Vera and an ISY994i

Given my switchover of some/many devices to Insteon, I decided to try out an ISY 994i. So far, it has been really quite positive.

It doesn’t have the pretty GUI buttons of Vera, but it does have a decent Java app interface. I am more of a functional engineer type, so it suits me well. It supports conditionals, programs scenes directly into KeypadLincs for you, and seems like magic!

I bought the networking module ($50) and have made the ISY my primary home controller now.

I didn’t want to lose my Z-Wave/Insteon integration like I had with Altsteon, so I wrote a proxy program in java to bridge the two, using the ISY JSDK.

Currently, Vera knows about every device in the house (Insteon and Z-Wave) and it’s current state. A command to a Z-Wave device is handled natively by Vera. A command to an Insteon device goes through the proxy and on to the ISY. When an Insteon device is changed (turned on, dimmed, etc), this is caught by the program, and forwarded on to Vera.

The ISY doesn’t know about the Z-Wave devices, but that’s fine. Those are managed by Vera scenes, which the ISY can call.

Since the ISY is the main controller, it will make scene calls to Vera when needed. This includes door locks, setting Z-Wave lights, etc.

I am keeping both, since I want to maintain HomeWave as my app of choice, and still allow Z-Wave locks, etc. (This may change once the ISY can handle Z-Wave directly). Since Vera is essentially secondary, some things will have 2 scenes. One that HomeWave calls. That scene will call the corresponding scene in the ISY (via the REST API), and the ISY will make any needed calls back to Vera. It can be a bit redundant, but allows for greater flexibility, in my opinion.

For anyone still following along, I also use a DSC alarm system. I have another proxy server which allows by the ISY and Vera to both get states of the alarm sensors, so again, HomeWave can show me at a glance how things are looking in/around the house.

If anyone is interested, I could share more.

[size=14pt]UPDATE 2016-08-15 (sixth update):[/size]
See post #403. Use attached file: universal_devices_isy_plugin_20160815b.zip

  • Added more RemoteLinc/MiniRemote subcats

[size=12pt]ATTENTION: For fifth update (20160815) and newer:[/size]
This changes one of the variable names for calling ISY scenes. See the post here:
http://forum.micasaverde.com/index.php/topic,17309.msg224364.html#msg224364
I don’t know what the old code had, so I wanted everyone to be made aware now.
Any Vera scenes that call ISY scenes may/will need to be updated/verified.

[size=10pt]UPDATE 2016-08-15 (fifth update):[/size]
See post #402. Use attached file: universal_devices_isy_plugin_20160815.zip

  • Fixed UI7 “Cannot detect device” error
  • Added Insteon Thermostat support
  • Added Hidden Door Sensor (HDS) support

[size=10pt]UPDATE 2014-10-13 (fourth update):[/size]
Added Insteon leak sensor support. See post #267.
Use attached file: universal_devices_isy_plugin_20141013.zip

[size=10pt]UPDATE 2014-09-03 (third update):[/size]
Added DFON and DFOF support. See post #209.

[size=10pt]UPDATE 2014-07-24 (second update):[/size]
Added motion sensor support.

[size=10pt]UPDATE 2014-07-24:[/size]
garrettwp created a plugin for Vera to interact with an ISY. I attached the latest version from the repository to this post.
See this post for more information on getting the files from the repository directly.

I wrote a plugin for Vera that allows control and real time status updating of the isy. It is still in it’s early stages, but has been running well. The only thing is the isy knows nothing of the Zwave devices. So if I want the kpl buttons to light up when the Zwave devices are on or off, I use a pleg plugin to run the corresponding isy scene. I’ve been running isy with plugin for over 6 months. I am also willing to share my work.

  • Garrett

If, when I was deciding what to buy, ISY had supported Zwave I would have bought that over Vera, easily. The problem is, 2 years ago, ISY flat-out told me they had no plans to ever support Zwave… and I did not like the lack of upgrade-ability with the units at that time… if that is truly remedied still remains to be seen IMO. It looks like they support a ZWave dongle now - Not sure how good the support is though?

ISY interface & methodology is excellent - not perfect but pretty close.

I’m also not a fan of ISY’s price since you still have to buy the radios (Insteon, Zwave) – the new devices now/soon hitting the market will have most radios built-in for the cost of the base ISY unit.

Anyway… interested to hear why you feel the ISY was needed vs just using the Vera + Altsteon? All of my lights are Insteon and other devices are Zwave.

I was using Altsteon for some time (over a year). However development was stalled and lacked some features that I was looking for (ability to set the keypad linc buttons on or off, etc). I bought the ISY at developer cost (very cheap). I started to write a plugin that is based off futzle’s upnp proxy plugin. A good portion of her proxy daemon was rewritten to work the the rest api of the ISY. I have been running it for over 6 months now and it has been performing pretty well! Right now there is limited device support due to lack of insteon variety in my house (only keypad lincs and fan lincs). Right now is supports swithces, dimmers and their kpl counter parts as well as the fan lincs. Additional support for devices should not be hard at all to add. The concept of my plugin is that you have a daemon running outside of the vera / luup environment and a plugin in vera that communicates with the daemon. The daemon will connect to the ISY via the rest api and keep the connection open and receive any updates that the ISY passes to the connection.

I use the pleg plugin to run scenes from the ISY that will turn on the keypad linc buttons if certain zwave lights are on in the house that the keypad linc control. If you are interested in more information, I am wiling to provide it as well as the code for the plugin.

  • Garrett

I am running Z-wave via ISY, I received the zwave board on Saturday. So far my experience with ISY, has been outstanding, and it’s only the Alpha firmware.
I do not have any Insteon products and have no experience with Insteon or even the ISY prior to Saturday. It has native support for my ELK system, fully integrated actually even allows me to control the Russound Audio via ELK’s integration.
Very happy so far.

The plugin to link the 2 devices together would be great.

[quote=“big517, post:5, topic:177592”]I am running Z-wave via ISY, I received the zwave board on Saturday. So far my experience with ISY, has been outstanding, and it’s only the Alpha firmware.
I do not have any Insteon products and have no experience with Insteon or even the ISY prior to Saturday. It has native support for my ELK system, fully integrated actually even allows me to control the Russound Audio via ELK’s integration.
Very happy so far.

The plugin to link the 2 devices together would be great.[/quote]

I can provide you my plugin that is in it’s early stages, however this will only work with insteon devices paired with the ISY. I do not have any z-wave devices paired with the ISY, so I do not know what the data looks like to create them in my plugin. Right now only Insteon Relay, Dimmers, Keypad Lincs, and Fan Lincs are supported. My plugin is a two part setup. There is a daemon that runs behind the scenes of the Luup engine and then their is a plugin that runs and connects to that daemon. If I get some time in the next few days, I’ll try and package it up.

  • Garrett

I could take a look at it too. Do you have it running directly on Vera? I used the JSDK, but so far, that has issues running on my Raspberry Pi, so I run it on my Mac Mini.

Yes, everything runs on the vera. I am working on getting it install friendly as we speak. Once that is all done, I’ll post the files and instructions.

  • Garrett

Sorry for the delay. I have attached the files for my plugin that communicates with the ISY controller. Right now it should work with Relays and Dimmers, and their Keypad linc variants. It will also work with the Fan Linc as well.

Instructions:

Upload the files contained in the zip. Create a new device with the following:

Upnp Device Filename: D_ISYController1.xml
Upnp Implementation Filename: I_ISYController1.xml

Create and restart the luup engine (click the reload button).

When the device is created, you’ll need to open up the newly created device called ISY Controller. Click on the Initialize button to allow the plugin to install the daemon script. Go into the advanced tab and enter in the ISYIP (ip address of isy contorller), ISYUsername and ISYPassword. Save and restart the luup engine. Once all set, you should be able to click on the start button to have the plugin start communicating with the ISY controller.

Please be aware this is an experimental plugin and will contain bugs and may not work for others. I have tested this on two of my veras and it has been communicating with my ISY controller with out issue.

  • Garrett

Well, I could not pass up a (pre) BF sale and got an ISY and KPL to try this out.

@Garrett and @PurdueGuy, thanks for this contribution.

@Garrett, I have a question about your plugin. Do the vera and the isy communicate over the PLM or over the network? If the latter, have you dissociated your Insteon devices from the PLM?

The plugin will communicate with the ISY over the network in your home.

While I can’t speak for Garrett, I can answer how the ISY works in general. The ISY works much better if it is left in charge of all links in the system. When you add a new device to the ISY, it asks if you want to:

[ol][li]Remove Existing Links[/li]
[li]Add devices found in links and remove existing links[/li]
[li]Add Devices Found in Links and keep existing links [/li][/ol]

It is recommended that you choose option 1, which will clear any links you created in the device. If you choose 2 or 3, your previous links will still work, but you will end up with all kinds of random scenes in the ISY, which aren’t named and are tough to figure out/use.

I tried option 3 first, since I had painstakingly created some 30-40 scenes and didn’t want to re-do them. However, I ended up with maybe 80 scenes in the ISY (since each controller is a different scene when not created in the ISY). So I decided to blow all that away, and start from scratch. I redid all my scenes with labels in a couple hours. It was really easy.

One thing to note, a “scene” (lighting levels, on/off relays, etc) in ISY/Insteon is quite similar to a “scene” in Z-Wave (at least as far as scene-capable devices), which is actually quite different than a “scene” in Vera. A “program” in the ISY acts very much like a “scene” in Vera. Creating my programs took a little longer, but once I got the hang of it, it is pretty quick. And conditional logic is supported right out of the gate! 8)

I have also installed the Z-Wave module, and hoping for the firmware update tomorrow to tinker with it.

Garrett,
Your plugin is far nicer than my Java client, thanks!

My dimmers and both relay/dimmer KPLs worked, buy my SwitchLincs came up named as “Insteon Relay AA BB CC 1” - they work so it’s not an issue. I renamed them.

I won’t have time today to check the code (probably for a couple days)…is there any way to disable the creation of the scene controllers? I have the ISY handling all Insteon events so Vera won’t have to know or care.

One other mod I am going to look into - I know clicking the “On” button of a dimmer in Vera generates a “service: urn:upnp-org:serviceId:Dimming1 action: SetLoadLevelTarget” with the target at 100. My code took 100, and changed it to just a “DON” so the light would do to it’s default state. Do you foresee any issues if I find that part of the code and modify it locally? I realize I essentially lose the one-touch to 100%, but I can use sliders for that.

PurdueGuy,

I do not own any Relay / Dimmer switches so I was flying blind when adding support. The Insteon Relay name was just a generic name I used for the switch. Obviously this can be changed.

The scene controller allows you to use the button events on the kpl switches in scenes etc. So if button C is pressed activated or deactivated, you can use that to control things in Vera. Exactly the same on what altsteon does. I use the kpl buttons to control z-wave switches in my home. I use pleg to keep an eye on the status of the zwave switches and than run the appropriate scene on the ISY to have the keypad linc lights either turn on or off depending on the state.

Your more than welcome to modify the code. If you have anything valuable to add, let me know and we can add it to the code for public consumption. It needs more device support as it is limited right now. But the plugin has potential.

  • Garrett

Garrett,

I made a small mod to the FanLinc controllers. It was showing up as a dimmer, but with a level from 0-255. That causes problems with HomeWave (haven’t tried AutHomationHD).

I normalized it to 0-100 for the fan control, and updated the JSON file to reflect 0/25/75/100. This update made the fan motor and dimmer functions the same.

Thanks for the update. I made the changes on my end and will upload a new version.

I ordered some more insteon gear to take up on the 20% sale. I’ve been waiting months for the 20% before ordering more stuff. Trying to figure out what else to buy / try out. I ordered a remote linc to use at the bottom landing of my stairwell since the builder for some reason did not install a switch to control the lights at the top of the stairs. Also picked up more keypad lincs (better option to use for scene control than the z-wave gear). Trying to figure out if there is anything else I should pick up and try.

  • Garrett

Garrett,

I presently have some plug-in dimmers, which I am hoping will be recognized given your system’s existing support for dimmers, and the IOLinc garage door sensor/switch. I also hope to be able to run some of the Insteon PIR sensors and maybe a few water sensors.

If any of these are of interest to you, I would kick in a donation.

Garrett-
Where is this 20% sale you speak of?

[quote=“copekyle, post:17, topic:177592”]Garrett-
Where is this 20% sale you speak of?[/quote]SmartHome.com has 20% off everything. Ends today (Cyber Monday).
It is on their main page, with a couple exceptions.
Code is: EBF20

I am working on support for IOLincs.

Fantastic, thank you.

Just a heads up to Garrett (and all),

I have updated to the latest 4.1.1 (although, I guess it isn’t officially released yet!)

I have the Z-Wave module for my ISY. I have started updating the code for Z-Wave items. Currently, everything looks like a binary switch or lock (no dimming of lights). I have binary lights working, and dimmers (as binary on/off). No locks yet.

It is a little odd, since so far, all device are Category 4, with different subcats (relays=16, dimmers=17, locks=64). This sort of goes against the Insteon categories, but for now, I am going with it.

I will wait to post any updates until more is worked out tonight/tomorrow (regarding the beta/untested status).