motion sensors, open / close sensors, remote's, required a means to communicate from RF to Power Line.

The Access Point (AP) was released to allow this. More importantly this AP was critical in bridging and coupling both sides of the electrical feed in the home. The AP is also the most powerful of the RF devices made by Insteon.

Installing these AP's to first bridge both phases is key. Once that is done you can locate these devices in areas that require them.



Synchro Linc:

- Automatically shut down all your office peripherals when you turn off your computer.
- Have the TV automatically set the room lights when turned on.
- Can be used to provide advanced on / off status for conditional automation logic.
- Create a notification if a critical appliance fails.







IES Control Panel:

In the future this touch enabled control panel will be installed in the Home Theatre room. This multi purpose device can interact with the ISY-994, and operate all of the devices in the Insteon Network.



Bulb Linc:

I am using one of these new Insteon Bulb Lincs in a place where there is a pull chain light. This has to be one of the best idea's to provide remote control of a light fixture with out any wiring. The only down side to this device is the slight buzz that comes from with in.



Micro On / Off:

This new module allows a person to install an Insteon controlled device into a existing switch, outlet, fixture. I have decided to use the first two units to allow me direct control of a few power bars, and outlets.





Micro Dimmer:





Leak Sensor

The new Insteon Leak Sensor has been released. This device is purpose built to detect the presence of water. In the past others and myself had to use the Open / Close sensor with a third party sensor. Now all of the guts are included in one plastic housing.

A new feature of this device is the *Heart Beat* feed back. Using the ISY with the appropriate program(s) the end user can monitor the dry, wet, and heartbeat state. I am still currently testing this and will report my success or failure with this device.

As it currently changes from wet to dry instantly?



Remote Linc

These new Remote Linc's were released a few years back replacing their much larger brother which you see below.



The beauty of these new mini remotes is that they can be installed on to a wall and look exactly like a 8 button KPL when installed with their respective frame kit.



I have a few of these units installed in key areas where there is no power line available. Or where remote access is needed and required. This was one of many excellent products released from Smartlabs!

[Teken]

LED LIGHTING CONVERSION - THE FIRST STEPS:

The pursuit of Energy Savings have been slow and steady at the Teken household. This summer I took the very first steps to replace all of the lights in the home with LED lights. Follow along with me in this mini journey.

LIGHTING SCIENCE - DEFINITY LED BULBS:

Based on numerous feedback on the Interwebs the bulk of the homes lighting were replaced with Definity 8 watt dimmable LED lights. These bulbs have proven to be Insteon friendly and dim down very well. There is no apparent buzzing or line noise seen since install.

After testing a small sample I went ahead and purchased a large pallet. This massive box arrived at my door step, here are the first six of twelve box's.



Specifications for the Lightning Science Definity LED bulbs.



A few of them laid out on the kitchen floor to decide where they all needed to go.



They are small:



Kitchen Table Light:



Island Lights:



Entry Lights

LUMINUS - PAR 20 LED BULBS:

On March 21, 2015 I dropped by the local Costco and noticed another rebate program from our local utility. These bulbs were being discounted to approx $6.XX per package.



My initial goal was to place these new lights in the island pendant lights. But, totally had a brain fart and soon realized these are directional with no omni light spread. Since I already had them I decided to test them out with the Insteon dimmers.



Using a KPL dimmer these Luminus LED Par 20 bulbs come on immediately with out delay. There is no buzzing when at 100% or when dimmed to any level. Using the KPL dimmer I was able to smoothly dim the LED's down to almost 0%.

To my eye it appeared there was about 2% left but it was extremely hard to see. Overall these are excellent LED bulbs which if you require directional lighting will meet your needs. The color was great and the focused beam was laser tight.



Once installed its apparent these Par 20's are too small for the fixture! I have since ordered some G25 Globe LED bulbs from Sylvania. This will fill out the pendant light housing while offering 120 light spread and hopefully more omni light in the kitchen.

SYLVANIA - G25 ULTRA LED:

On April 07, 2015 I received my first six pack of Sylvania dimmable G25 Ultra LED's. These are 2700 K, CRI 85, 7 watt or 40/50 watt equivalent LED bulbs.



The maker indicates these G25 globe style bulbs output 450 lumens.



On the side of the packaging it compares a traditional G25 globe bulb to these Sylvania LED's. Its interesting to see the comparable 40 watt incandescent only outputs 370 lumens. Operating life is stated to be approx 1500 hours vs 25000 for these LED's.

Since the output is 450 lumens based on side to side comparisons to my eye these bulbs are comparable to a 50/60 watt incandescent bulb.



I am not sure what is inside of these bulbs but the metal casing is heavy. This bulb just feels solid and quality made.



I believe these G25 Globe bulbs look much better than Luminus one's I had placed in there for sure! Testing these bulbs with the Insteon KPL they were dead silent at 100% brightness and at any dim level.

These bulbs dimmed very smoothly with out any sign of flicker. The cut off appeared to be about 5-10% before shutting down completely. They turn on instantly with out any delay and using the Dash Box I can confirm they consume 7 watts each. There is no hum, buzzing, or impact to the Insteon network that I could see.

I will follow up in the next few months to let everyone know how they have performed with long term use.

I would like to personally thank the Sylvania lighting company for sending these free bulbs. In the last few years I have been blessed by dealing with companies that truly provide service after the sale.

Previous generations of these bulbs were on a recall. Reaching out to the company resulted in receiving these bulbs for free. This is truly service after the sale and in my mind affirms dealing with good companies will reward you when a warranty repair / issue arise.

Thank you Sylvania Lighting (Customer Support) and standing by your product!



To continue the look and feel of these new energy saving LED bulbs. It was time to replace the builder quality out door light fixtures in my home. These SS 100 watt indoor / outdoor rated light fixtures were selected and I hope very much they provide that missing element.



Turning one of the box over provides the user a general idea of how they will look after final wall mounting.



These were on sale at Costco for $21.XX vs $29.XX normally when I saw them on display. Not too surprisingly three of the five fixtures had various blemishes and dents.

So tomorrow back to Costco I go to see if I can find three more! Normally I check the items before I buy them but figured since none of the box's were dented in any fashion what could possible go wrong?

[Teken]

New Beta update 4.09 has been released to address a few issues along with adding in some new features.



The DB now displays to the third decimal for the dollar and cents. Providing more accuracy and granularity to the system.

Looking at your electrical bill you will notice it will say for example $0.0697 etc



The latest update requested by me was to allow more details to be inputted about a circuit. Instead of simply lights & plugs as a label, you can now add in what ever description to define the load.

This field is only visible to the Admin who logs in and selecting the settings tab.



The last update I requested was to have all of the channels line up with the current data field. Now, you will notice all channels are even with their respective *Current Data* lines.

This makes it easier to read across and verify the loads present.



Once again Brultech has stepped up to the plate and increased the value and usability of the DB for all.

[Teken]

INSTEON - ISY-994 - OVER HEAD HVAC CONTROL:

So the journey to integrate all aspects of the homes HVAC sub systems continues. Below is the over head range exhaust fan. The plan is to have the over head range integrated into the Insteon HA system with the ISY-994 in control of the appliance.



After removing the cover plate from the exhaust fan. The next step was to identify the wires that controlled the three speed exhaust fan. Inside of the unit listed all of the colored wires to the associated buttons and to their corresponding motor wires.



Once the bundle of wires to the button switches and the motor were identified. It was a simple process of splicing the wires into the Insteon Micro On / Off 2443-222 switch.



The next step was to insert matching colored pig tail wires into the Insteon Micro On / Off. I was fortunate enough to have tons of the same color wires in my shop. The white wire is the neutral, black is the hot / line, blue is the load, and the 24 gauge yellow wire is the sense.



Once the Micro On / Off switch was prepped and wired the device code was marked down and programmed into the ISY-994 IZ Pro.



Following the wiring schematic in the over head range coupled with the Insteon quick start manual took only about five minutes to install. It took me longer to strip the wires from the over head range then to complete the entire install given the tight space!



Once the system was tested and working it was time to secure all the wires back into place and fasten the Micro On / Off switch. Using some 3M double sided tape I simply installed the switch to the underside of the frame.





A short video of the whole system in operation 7/1/2014:

INSTEON - DUAL ON/OFF OUTLET LINC:

On October 2014 Smartlabs released a new and improved outlet linc. I received this new device on December 02, 2014 this new device is dual band and improves upon the previous generation model in many areas which is listed below.

More relevant details including the users manual can be located at the vendors site here:
http://www.smarthome.com/insteon-2663-2 ... white.html

1. Dual band meaning the Insteon signal is now transmitted over power line and via RF.

2. Dual controllable outlets independent of one another.

3. The device can now be used as a controller in a scene.

4. This new model also increases the specifications in key areas: <0.4 Watts consumption, 1000 volts surge protection, 250 feet RF range, dual LED status signalling, tamper resistant outlets.

5. Both power line and RF can be turned on / off. This key feature allows those who want to reduce their RF environment can do so now. In terms of diagnostics or where there are COM issues this allows the end user to use one or the other to determine the fault or to circumvent it.

6. Smart Hops: This new feature will allow the device to auto adjust from 1-3 transmissions. The goal is to reduce the amount of traffic on the power line. This new firmware will allow the device to compensate for a changing environment where noise was present or has since been reduced.

The Smartlabs engineers should be very proud of themselves in this regard. This is definitely cutting edge and reinforces that Insteon is one of the market leaders in Home Automation (HA).



The packaging has seen incredible attention to detail. As seen here all sides of the electronic device can be viewed as if you were holding it in your hand.



A comparison of the old vs the new packaging.



Benefits and features of the new dual outlet linc.





Upon opening the package, Smarthome has included a direct support help line. These small details should go a long way to answer technical issues during the install and limit the amount returns.

Nice touch and well done Smartlabs.



Physical wiring diagram for the install is supplied in a very nice card board template.



Packing material and hold outs for the device. I have to say again the attention to detail to just this area is quite surprising. The entire device is held in place perfectly and snugly, even the three wires are individually held in place by its own card board holder.



Many years ago the NEC had passed a new code where all (new builds or retro fits) outlets were required to be tamper proof. We don't have these codes in place under the CEC but welcome this new safety measure in my home.



One of the complaints for the Outlet Linc, Switch Lincs, KPL's etc was the placement of the ground strap as can be seen below. Below is the older model outlet linc with the ground strap affixed to the bottom plate.



In this new outlet the ground strap is inserted inside of the plastic housing and crimped into the metal frame of the device. This allows a smooth and easy install and allows the entire device to sit flush against the wall.



As can be seen where there is the metal screw. All of the previous generation of Switchlincs, KPL's have their ground straps soldered to the lower metal frame. I hope very much all future Insteon (wired in) devices will incorporate this new grounding method.

I was sad to see that (center black wire) that Smartlabs continues to place the RF antenna in the rear of the unit. This pretty much negates a stronger RF output when these devices are installed into metal JOBX's. Which are code in all Canadian homes etc.

Ideally the antenna should be placed in the front just under the bezel to ensure the widest RF propagation of signal into the room. Perhaps this issue will be reviewed and future models will incorporate this simple idea.



In the past there was a flurry of complaints about the white plastic color in newer Insteon products. In one production year they went with what most people would call (frosted white) meaning none of the common Cooper / Leviton decora plates would match.

In this picture which does not reflect too well the true color. This specific model matches both brands very closely.



To my eye the color match is closer and does not pop out like it used to.



The photo does not agree at fist blush because the angle of the shot and more ambient light striking the Insteon device versus the mounted one.



This is a comparisons of the older single band On/Off relay 2473S vs the newer dual band, dual outlet relay 2663-222



One of the key things I wanted to confirm with this new dual outlet linc is the fact it does remember the last known state. Meaning if any of the two outlets were left On /Off, upon a power interruption they would return to their last known state of either On / Off.

I tested both top and bottom outlets and removed power after making a selection and each time the device came back up in the same state it was last in.

Both outlets were turned on - Removing power and waiting a few minutes and reapplying electrical power to the device resulted in the device coming back up in the on position.



Both outlets were turned off - Power removed from the unit for several minutes. Applying power resulted in the outlet to remain in the off state.



These are the attributes that can be adjusted and changed within the ISY Series Controller. Load sense can be turned on and off for the individual outlets. A new feature not seen before is a blink on error along with the ability to change the LED brightness levels from 0 - 100%.

I have not seen the *Send Clean Up Message* before and this appears to be one of many great improvements in the recent firmware updates coming out from Smartlabs.

Well done . . .



This is the temporary mounting container for this new dual outlet linc.



This will make it much easier to lug around the house for RF / Power line testing along with load verification.

NOISE: HUMMING / BUZZING

Once of the last checks I did was to listen to this new module. Sadly, I have to report this new dual outlet has the infamous buzzing / hum. This same problem was seen in the dual band KPL relays released a few years back. To be fair I have great hearing and right now as I write this review the device is laying on the kitchen counter.

I would have to guess most of the noise would be reduced once installed into the JBOX. This assumption does not always hold true because I have several KPL relays that are clearly installed a metal enclosure and I can still hear them.

In closing this newest offering from Smartlabs will find plenty of applications and projects to control. I am looking forward to newer products from the company and the latest gossip is the following.

WHAT THE FUTURE HOLDS:

I/O Linc: This device will finally go dual band and have the same form factor as the On/Off, Lamp Linc, Smoke Bridge, Range Extender, etc. It will lose the front outlet which is a complete shame and should have the same 1000 volt surge rating, energy consumption, and 250 RF range as these devices offer.

Multi Sensor: There may be a multi sensor on the horizon which is similar to the Aeotec which offers light, motion, temperature, humidity. If true this will be very welcome addition to the Insteon family line up.

i3CS: The engineers at Smartlabs are hard at work with i3CS. Nothing is known about this new protocol but its safe to say better diagnostics and communications will be available once deployed. Since all future models of Insteon will deprecate the X10 protocol moving forward this will allow more coding space in the IC to do more whether this be features or better COM's who knows.

i3CS will be backwards compatible with older Insteon devices but obviously features such as Smart Hop, Message Clean Up, Blink On Error, RF / Power Line On / OFF, wont be applicable to older products.

INSTEON ASSURANCE KIT:

On August 24, 2015 I was very fortunate to be able to purchase this Assurance Kit on line for an incredible deal of under $125.XX Canadian. Even with the exchange rate, shipping, this kit was more than 50% less than if I was to purchase the same in Canada.

The primary reason I wanted this kit was for the new dual band On-Off plugin relay module. This device at the Aartech is currently selling as of this writing for a whopping $57.99 before shipping and tax's!

Just two of these devices at this price is $115.98.

So you can understand my joy and happiness when I was able to purchase this entire kit all in for approx $125.XX.



The kit comes with a leak sensor, motion sensor, open-close sensor, two on-off relay modules, and a HUB II controller. The other reason I wanted this kit was to use it for a future project that would allow me to integrate the harmony remote along with the Amazon Echo speech (voice) activated unit.



As can be seen in the Smarthome advertising these are the current supported third party devices via the Insteon HUB II.



Another reason for wanting this kit was to update a few older systems in my home with the latest hardware release which provided what Smartlabs calls heart beat notification. This heart beat notification was first seen in the leak sensor. Where the device will send a ping to a listening controller every 24 hours that its battery and placement was in range.

This feature was later incorporated into the open-close sensor which used to be called the trigger linc. I have the previous generation of trigger links which are integrated to the flood stop units that monitor a leakage condition.

Having the ability to know the battery state via heart beat check in would assist me in the long run and avoid dead batteries.

INSTEON DUAL BAND SWITCH DIMMERS:

On October 15, 2015 I was cruising the interwebs when I stumbled upon a advert. To my shock and amazement it was actually in Canadian dollars!

As you can see the price for these brand new Insteon products were on a complete blow out sale. I of course took the liberty to purchase all of the stock on hand!



A few days later the post man had several large *Sub Way* box's sitting on my porch?!?!

Upon opening the Sub Way box's I was pleasantly surprised to see the first sets of parcels arrive. As the other four box's were still pending delivery and shipping status from the vendor.



These first ten dual band 2477D Switch Linc Dimmers offered my existing Insteon network so many more features and enhancements that the small amount of money I spent will go toward a long term investment in my home.

Some key features I really wanted and enjoy are the fact they are indeed dual band. This allows each device to relay the Insteon signal via RF and power line. This new generation of device also offers wider voltage ranges of 100 - 277 VAC which translates to higher surge resistance, lower energy consumption (<0.59) watts when compared to previous versions of (<1.00) watts.

One of the best upgrades from Smartlabs was adding a dual color LED to the system. When the 4 tap (Beacon) test is initiated the user will know 100% if the device is on the same phase / opposite phase by the LED indicating green / red.

INSTEON DUAL BAND LED BULBS:

On November 09, 2015 the second portion of my order had arrived and you guessed it. It was five 2672-222 8 watt (equivalent 60 watt) warm white (2700K) 532 lumen bulbs.

I purchased these bulbs more as a back up supply and for various projects on the go. There wasn't a lot of need for them but given the amazing price they were being sold at. I was hard pressed to pass this offer up so now I have a dozen of them sitting in a box at the ready.

My first goal was to determine if these newer bulbs still had that annoying low hum buzzing that I saw on my existing unit. I will report back how these first six units operate and whether or not it has been reduced or eliminated completely.



On December 16, 2015 the second batch of 2672-222 Insteon LED bulbs arrived.

[Teken]

More progress has been seen and completed on several fronts for the GEM and the ultimate goal of seeing all of the energy attributes for the HA system.

One of the requirements was to activate and have a login for the GEM. Paul at Brultech has been able to complete this task. Below is the new login page to enter the setup page to the GEM.



This new feature can be enabled and disabled in the Advanced tab. The user can use up to 6 alpha numeric characters and is case sensitive.



The welcome screen now displays the intent and use of the internal setup web page. With clear instructions about existing the portal once any work has been completed.



One of the last attributes I wanted to see was the ability to see and monitor the current / amps on a circuit. Below is one of many steps completed to get me there. Under the *Send Packet* tab you will now find a new options to enable the current / amps.



This information is currently only available via the internal GEM web site. Integration of this information is still being worked on in the DB & ISY. My hopes this feature will be forth coming before years end.

The user can now see the current, volt amps, and wattage for that specific channel. One of my goals is to use this as a emergency monitoring to ensure a circuit is not over loaded, or to ensure the load is timed to reduce the start up current on a circuit.

As indicated with the web switch I can delay the start up process of any device in the home. This ensures a breaker won't be tripped due to a large inrush current from an attached device.

Most folks such as I don't really have to worry about this sort of thing. But, some others have either older homes with old breakers, or where a circuit is really over loaded and having the means to delay a turn on event is critical to ensure that power is available.



Last week Paul also added a battery status check for the GEM. After some testing at home due to a corrupt firmware I determined that the battery checker was not very accurate and something else needed to be implemented.

Previously, the battery checker stated: OK, Low.

But, even when the battery was removed from the GEM it would either show OK / Low. Clearly, this area needed some refinement and change. I am not sure when the battery checker will be back.

But, right now there is a new *Sys Status* which seems to count activity from the GEM. I will need to ask Paul how its use and how this value is determined in the GEM. Previously when I was having issues the *Sys Status* was showing a 00100000? Now it shows a value of 00000000??



Another small improvement which I was not aware of, was the fact that the GEM could be set to have a shorter send interval. This would allow the DB & ISY to refresh the power readings faster in the users display. Prior it was set to send its data at a 30 second interval. Now, I have changed it to be 15 seconds for both channels.

The best part is that the DB in turn will only send the same information to the SEG site at 60 seconds. This has been found the best balance of status update, and rounding errors in the SEG portal.

Lots of hard work has been done and completed by the Brultech team. Special thanks goes out to Paul for after hours and week end support in getting my GEM back on line. Few if any companies chime in or provide such support after hours or week ends.

This is what I call service after the sale! These are the reasons I support and continue to buy from these people. Forward thinking, open to new idea's, and support after the sale.

I am looking very forward to seeing the new updates in the DB which can take advantage of the current / amps in the GEM. Hopefully other requests can be integrated also.

[Teken]

Lots of work has been done on the Brultech side to enhance the GEM and the Dash Box (DB).

The GEM is currently on its latest release COM 2.37, and ENG 1.44. Some of the release notes for the COM 2.37 is listed below about the update.

:
Several improvements and bug fixes:

- Improved web Setup Interface performance

- Fix "Data Post" section to show URL, URL Extension, etc

- Fix problem in "Chan CT" section. When manually assigning a CT type and range, the "X2" option would um-predictable get selected. Now resolved.

- Packet send interval minimum value set to 3 seconds. There was an issue where some customers would set this value too low and the GEM could not process the packets fast enough. This caused the GEM not to respond to commands or to the Setup Page. If a l If a lower packet send interval is required, this may be obtained by using a special command via terminal.
The following is the update as it pertains to the Engine firmware listed below.

Added the ability to measure true RMS load current. Requires COM 2.34 or higher firmware version. Refer to document GEM-UD1 for more information.

The GEM has a few updates as it pertains to the internal configuration web page. This home page now clearly informs the user the intent of the internal web page and how to trouble shoot the most common problem that may arise when in the portal.

Paul has added a quick reference hyper link to the Brultech software down load section in the main page.



The login page has changed a little and now includes a link to exit the setup in the GEM properly.



The status page now includes three additional monitoring flags, to assist Brultech in logging errors for the GEM and assist in trouble shooting.

They are Sys Status, Sys Info, Sys Flags.

Paul got back to me with the flags this morning:

Sys Info
“Sys Info” displays eight system information bits. The last two bits are the only ones relevant to the GEM users. The example below shows the possible error situation.

Sys Info: 00100001 OK
Sys Info: 00100010 Error

The error above indicates that the GEM processor can get stuck indefinitely in an endless loop. Typically, the GEM will run fine but it’s recommended to resolve this error for dependability’s sake.

The process to resolve this error is to completely reset the GEM processor. This is done by,

- Removing the battery then cycling the power to the GEM.
- Leave the GEM un-powered for at least 10 seconds.
- Once the GEM is powered up, the battery may be re-installed.
- After re-installing the battery, cycle the battery one more time.


After the reset is completed, access the Setup Page once again and verify that the Sys Info looks like this:

Sys Info: 00100001 OK




Sys Flags
The “Sys Flags” indicate various flag states for debugging purposes. At this time the only relevant bit is the 6th bit. The two probable conditions are shown below:

Sys Flags: 00100000 Error
Sys Flags: 00000000 OK

The error condition above indicates that the GEM battery may be low. This flag is set because when power is removed from the GEM, the battery voltage has dropped below a safe value in regards to maintaining all of the RAM values (all cumulative counters: watt-second, watt-hour, pulse counts, time, etc.). Depending on the packet format used, losing these values may be of no consequence since the data host will resolve the values automatically.


Before changing the battery, cycle the power to the GEM to see of the error is still there. If so,

- Remove the battery while the GEM is still powered.
- Replace the battery with a new one.
- Cycle the power to the GEM.

The status page should now indicate:

Sys Flags: 00000000 OK

The Live Data page, now has its own screen and shows all GEM attributes from Channel, Watt, Amps, Volt Amps, Watt Hours, Temperature, Pulse, Line Voltage, System Time, and Elapse Watt Hour Minutes.

The default refresh rate is set to 8 seconds. This parameter can be changed in the Adv (Advanced) tab.



The data post page has seen a change in how it looks and displays the information also.



The channel CT page has been updated. The X2 selection has been corrected and does not apply X2 240 VAC to a 120 line when not required.





The Channel Options Page:




Lots of work has been completed by Ben on the DB. I had requested a few feature updates that would allow more flexibility, and assist in trouble shooting the device.

Starting in Beta firmware 4.1.1:



In this release, the secondary nag prompt has been removed.




All the user needs to do now, is login which is displayed below.




The integration of the SMTP e-mail check has been incorporated. The user can now define how long to wait before sending off a e-mail alert if the GEM is down. From one minute and up can be set prior to being alerted by e-mail if a packet loss is present.

To ensure that the SMTP settings are configured and working a test button is now available. The system works perfectly, and alerts are instantaneous based on several days of testing.

If the DB system is able to send a properly formatted e-mail. A confirmation message is indicated at the top, as you see here in blue.



I had asked Ben for the ability to send e-mail to secondary Alias. This has been incorporated in firmware 4.1.1. There was a bug where it would not allow the deletion of the secondary alias.

This has been resolved locally on my system but a new release will address this issue. I am not sure how many alias can be added but I was able to add more than five and it worked. I don't think anyone needs more than five unless you're using the DB for a Enterprise environment.



A data packet log interval was also requested and has been included in this release. The lowest setting is one minute and can be increased from there.



This is the Raw Data for the above logs. The format has changed a bit but this area serves to inform the user that the DB is first receiving packets from the GEM. In turn the same packets are being sent to your system, or to a third party hosted site.

It also confirms the packet format, along with the captured values for each energy, temp, and pulse channels, along with the voltage.



One of the final request I had was that the DB would allow it to display its readings down to 2 decimal points. This has been incorporated into the voltage and energy readings.

I prefer to see the exact value instead of whole numbers. ie. It was strange to see 0.6 watts as 1 watt. The same with seeing 120.6, 120.7 volts as 121 volts VAC.

Most folks don't require this level of resolution but I do. If the system can provide it why not? It goes with out saying there is also a margin of error based on the CT's used. But, if a person knows their system that same variance can be taken into account.

ie. If you know the system has a 1% margin error. That same threshold is not going to change over time. You just need to keep it in mind when looking at the data. Seeing 120.6 volts for 365 days pretty much affirms its OK.



Because I asked for two decimal places to be enabled in the DB the power readings were crowded but have since been corrected in 4.1.2





This view is from selecting the Voltage channel.



===

This is the new information the DB is able to provide the user with respect to current / amps. This reading was from Sept 01, 2013 for the clothes dryer. The first reading is from the first load completed.

At 12:33 PM, I high lighted what the peak amps / current was for this appliance. At the maximum full cycle heating the dryer consumes 25.9 amps.

As stated previously, long term savings come from investing in Energy Star appliances. The ROI for some things will take years to see payback. But, this is a great perspective as to how these systems operate.

As stated before many posts back. I performed the same test on my Fathers ancient clothes dryer and that beast stayed at full current draw during the entire drying cycle. For those who do a lot of laundry, just in this one area will save you tons of money simply by upgrading your washer / dryer appliance.



In the next image is the low cycle mode for the dryer. This LG dryer has a sensa dry technology where it measures the humidity in dryer bin. Based on parameters set by the user and the machine. The dryer will stop the dryer if a set point has been met. It will also introduce more air & tumble time, instead of firing up the heating elements.

As you can see at 12:37 PM the current draw is only 10.4 amps. The dryer stays in the lower range depending upon parameters set, met, or outlined by the end user.

[Teken]

This is screen capture of the same moment in time in consumed watts. At 12:27 PM this appliance consumes a whopping 6018 watts!



The same captured watts reading for the low cycle. In the low cycle mode it is consuming 2625 watts and does so for more than 40% of the cycle.

[Teken]

The latest GEM COM 2.48 has been released and has added a few new options and features. Some of the additions are under the hood to address some minor bugs. Below are the various pages for the setup page for the GEM.

Change Log: V2.48

- Fixed bug that can cause the GEM to be held in setup mode when exiting with Google Chrome.
- Added option to disable polarity.
- Ability to update the COM firmware at a higher firmware.

Any of the meaningful improvements will be highlighted and discussed.

Home



Channel Option

Paul has added the option to enable / disable the Toggle Polarity. When this option is selected to yes (high lighted in red) the bottom option (in green) is not present.

By default this is set to *Yes*. If you have a NET Solar system this will allow you to show generated / polarized power. I had to change my device to No, and toggle channel 1 which you see in the green block to ensure the polarized power would be reflected in the ISY-994 iZ IR Po.



Channel CT

The Channel CT page has been very much condensed into one small page. All 32 channels along with their CT Type / Range are presented in a neat little window instead of scrolling all the way down.

In previous threads I indicated what selecting 0 / 1 would do to the electrical load highlighted in green. In red, are the two 240 volt loads / channels for the hot water tank (24) and clothes dryer (25).



Temp / Degrees



Packet Send



Data Post



Advanced

The option to change the COM 1 & 2 baud rate is available now (Red). Interesting in this release the COM2 Flow is recommended to be set to disabled? This was set to Enable since product launch.



The set current constant has been moved down the Advanced page.



Live Data



Status

[Teken]

SELF TESTING GFCI

A few years ago I started on a journey to build a new home that could be as efficient and safe as possible. One of the corner stones of that goal was to have devices that could perform their own self checks.

For those who have been keeping track of some of the things I have been trying to accomplish. The one thing I have strived to meet is the UL certification on my home. In business there are many areas where meeting UL listed requirements is mandatory.

I was able to convince my insurance company that my home was so low risk. That they in turn gave me a tiered reduction in my insurance rate. The initial platinum insurance policy started out at aprox $1200 per year.

It has since gone down to $700.XX, and will continue to go down to $500.XX once I am fully UL compliant and all UL certified equipment is in house and installed. One of the corner stones in helping me achieve this ultra low risk insurance rebate came from this.

I have been slowly replacing all the common GFCI outlets in my home with the advanced Leviton Self Test GFCI outlets. These outlets perform a self test on their internal systems to ensure 100% uptime and operations.



One of the standards I had to meet was performing a monthly inspection and GFCI check. With these great products I am able to accomplish both daily, monthly checks and know all systems are fully operational.



This helps me reduce the amount of time in logging events etc. It also satisfies the insurance companies mandate that all systems are inspected and tested.

Once I am able to replace all the GFCI's with these I will be at the last few milestones in attaining the $500.00 yearly insurance coverage!

LEVITON SELF TESTING GFCI - INSTALL & TEST:

On March 18, 2016 I continued the final installs of these Leviton self testing GFCI outlets. Below is one unit getting ready for installation in the bathroom. On the face of the unit are child tamper proof shutters on the outlets. At the bottom right of the unit are the two status LED's to indicate operation and fault issues.



Back of the unit with the yellow sticker indicating which side is the line and the protected load side.



Improvements to this new design is the inclusion of back stabbing using the brass clamping plate method or the standard J hook.



The rear of the unit showing how the back stab method is employed in this unit. Some older units had a hole where you inserted the wire and then secured the wire with the screw. This newer design uses a exterior brass clamping plate which allows the end user to select top or bottom positions that suite their specific needs. The ability to still use the J hook is present and satisfies those wishing to use this old school method.

Ultimately both methods are superior to the terrible back stabbing design which simply uses (FIC) Force Insertion Clips. These older designs have proven to be unsafe and not reliable in mechanical holding strength.



After wiring the new self testing GFCI outlet per the users manual. The unit comes in the tripped position this is indicated by the LED on the left being green while the one on the right will be amber / yellow.

Should the unit be miswired, missing ground, or no power the unit will refuse to reset. Upon power up the unit will go through a POST routine. While this is happening the left green LED will quickly flash a red LED.



Once the system has been reset the unit will simply indicate just the left green LED. Should there be a fault in the device the unit will indicate a red LED in place of the green LED. A internal siren will also be heard and the unit will be locked out and refuse to reset.

The manual indicates the unit will conduct a self test every 15 minutes.

After the unit was installed the next step was to verify the manual *Test & Reset* buttons operation which passed just fine. The next step was to verify a real world ground fault using my trusty Sperry tool.

Below is my Fluke voltage tester and Sperry outlet tester.



Confirmation of proper wiring and different fault conditions with the Sperry tool. As seen both yellow LED's are lit indicating proper wiring.



Going to the adjacent bathroom the Sperry tool indicated proper wiring and did in fact trip the upstream self testing GFCI outlet. Sadly, I have to report this unit has a very slight buzzing / hum noise coming from its electronics. A person would have to be with in a foot to really hear this noise in a silent room.

In most cases this isn't much of an issue but those like me who have extremely good hearing this can pose to be an issue where the room is very quiet. All in all the install was very quick and took about ten minutes to complete.

Oddly one of the items that really bother me is seeing the face plate screws not vertically aligned. It must be a optical illusion from the picture because in real life they are dead centered and completely vertical?!?!

[Teken]

Cooper USB Outlets

Part of my long term goal has been de-cluttering of my home of wall warts. Another goal was to reduce the reliance on wall chargers that seem to always go missing! In that vain I have started to install a few USB powered outlets through out the home.

Installing them in central locations along with high use areas like bedrooms has been my goal. Below we have a Cooper 20 amp USB outlet for the kitchen counter.



These are a few sets of the same device but in the standard 15 amp configuration.





Unlike some of the cheaper USB outlets out there this device can output 2.1 amps. That is more than enough to recharge larger iPads, or multiple devices etc. The goal is to charge the device(s) in the shortest period of time for everyone.



One of the things I like about the Cooper branded USB outlets are the actual ports are stacked above each other. This gives that central and aligned look to the frame. This specific 15 amp unit was installed on the girl friend side of the bed.



A dedicated 20 amp USB outlet was installed in the kitchen counter for a central place for all to use.

Once these devices are installed I will measure how much standby current these devices consume. This will be for future reference when comparing to other USB outlets I am considering purchasing.

UPDATE: Surprisingly these USB outlets are completely off when not in use. Using the GEM, Fluke meter there was no current draw. I know the Hubbel units I am reviewing do in fact state they have a standby current draw even when devices are not connected.

Costco Branded USB Outlets

On July 05, 2014 I was in the local Costco and came upon these in house 15 amp USB outlets. They come in a pack of two for $23.99, when compared to other name brand units are less than a quarter to half price.

I normally only buy name brand electrical devices because you know the quality is there.

But, for $12.XX a piece, I think I can take a chance and test these out and see how they perform! So I purchased two sets to install in some non essential rooms / areas.



I can honestly tell you I am not a big fan on how the USB ports are arranged in this device when compared to the Cooper branded ones above. But, since they are going to be installed in non essential rooms with low use, low visibility areas *What I don't see - Won't bother me*



This particular unit indicates each port can sustain 5 volts @2.1 amps which can charge any devices out there on the market. It also indicates it has a smart chip for those devices which can take advantage of this feature and charge the end device faster.

Many smart phones and tablets now include a smart charger chip which if the powering device can do will charge your electronics approx 15-30% faster when compared to dumb chargers.



The device is exactly the same depth as a standard GFCI outlet. Meaning, its thick and deep so please ensure your J Box is deep enough to install this hulk. The manufacturer has decided to use the tried and true side wire screw terminals. But uses a grounding strap on the body of the USB outlet.

The back of the unit is clearly marked for the color wire needed to be inserted (white / neutral) black (hot / live) and also includes a wire strip gauge for those uncertain about the correct length of wire to be used.

Surprisingly, this USB outlet comes with a screwless face plate. For that high end and clean look which is very common these days, nice touch! I will report back in a few months on how they perform and the over all feel and how they installed.

USB OUTLET INSTALL

On July 07, 2014 I installed one of the first Costco branded outlets in the garage. This is one of the original standard outlets being replaced.



As indicated above these units are almost twice the thickness of a standard outlet. It certainly took some effort to stuff the wires in the J box.



After prepping the new USB outlet with three pig tails it was time to install the unit.



Once all three wires were properly twisted together with linesmen pliers the wire nuts were screwed on.



The white ring plate that comes with the device requires proper handling because there isn't a lot of clearance between the two parts once you have inserted the two line / neutral wires. I found if the wire bundle was not properly tucked back in the box it would make the ring frame slanted and bent.

Thus causing endless pain and frustration in screwing down the assembly to be square.



After I was satisfied with the placement of the unit it was time to test the USB outlet before locking it down into place. I asked my GF to turn the breaker back on to ensure all was well. Unfortunately I was presented with a completely dead circuit?

Taking a quick walk out the garage it was noted the GFCI outlet had tripped. After checking the new USB outlet it was found the neutral wire was loose and not screwed down. That was totally my fault because I was teaching my GF about basic wiring and forget to screw down the terminal.

Once it was screwed down in place everything came on as expected. This unit has a green LED that surprisingly comes on and stays lit even with nothing attached?



After the unit was squared off and leveled the cover plate was simply snapped into place. Testing the unit shows it has no problems charging both an iphone / iPad at the same time. The unit does not consume any energy that I could measure by the DB / GEM when nothing is attached which is good to know and removes another vampire load from my list.

Taking my Fluke DMM showed no leakage or standby current being drawn either. Time will tell if this $12.XX unit passes the mustard and if it does it will be a great value from Costco for the average Joe.