Insteon is BACK - Update February 2023
Insteon is arguably one of the best, fastest, most reliable smart home technologies available. Now under new ownership since last summer, the new Insteon team is doing an impressive job of communicating their vision, making stock available, improving existing products and even announcing new products. The new CEO Ken Fairbanks has been providing regular email and video updates to keep everyone apprised of their next steps. Ken's first order of business was to reactivate the Insteon cloud service that was powering Insteon Hub user's homes. Insteon doesn't actually require Internet service, as evidence by the thousands of users who's systems were based on ISY994, Hometroller, Hubitat or Home Assistant. But those with Insteon Hubs needed the cloud for remote access and programming.
One of Insteon's core strengths is powerful yet simple scene lighting that can be programmed and operated without the need for a computer or hub. Six and eight button keypads can control 1 or 100+ light switches, dimmers, plugs or other modules from each of the scene keys, as well as controlling a light directly connected to the keypad. Keypads are in stock and available.
Dimmers and switches are the cornerstone of any lighting system. Not only do we have the originally 2477D dimmers and 2477S switches available but there the new i3 dial dimmer is a new release for 2023 that will be comfortable for those familiar with older style rotary dimmers - but with a new "twist" on the technology. Not only that but a new i3 paddle dimmer switch has also been released. Often the term dimmer switch is used to describe what is truly a dimmer. But in this case the i3 paddle can be programmed to function as an on/off switch without dimming - or as a true dimmer. In either case the paddle is intuitive with the top being for on (and brighten) and the bottom being used for off (and dimming).
Additionally, a new i3 wall receptacle has been released for 2023 to replace the older Insteon outlet.
For those who wish to integrate Insteon with software or a smart home hub, the 2413S (serial) and 2413U (USB) interfaces have been upgraded with some new components, more memory and faster processing. The two models of PLM as they are also known, are expected in stock by April.
The new i3 series of products are the latest Insteon development with backwards support for existing Insteon systems but with field upgradeable firmware and by this nature, new features could be added by the dev team at Insteon. This is great news since older products couldn't be updated as new models were released. It's unclear at this time exactly how the update will be performed.
We've been supporting and distributing Insteon since it's introduction in 2015 and we're excited to see what's coming next as time marches on. For more information visit https://www.aartech.ca/insteon-canada .
Insteon is designed to be easy to set up and install but not everyone wants to manage installation, wiring or programming particularly if it's part of a larger project. So Insteon and Aartech are actively supporting integrators. Reach out to our Aartech Pro dealer support team for more information or visit https://www.aartechpro.ca/cat/insteon .
