In the world of wireless home control, your house is a battleground full of obstacles. Insteon solves this problem by simultaneously using a wireless radio and your home's existing powerline wiring. The result is reliability that no other wireless technology can match.
Protect against burglaries – our smart lighting controls offer a 7-day replay function which mimics everyday lighting use to dissuade criminals.
We make fantastic products for controlling and monitoring your home. Those products are great because they sit on top of rock-solid Insteon powerline and wireless communication technology.
In an Insteon network, there are no routers or administrative devices. Each device can control (or be controlled) by each other device without any complicated hierarchy of device profiles.
With Insteon, every device can repeat messages across the network, eliminating the bottlenecks that occur when a single device fails in a routed network. And because Insteon is Dual-Band, the mesh network extends over both wireless and wired Insteon devices.
Insteon is the only home control technology that uses both wireless and your home's powerlines to create a robust network that can easily handle common household interference from microwaves and WiFi or signal blockades like concrete, masonry or steel studs.
Utilizing Simulcast, a broadcast-like system, Insteon can address hundreds+ of nodes simultaneously and without complicated and expensive signal routing.
Our pioneering Statelink technology ensures forwards and backwards compatibility with old, new and future automation devices by placing the onus of compatibility on the controlled device; devices don't need to know anything about one another for successful control.
Insteon vs. The World of Protocols
Insteon | Z-Wave | WiFi | Bluetooth | Zigbee | |
Maximum Theoretical Network Size | Unlimited | 232 | 256 | 9 | 256 |
Maximum Practical Network Size | 1,000s | 30-35 | Dozens? | 9 | Dozens? |
Physical Layer 1 | RF | RF | RF | RF | RF |
Physical Layer 1 Frequency | 915MHz | 915MHz | 2.4GHz | 2.4GHz | 2.4GHz |
Physical Layer 2 | Powerline | - | - | - | - |
Physical Layer 2 Frequency | 132KHz | - | - | - | - |
Mesh Enrollment | Automatic | Procedural | Procedural | Procedural | Procedural |
Operate w/o Hub | - | - | - | - | |
Cost | $ | $$ | $$$ | $ | $$ |
Compatibility Classes (less is more) | 1 | >1 | Many | 3 | >>9 |
Forward & Backward Compatible | - | - | - | - | |
Scenes without delay | - | - | - | - | |
Message Propagation | Simulcast | Routed | Routed | Theoretical | Routed |
Network Configuration | Full Mesh | Partial Mesh | Star | Star | Star + Mesh |
Controller Failure | Remote Access Failure | Complete Network Failure | Complete Network Failure | Complete Network Failure | Complete Network Failure |
Mobile Devices | Automatic | Breakdown | Automatic | Automatic | Breakdown |
Initial Products | Fully Supported | Obsolete | Just Launched | Just Launched | Obsolete |
Physical Interoperability | Not Assured | ||||
Brand Interoperability | Not Assured | w / software/SDK | w / software/SDK | Limited | |
Messages Acknowledged | |||||
Unique Addressing | - | - | - | Not Enforced | |
Error Detection | |||||
Error Correction | |||||
Collision Avoidance |
Insteon vs. The Other Brands
Insteon | Wink | SmartThings | Lowes Iris | WeMo | |
Climate Control | - | ||||
Drapery Control | - | - | - | ||
Energy Monitoring | |||||
On/Off Wall Switch | - | ||||
Dimming Wall Switch | - | ||||
LED Bulbs | |||||
Low Voltage & Custom Devices | - | - | - | ||
On/Off Plug-in Module | |||||
Dimming Plug-in Module | |||||
Motion Sensor | |||||
Water Leak Sensor | |||||
Smoke and CO Detection | |||||
WiFi Cameras | |||||
Adjustable Ramp Rates for Dimmers | - | - | - | - | |
Customizable On Levels for Dimmers | - | - | - | - | |
Multi-device Scenes | - | - | - | ||
iOS App | |||||
Android App | |||||
Windows Phone App | - | - | - | ||
Windows 8 App | - | - | - | - | |
Communication | Radio Frequency + Powerline | Radio Frequency | Radio Frequency | Radio Frequency | Radio Frequency |
Technology | Insteon | WiFi, ZigBee, Z-Wave, Bluetooth LE, Lutron ClearConnect | WiFi, ZigBee, Z-Wave | Z-Wave | WiFi |
API | - | - |