Installing the Insteon Hidden Door Sensor - Automatically Controlling Utility Room Lights when the Door is Opened

Quite often I have an armload of stuff when I'm going downstairs to the utility room in my basement - tools, material, whatever. I recently changed the standard doorknob to a lever passage set - makes it quite a bit easier to get the door open, now I've installed the Insteon Wireless Hidden Door Sensor to automatically switch the lights on whenever the door is opened.

Insteon Wireless Hidden Door Sensor
This is a slick little device - 3/4" in diameter, battery powered with a standard AAA battery, and a small plunger switch to detect when the door is open or closed.

You need a 3/4 hole drilled in the hinge side of the jamb - about 3" deep. A spade bit works well for this. 

Once you have the Sensor linked in to your automation network, you are ready to install it in the hole with the screw to hold it in place.
Switchlinc On/Off Relay to control the utility room lights
When I originally linked and programmed the Hidden Door Sensor, I decided against creating a scene because I only wanted the lights to switch on when the door was opened, and remain on even with the door closed. So I created a short program in my ISY-994i controller - whenever the door is opened, it switches on the light. When the door is closed, there is no action taken. The delay with having the program perform this control was about 1 to 2 seconds - quite noticeable and a bit annoying. I received a good suggestion from Eric in the comments below, and changed the hidden door sensor mode to "Two Nodes" in the ISY options menu for the hidden door sensor as follows:


That gives you one node in the ISY for the door opening, and a separate node in the ISY for the door closing. I linked the door open node as a controller for the Switchlinc relay. It works perfectly - only turning the light on when the door is opened, with an almost instantaneous response, much quicker than the ISY program control. Many thanks to Eric for the suggestion.

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Building a New House or Doing a Renovation, with Home Automation in Mind?

Here is what I would set out as a specification for your electrician:

1. Put in the deepest wall switch boxes that are readily available for your wall thickness. Some of the modern Insteon devices are getting quite large now that they contain wireless mesh net antennae ("Dual-band") circuitry, and the Insteon Switchlinc On/Off Relay switch - which you would use for all wall switches that don't require dimming circuitry, are now rated to switch 17 Amps / 1 HP / 1800W. The downside to this high current capacity is that it's supplied with 12 gauge leads - large, require larger maretes to make connections, and less flexible. So it becomes a chore to install these and try to stuff the wires and connections behind it. So - deep switch boxes will make this easier.

2. Always feed the switch box first - and everywhere there is a wall switch control. In my current house - this rule is 75% respected - except for most of the closets, where the circuit is fed from the ceiling light octagonal box, and a two wire 14 gauge cable (14/2) is sent down to the switch box. So - if you want to install an automated switch - you're in trouble because there is no neutral wire in the switch box. There are ways around this - Insteon sells a dimmer switch that doesn't require a neutral wire, but not a relay switch which is required for flourescent fixtures and some LED fixtures.

3. Make sure there are a good number of blank or spare breaker spaces. This makes it easy to add a double breaker to install a phase coupling powerline communications module (for better powerline signalling - e.g. Insteon), and a spare outlet for the installation of your powerline modem (PLM) right next to the panel for the best possible comminications with your Insteon devices located across your house.

4. Have your garage door opener wires - from the door sensors and wall mount controls to the opener location - run in the wall behind the drywall. This will ensure a nice neat setup without any surface mount wires. Have your electrician install an outlet in the ceiling of your garage, close to the opener. If you want to have the lockout limit switch to avoid garage door activation when the door is bolted, you can run those wires behind the drywall also.

5. Wiring for 120V wired smoke detectors - if the code in your area only calls for one smoke detector on each floor of the residence, consider upgrading the wiring to include one smoke detector per floor, plus one smoke detector in each sleeping room. The wired smoke detectors can then be interfaced to your home alarm system and your home automation system using interconnection relays like the Kidde SM120X.

6. Cabling - You can run structured cableways throughout your house for future expansion requirements, which is certainly a good idea, but for some reason the structured cable tubing is really overpriced. For short runs within walls - I've used ordinary shop vac or sump pump tubing - which is about 10 times less expensive, but it is not plenum rated for fire safty - it should not be run within ventilation ducts or in open ventilation spaces above modular ceilings. Here's a short list of cables you may wish to consider running in your walls before closing up drywall:


  • Smoke detectors - 110V with signal wire - every level of the house plus one in every sleeping room;
  • Network Cat 6 cable;
  • Video RG6 cable for classic cable / digital cable / PVRs;
  • Video surveillance. Sure, you can get wireless IP cameras, but you still have to get power to them. Power over ethernet is one option - run Cat 6 cable to camera locations, or plan for regular analog output cameras (which are much cheaper) and run a combination video signal / power cable. Front door, back door, garage, a few eaves of your house to watch your driveway, yard, etc. 
  • Alarm system - see below - panels, keypads, motion detectors, sirens;
  • Automation of roller blinds and shades - run cables to window corners for future upgrades;
  • Telephone (Cat 4, 5 or 6) - plan where your cordless phone base station will be - run a Cat 5 cable to that location, and also plan for a UPS protected outlet at that location so when the power goes out, your cordless phones still work;


7. Alignment of boxes - you can check out my post on Wall Acne - but I would certainly try to plan for and enforce coordination between the various contractors that are installing anything on the walls, such as:
  • Alarm contractor - panels, keypads, motion detectors, sirens, etc;
  • Electrician - lighting, outlets and switches;
  • Network - Cat 5/6 internet cabling, telephone cabling, coax cable, etc. 
  • HVAC - thermostats and controls for ventilation - humidity control, etc. Note that the thermostat has to be placed in a central location in the home, that you`ll need thermostat cabling to the furnace / mechanical room, and also keep in mind that modern intelligent recovery thermostats for heat pump systems require a separate cable running from the thermostat to an appropriate exterior location under a roof eave for outdoor temperature measurement.
  • Other items such as smoke detectors and CO (carbon monoxide) detectors. 
You'll end up with fewer wallplates and wall acne issues if you can use separator plates to double up electrical and low voltage in the same wall box. I've done this to combine telephone / internet cabling with electrical outlets, and wall switches with low voltage ventilation controls. You just need a wall box with a metal separation plate - your electrician will be able to help out with this. The trick, however, is that you'll need to direct your electrician to install the double boxes with separation plates before your network cable and HVAC installation takes place, so it requires some planning. 

Note the metal separation plate running down the center of this box, separating low voltage on the right, from line voltage (110V AC) on the left.
In a retrofit situation, you can add a surface mount media frame next to a standard simple outlet. It takes some adjustment to get the hole centers aligned to fit a double wallplate correctly, but it ends up being neater than having two boxes in close proximity on the wall.
Another example - telephone and internet next to outlet using surface mount media frame

Combination Electrical Box / Low Voltage Media Frame - These are tough to install in a renovation - easier to install in new construction


Venmar air exchanger control on the right, Insteon Light Switch on the Left.






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The Dewalt DC-515 18V Cordless Shop Vac

This has become one of my favourite tools. It is super handy for cleanup after odd jobs around the house. Installing electrical switches, small drywall patch repairs, anything that leaves a small pile of dust when you're done.

Standard 1 1/2" shop vac accessories fit the Dewalt Cordless Vac. This is the micro cleanup kit with brush, perfect for cleaning out electrical boxes.

Two standard extensions with the narrow floor wand - perfect for cleaning up the floor. 

Here's the side view of the vac, with the hose stored the head works for floor dust pickup.
The vacuum has a washable filter, that's suitable for drywall dust, and an easy opening dust bin. Very handy.
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Installing the Insteon Wireless Open/Close Sensor on Bifold Doors

The pantry in our new house has bifold doors. When I renovated the pantry and added cabinet modules and drawers, I also added LED strip lighting all around the perimeter of the door opening. The LED lighting is a dramatic upgrade - it's really bright, white, and it illuminates all the shelves in the pantry.

I wanted to add automatic control of the LED strip lighting. I decided to use the Insteon Wireless Open/Close Sensor as my Insteon scene controller, and a standard 2477S Switchlinc On/Off Switch to control the light circuit. When I purchased the sensors, I initially planned to put two in - one for each of the matching bifold doors, left and right. When I went to install them, I found that it would be much easier just to add the sensor with battery on one door, and the magnet on the other door. As soon as one door or the other is opened, it opens the reed switch in the sensor, and the controller issues it's on command. This is what the installation looks like:

Sensor screws to the left bifold door, near the edge close to the top of the door.  Note the label on the battery with the installation date - I've gotten into that habit with my smoke detector batteries - makes it very easy when troubleshooting to identify old batteries that may need replacing. I use a Brother P-Touch for doing all my labels. 

Measure from the top of the door frame to the center of the sensor, in order to place the magnet at the same height. 

Installation of the magnet. The kit comes with good quality 3M double sided tape, but I prefer screwing the sensor and magnet down. The kit comes with the screws.
It took about 5 minutes to link the Insteon Wireless Open/Close Module to my Switchlinc On/Off Wall Switch, using my ISY-994i interface. The Open/Close Module is the controller, the Switchlinc switch is the responder. Now the LED light strips illuminate as soon as the doors are cracked open, and shut off as soon as the doors are completely shut. I also wrote a simple program in my ISY-99i to shut the LED lights off if 10 minutes passes with the doors left open. It's a very convenient upgrade.

Here's some photos of the strip lighting installation. I ripped some angled strips of plywood to direct the LEDs output towards the center of the vertical shelves on the sides, and almost directly down for the strips installed across the top. I then fastened the strip lights to the plywood using the supplied adhesive backing tape. I used kits from Costco - quite inexpensive, but I exceeded the maximum number of strips on a single power adapter, so I had to arrange two power adapters to power the setup.

The completed pantry with the strip lighting on. 

I removed the old light fixture, replaced it with a standard outlet plug and lighting box cover for power outlets. Then, I just plugged in the supplied power adapters. Notice the cable tie bases - self adhesive, and the zip ties. They help make a neat, inconspicuous installation.

The top LED strip light mounted on a ripped piece of plywood. I used one side of the plywood strip to mount the low voltage electrical lead using self adhesive cable tie bases. The top portion of the side strip is also visible. 

Lots of clean white light when illuminated. 

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Protecting your Paint when Installing Insteon Switchlinc Switches or Keypads

This is a little trick that I've gotten into the habit of doing whenever I'm installing or replacing an Insteon wall switch device like a Switchlinc Keypad, Switch or Dimmer.
Tape a sheet of paper on the wall below the switchbox.

The sheet of paper will protect the paint from scratches caused by the aluminum edges of the Insteon devices rubbing on the paint as you're completing the connections.
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Upgrading from the Universal Devices ISY-99i to the ISY-994ir Pro

I just finished upgrading my Universal Devices ISY-99i to the ISY-994ir Pro. It was the end of the line for the ISY-99i - Universal Devices last firmware update for that device was issued in mid 2013. As a result, newer Insteon devices haven't been supported. I recented posted on the installation of the Smarthome Select Electronic Water Valve, and the use of the Insteon Wireless Leak Detectors. The heartbeat function of the Wireless Leak Detectors was never implemented on the ISY-99i firmware, so to get that feature required upgrading the device.

Upgrading the device was easy, I just followed the instructions on the Universal Devices Wiki to backup the ISY-99i and record certain configuration information, remove the ISY-99i and replace it with the ISY-994ir Pro (I was keeping my existing PLM so that simplified the process). With the backup completed, I also exported the complete log from the outgoing ISY-99i - this way - I'll be able to combine the logs later in Microsoft Excel to have a complete log history of both the old and new devices, for reviewing statistics of how often certain devices are used.

I downgraded the firmware in the new ISY-994 prior to restoring it with my backup from the ISY-99i (in order to ensure compatibility of the backup) and then emailed Universal Devices support to get my weather module transferred (which took 7 minutes - excellent service as we've come to expect from Michel @ Universal Devices).

Once my ISY-994i was running properly from the restored backup, I then upgraded it to the current official release - 4.0.5. Once I realized that this version didn't support the climate module update from the Weatherbug feed to the HAM Weather feed - I then updated the ISY to RC 4 release 4.2.10. Once updated to 4.2.10 - the weather feed began working properly - I didn't even have to change the weather station ID in my case.

A few settings on the ISY needed tweaking, some of the fixed IP settings didn't transfer over, but it didn't take long to sort that out in the configuration settings.

In order to get the heartbeat working on the Insteon wireless leak sensors, I had to delete the devices from my ISY, and then re-add them to establish the link for the heartbeat. Next step will be to add a heartbeat monitoring program to notify me when a leak sensor misses a heartbeat daily check in.

Now, I have a leftover ISY-99i. I may put it up for sale on eBay, but it looks like they are only selling for about $60. Prior to selling, I would like to clear the memory of my configuration by doing a hard reset. The process is as follows:  i) Push in the reset button till the RX, TX, Mem, Error lights start blinking once per second; ii) Hold reset button down for at least 30 seconds until all of the the RX, TX, Mem, Error lights turn off and Mem light starts flashing quickly; and iii) Release and wait for system reboot. Reboot is finished when the Mem light stops flashing.
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My Experience with Universal Devices ISY-99i Insteon Home Automation Controller

I've been running a Universal Devices ISY-99i home automation controller for about 6 years now. I started out with a pretty modest setup following a house renovation in 2008 - with about a dozen Insteon switches, dimmers, and keypads. And I've been adding to the system ever since. We moved to a new house in 2012 - with a very complicated electrical setup as I've described in some of my other posts - 400 Amp service, generator disconnect switch, two lighting / relay control panels, a contactor panel for large loads, and an industrial PLC based lighting control system. Since I tore out the PLC automation system and upgraded to the ISY / Insteon control system - my home network has grown to about 55 switches and keypads, with another dozen on order as I work to complete the current system.

I moved that ISY-99i from the old house to the new house (along with all my Insteon devices), so the ISY and a good number of switches and keypads have seen 6 years of service, without any major issues. I've had to send the ISY-99i back to Universal Devices once back in 2009 for a firmware upgrade following a hardware issue - but this was done quickly and efficiently by Universal Devices at no cost - other than shipping. Very good service. Of my Insteon devices, I've had one device delivered DOA, which was immediately replaced by Smarthome, and just recently, one of my original dimmers has died after 6 years of service. Overall, I would call that an acceptable failure rate considering that the 6 year old components were not on the market for very long when I acquired them, I believe the first Insteon devices began shipping in 2005.

Last year I added the Mobilinc iPhone app interface to the ISY-99i, and I have been very impressed with how quick and easy that was to connect up to my ISY in order to control any device remotely with the iPhone. Very handy. Now I'm hoping that the ISY / Mobilinc combination will support Apple's new home automation interface protocol for iDevices - called "HomeKit". Time will tell.

Alas, I understand that now Universal Devices has stopped supporting the ISY-99i with regular firmware updates - which means that any new Insteon devices will not be supported in that version of the ISY. Looks like it is time to upgrade to the ISY-994i. My new ISY-994ir Pro is on order, I hope the upgrade process will be relatively painless, and I'll write about how that goes.
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Avoiding and Troubleshooting Link Problems between your Insteon Devices and your ISY-99/994

I just learned something recently that wasn't clear to me before. If you are using an ISY-99/994 automation controller with your Insteon network - you have to be very careful and disciplined to only link devices / add devices to your network using your ISY-99/994 interface.

As you probably know, you can link two insteon devices directly together by putting the devices into linking mode directly on the device (usually by holding the paddle down or a button down). However, if you do this in the context of an Insteon network controlled by your ISY-99/994 controller - the PLM attached to your ISY-99/994 does not learn of this new link, and this will cause a mismatch between the link table on the device, and the link table in your ISY memory, and the PLM.

When your link tables become mismatched, that may lead to unpredictable or slowed behaviour in your network.

So - how do you clean up these mismatched link tables?

Your ISY has a diagnostic tool that can read the link table on any of your devices, and can compare it to the link table that is stored in your ISY. It will show you the mismatched link table records.

Results of ISY Links Table Comparison - All Links Matching in this Example
If you have mismatched links - you can clear the link table in your Insteon device by performing a factory reset on the device (follow the instructions in the device user guide), and then perform a "Restore" command to rewrite the links table to your device. This correct the "unmatched" links problem. You will have to go through the same procedure with any other device which had manual links added. Once all your devices have been factory reset, then restored, you will have to recreate those links which had been created manually using your ISY interface, if you wish to retain this functionality. One caution is that this process is time consuming, it took about 3 hours to go through the link tables of just over 50 devices, and performing the hard resets of about 5 devices along the way that had mismatched link tables.

So - remember - always do your device linking using your ISY interface, and not manually.

If anyone out there has a simpler way of rectifying this issue, please leave a comment!
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Wall Acne

I originally posted this on my home automation blog, but since it is more of a drywall / cable management issue I've copied it here to my general maintenance blog as well. This has been one of my pet peeves during the renovation of our last two homes - wall acne. I don't know how widespread this term is, but I use that to describe when you have a bundle of different switches, thermostats, and controls placed haphazardly in the same zone of the house, with no regard for esthetics. A few examples follow.:
Thermostat, 24V Legacy Automation Lighting Control with 8 Switches, Closet Switch. The light switches are aligned horizontally, the thermostat doesn't line up with anything.

Garage Door Controls - Door opener and Legacy 24V Lighting Control. Why doesn't the garage door opener line up either horizontally or vertically?

The problem with wall acne is that it takes time, skill and patience to correct it. In the thermostat example above, I set out to correct the misalignment. There are other posts in this blog which discuss my legacy automation controller and the 24V switches - these have been all changed out for Insteon Switchlinc switches, keypads and dimmers. In this case - I doubled up the wall switch box for the closet light switch to accommodate the Insteon Switchlinc Keypad. The thermostat was moved in line vertically above the light switch and Insteon Keypad, and the new air exchanger control was added above the thermostat.
Doubling up the closet light switch to accommodate the Insteon Keypad.

Thermostat moved to vertical alignment
The completed alignment, Insteon Keypad installed with closet light switch, thermostat and air exchanger controls aligned vertically. 
On to the garage switches. Besides the alignment, I was bothered by the surface run garage door opener wire, and the lack of a thermostat for my two 4000W wall heaters. Running the thermostat wire down through the wall, and incorporating the garage door opener control wires in the wall necessitated a few drywal cutouts to help with fishing the wire past a structural beam.

Aligning the controls with the light switch, and running the wires behind the drywall.

Finished product - Insteon Switchlinc Switch, Thermostat, and Garage Door Opener control all aligned vertically, with wires hidden. 
Maybe I'm a bit fussy about this, but I really don't think so. If some forethought is given to the various trades involved in house construction, and control wires are run behind the drywall during construction (such as the garage door control wires), then this should never be an issue in new construction. But I think the time spent solving the issue is well spent.
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Dealing with Wall Acne

This has been one of my pet peeves during the renovation of our last two homes - wall acne. I don't know how widespread this term is, but I use that to describe when you have a bundle of different switches, thermostats, and controls placed haphazardly in the same zone of the house, with no regard for esthetics. A few examples follow.:
Thermostat, 24V Legacy Automation Lighting Control with 8 Switches, Closet Switch. The light switches are aligned horizontally, the thermostat doesn't line up with anything.


The problem with wall acne is that it takes time, skill and patience to correct it. In the thermostat example above, I set out to correct the misalignment. There are other posts in this blog which discuss my legacy automation controller and the 24V switches - these have been all changed out for Insteon Switchlinc switches, keypads and dimmers. In this case - I doubled up the wall switch box for the closet light switch to accommodate the Insteon Switchlinc Keypad. The thermostat was moved in line vertically above the light switch and Insteon Keypad, and the new air exchanger control was added above the thermostat.
Doubling up the closet light switch to accommodate the Insteon Keypad.

Thermostat moved to vertical alignment
The completed alignment, Insteon Keypad installed with closet light switch, thermostat and air exchanger controls aligned vertically. 
Garage Door Controls - Door opener and Legacy 24V Lighting Control. Why doesn't the garage door opener line up either horizontally or vertically?
On to the garage switches. Besides the alignment, I was bothered by the surface run garage door opener wire, and the lack of a thermostat for my two 4000W wall heaters. Running the thermostat wire down through the wall, and incorporating the garage door opener control wires in the wall necessitated a few drywal cutouts to help with fishing the wire past a structural beam.

Aligning the controls with the light switch, and running the wires behind the drywall.

Finished product - Insteon Switchlinc Switch, Thermostat, and Garage Door Opener control all aligned vertically, with wires hidden. 
Maybe I'm a bit fussy about this, but I really don't think so. If some forethought is given to the various trades involved in house construction, and control wires are run behind the drywall during construction (such as the garage door control wires), then this should never be an issue in new construction. But I think the time spent solving the issue is well spent.




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