Support for multiple houses?

[powderhound]

Hi,

I'm planning to install home automation into two houses. I have a vacation home, so being able to control devices in the 'other' house while I am away will be useful and is the main reason for automating the homes.

Presently I'm favoring installing Insteon devices in both houses, and using a Smartlinc 2412N in each. I have an iPhone and want to be able to use it to control devices in both houses.

My question is whether MobiLinc Pro will easily allow me to do this? I don't want to have to type in the hostname and port for each house every time I use the app. Is there an easy way to select the SmartLinc I wish to connect to from the home screen (i.e. an address book feature)?

Thanks!

[AdminWes]

Hi powderhound,

Yes, MobiLinc supports an unlimited number of Profiles. Each profile contains all the settings you have configured for MobiLinc plus the info and device information associated with your SmartLinc or ISY or PowerLinc at house 1. Switch profiles from the My Settings page to flip over to hosue 2 and that SmartLinc. Since all settings are saved to the profile once you setup the username/password and connect info to the different SmartLincs between profiles you never have to enter it again (unless you change it on the SmartLinc).

How many devices are you planning on installing in your homes? Any more than about 10 and I'd recommend that you go with the ISY-99i as it is much more capable of handling large INSTEON installations.

Wes

[powderhound]

Thanks Wes. I'm glad to see that the multi-house scenario has been well catered for.

As for the number of devices, it's difficult to say currently as it depends on how satisfied I am with the system. I have just ordered a SmartLinc, two wall switches, a lamp module and a thermostat in order to test the system. I bought via Amazon so returning them would be easy if I'm not satisfied with performance. If I were to guess my final number of devices then it would probably be in the 10-20 range in each house.

From your comments, I have not ordered enough to load test the SmartLinc. What kind of problems might I expect with 10+ devices controlled by the SmartLinc? At over twice the price I'm currently reluctant to buy the ISI, but if I should expect reliability problems with the SmartLinc then I'm prepared to pay the extra.

Thanks!

[AdminWes]

Hi powderhound,

The performance lag with the SmartLinc is a linear curve related to the number of devices you are controlling with MobiLinc and the SmartLinc. The problem with the interface to the SmartLinc is that any 3rd party app has to poll for device status information...the more devices, the longer it takes to poll for all status. I find that with more than 10, most people tend to get impatient with the delay the polling intruduces. An update I'm working on does help, but at the end of the day it is still a polling interface.

One suggestion for those working with the SmartLinc is to use Scenes only. The SmartLinc is capable of sending out status information for the scenes much quicker than having MobiLinc poll for individual device status.

If you end up wanting more from your home automation system (timed events, smart programs, integration of weather, etc) the ISY is a more robust controller with a very efficient 3rd party interface that MobiLinc takes full advantage of.

Wes

[powderhound]

Wes,

Thank you for the detailed explanation.

I wasn't aware of the ISY when I purchased the SmartLinc. After comparing the specs of each and after your explanation, I have decided to go the ISY route and will return my SmartLinc. The additional flexibility plus the performance boost makes up for the price difference in my opinion.

One more question about MobiLinc then. When used with the ISY does MibiLinc still have to poll the devices, or is it reading from a database on the ISY? I'm new to Insteon, so I'm not 100% sure of how it all works. I used to write network management software so I am familiar with many of the concepts - just finding it hard to compile all the information in enough detail.

Thanks again.

[AdminWes]

Hi powderhound,

Glad I could help sway you to the ISY, you won't be disappointed in it's performance.

The ISY keeps state of all your INSTEON devices, so when MobiLinc connects, the ISY sends the status through a TCP/IP subscription channel of all the devices instantly to MobiLinc, no polling necessary. On device change, the ISY also pushes instant device changes to MobiLinc in realtime.

Wes

[Quaker]

This is an old thread, but I'm just about to add a new ISY into a second house...

I love ISY - the programming is very effective and it works great!

The fact that you support multiple profiles is fantastic! Looking forward to the new setup as I convert the other house from X-10 (which the previous owner still used) to Insteon and ISY!

Cheers,

SK

[AdminWes]

Thanks, SK!

Wes