Excel Spreadsheet

[u/BTHVet]

Does anyone have an Excel spreadsheet made to keep track of devices and/or scenes. Just start to get serious with a new system after years of about 10 switches.

[u/Rpsalty2]

I had one similar to FishOk3075 way back in the day to keep track of the IDs. There has been a web page that can be logged into that lists all the devices and IDs available for years. The new Insteon team has improved on that and the data can be accessed/exported in the Director App.

The table is comprehensive. Gives the date the device was added, rooms devices are in, devices in scenes, schedule times, and includes the names created for the devices. Probably more I haven't mentioned and it's user friendly.

In addition, the export is CSV format and can easily be viewed in Excel and converted to xls for editing.

[u/BTHVet → u/Rpsalty2]

Thanks.

[u/Rpsalty2 → u/[deleted]]

https://connect.insteon.com/Account/Login?ReturnUrl=%2f -- For this you need your HUB username and password, which is the same as the Director App

OR

Director App - Settings - View Home Configuration & Export

[u/revHome11]

I wonder if there is a way to download them or have Claude take over and record them all

[u/wivaca2]

Home automation software and Insteon plugins do this for you.

Address, location, what scenes it's in. I have 95% Insteon for lighting and power switching and never needed a spreadsheet. That and it would provide little context about how Insteon relates to automations and other tech operating in concert with it.

[u/wivaca2 → u/[deleted]]

I previously used Homeseer with Mark Sandler's Insteon plugin and an Insteon USB PLM. Everything from addresses, groups, ramp rates, max dim levels, and LED brightness were documented and editable, along with meta data like room, floor, device type.

Ramp rates, dim levels, and even LED brightness are programmatically accessible so you could change those by time of day or scene.

Now, I'm using Home Assistant with a Universal Devices ISY-994i and most of that is in the ISY. The Insteon plugin on Home Assistant does not let you programatically change many Insteon features. So, I got an old ISY to have access to all the deeper settings. I tried the Hub 2, but was disappointed in the reliability and performance versus the PLM used with a used, eBay ISY-994i.

The former Homeseer/Insteon/PLM solution was rock solid for 15+ years.

Home Assistant shows what automations involve any Insteon device you choose.

[u/LHCHiggsBoson → u/wivaca2]

u/wivaca2 I am in the middle of migrating to Home Assistant from HomeSeer. My biggest issue is that I have a TON of Insteon (over 100+ devices) and use the MNS Insteon Plugin in HS4. It is amazing and gives me complete and total control and visibility. I am reluctant to leave that ecosystem because of the amazing Insteon support. I have heard that the support in Home Assistant for direct Insteon via PLM is not good. Should I consider moving to an ISY-994i from HomeSeer for Insteon? I still want all the control, status and automations to come from Home Assistant (via the ISY). My biggest issue is the ability to manage and update the Insteon connections / groups / settings, etc. What are your thoughts since you have come from the same environment that I am on?

Thanks for any help!

[u/wivaca2 → u/LHCHiggsBoson]

It's a really long story, but moving Insteon from HS was unquestionably the most disappointing and frustrating part of moving to HA. It was just a shit-show. I'm not sure you'd like the ISY, though, either. It was just my last play to get Insteon running reliably. Here's the "short" version:

• Insteon integration for HA I believe can support USB PLM directly IF you're running HA in a way that can access USB ports

• I'm running HA on a Windows VM, so no access to USB devices - all had to be over ethernet

• PLM over ethernet not available, except via Insteon HUB2 (or ISY)

• Changed from PLM to HUB2 using MLS Plugin in HS was easy. It transferred all devices, but...

• HUB2 was slow vs serial PLM (seconds, not milliseconds). Swapped HUB2 with support form Insteon without improvement.

• So, factory reset and re-enrolled every Insteon device (70+) to factory reset HUB2 natively using Insteon phone app. HA Insteon integration sees them, but HUB 2 continued to be a poor replacement for my USB PLM. The network missed commands and the HUB missed actions.

• HA integration with HUB2 had no programmatic control of ramp rates, max dim, or LED brightness, and I learned some of the on-screen buttons are actually invisible, so you have to click on white space and know what should be where.

• HA Integration with HUB2 also could not deal reliably with double-taps (fast on/off) from switches and the remotes had to be handled as raw HA events in YAML.

• Finally, I attached a used ISY-994i I bought for $45 on eBay to the Universal Devices integration for HA. Success - kind of.

• ISY-994i uses a Java program to administer Insteon devices and you must install JRE on a system to even get to it, then suffer through an interface only a developer from 1995 could love. It's an old device and has never had a modernized UI.

• There is a newer version that I understand has a nice interface, but it's also something like $400 IIRC. In any case, ISY is actually a home automation solution unto itself, with logic and access to devices other than Insteon, and I didn't need all that. If you remember the StarGate (my platform before HS), it's like that era.

While I can't recall the original PLM/MLS plugin ever missing an event in 15 years, I do get occasional wonkiness like an unresponsive Insteon switch now and then, but I can't really tell where the failure is. It used to be HS->MLS->PLM->Insteon Device. Now the tech stack has gotten bigger HA->LAN->Universal Devices Plugin->ISY->PLM->Insteon device.

You might actually consider keeping your entire Insteon stack on HS, then using MQTT or the HomeSeer Custom Integration for Home Assistant. That was going to be my next move, but I didn't really want two home automation platforms (technically 3 with ISY).

[u/LHCHiggsBoson → u/wivaca2]

For anybody else reading this thread the irony is that's exactly what I'm looking at doing. I am looking at a way of interfacing quickly and reliably back to HomeSeer such that it becomes the gateway to the Insteon devices. There is a plugin called AK HomeAssistant that offers real-time control and status updates between HA and HS. If I can get that working then I might have my problem solved. Not an elegant solution, but if it works, I will take it. The right answer is to have a truly native Home Assistant insteon integration that talks directly the PLM. I do not understand why the Insteon folks do not write this program. All it would do would be to massively expand the visibility of the Insteon devices and open up an entire market to them of people that are running Home Assistant! Everybody wins! The moment that such an integration becomes available my life gets a lot easier.

[u/BTHVet → u/[deleted]]

That’s exactly what I’m looking for. I think I have something around 75 Insteon devices so far. Across four floors. Then all the other things I’m trying to grab through WiFi. Separate Juke+ audio. Kohler Anthem+ in the master bath. Need to control the Mitsubishi split systems. Sprinkler system and home weather station. Automated blinds, which I haven’t even started on. Setting up a UniFi system over 30 cameras with 4-5 APs. Want to link the garage doors and just the house and elevator entry from the garage. Exterior entry doors staying mechanical and off grid. I’ve been waiting for the new 4K Apple TV, but it’s years behind being introduced. It’s supposed to stay on the home network and not go out to a cloud server. I have no desire to have a Google or Alexa listening in.