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    220 Plug-In Relay

    I realize this is tilting at windmills, but...how nice it would be if Insteon were to make a plug-in relay module for my 220 wall air conditioner.

    Currently I am using the X-10 equivalent, the PAM04, which simply does not work most of the time. I keep buying it online like an idiot, because some last longer than others. But none of them has outlived their warranty. SO frustrating.

    I don't suppose anyone has any alternative solutions?
    Jim Speiser
    Payson, Arizona

    Insteon/X-10 since 1985 | 200+ Insteon devices (and one Zigbee!) | USB PLM | HomeSeer 3 | Current WAF Level: -12

    #2
    If we are just throwing out ideas...

    If you can hook up that AC to a 220v contactor, you could use an Insteon Micro Module to engage the contactor and link that to an Insteon remote or switch.

    Comment


      #3
      Originally posted by SeanM View Post
      If we are just throwing out ideas...

      If you can hook up that AC to a 220v contactor, you could use an Insteon Micro Module to engage the contactor and link that to an Insteon remote or switch.
      Explain "220v contactor."
      Jim Speiser
      Payson, Arizona

      Insteon/X-10 since 1985 | 200+ Insteon devices (and one Zigbee!) | USB PLM | HomeSeer 3 | Current WAF Level: -12

      Comment


        #4
        A Contactor. is a heavy duty relay. Designed to control things like a motor or other electronic devices power.
        If you use a Micro Module. You would want the contactors coil to be 120VAC as that is what it turns on and off. At lesat two sets of contacts. So you could switch both sides of the 220VAC to the load.
        A web search can find you all kinds of them.
        You can even get some like the ELK9200. That has a 120 Volt input cable that can plug into a Insteon On/Off module. In a metal case and has two sets of contacts to safely switch 30 amps.

        Comment


          #5
          Appreciate the tip, but a little too bulky and too complicated. I would be willing to go to a new HA platform like Z-Wave or Zigbee if they make a 220v controller...?
          Jim Speiser
          Payson, Arizona

          Insteon/X-10 since 1985 | 200+ Insteon devices (and one Zigbee!) | USB PLM | HomeSeer 3 | Current WAF Level: -12

          Comment


            #6
            Originally posted by JimSpy View Post
            Appreciate the tip, but a little too bulky and too complicated. I would be willing to go to a new HA platform like Z-Wave or Zigbee if they make a 220v controller...?
            Im not aware of anyone who makes a Plug in relay in the size that you are looking for. There is a zwave module that can handle 40amps but it requires your unit to be hardwired to it. WIth that said, you would need a zwave or zigbee compatible hub should you find something

            Comment


              #7
              Originally posted by lilyoyo1 View Post

              Im not aware of anyone who makes a Plug in relay in the size that you are looking for. There is a zwave module that can handle 40amps but it requires your unit to be hardwired to it. WIth that said, you would need a zwave or zigbee compatible hub should you find something
              It happens that I have a Zigbee hub by way of an Echo Plus.

              Just strikes me as a hell of an oversight, not to offer such modules.
              Jim Speiser
              Payson, Arizona

              Insteon/X-10 since 1985 | 200+ Insteon devices (and one Zigbee!) | USB PLM | HomeSeer 3 | Current WAF Level: -12

              Comment


                #8
                Originally posted by JimSpy View Post

                It happens that I have a Zigbee hub by way of an Echo Plus.

                Just strikes me as a hell of an oversight, not to offer such modules.
                Or not a big enough market with their clientele to invest in making something.

                Comment


                  #9
                  Originally posted by lilyoyo1 View Post

                  Or not a big enough market with their clientele to invest in making something.
                  Or they simply haven't done the market research. How many 220v wall air conditioners are installed nationwide, and how many are likely to be in smart homes. I don't see how that could be an insignificant number.
                  Jim Speiser
                  Payson, Arizona

                  Insteon/X-10 since 1985 | 200+ Insteon devices (and one Zigbee!) | USB PLM | HomeSeer 3 | Current WAF Level: -12

                  Comment


                    #10
                    Many of the new model Air Conditioners. Have electronic controls and remotes. Cycling the power On and Off with a automation module. Would probably reset the unit and it would default to off and you could not control it.

                    There is a different plug for 220 Volt 15 amp and 220 Volt 20 amp outlets. If you make it the 20 amp style. A 15 amp Air Conditioner would still plug into the module if it has both style slots on the output but the 20 amp plug on the module will not fit a 15 amp outlet.

                    The PAM04 is the 20 amp style AC input plug. Output has the slots to fit a 15 or 20 amp plug on the device being controlled.

                    Comment


                      #11
                      Originally posted by JimSpy View Post

                      Or they simply haven't done the market research. How many 220v wall air conditioners are installed nationwide, and how many are likely to be in smart homes. I don't see how that could be an insignificant number.
                      A large market of something doesnt guarantee a market for a specific device. Despite there being millions of homes and billions of wall switches/outlets in those homes, automation is still very much a niche market. While people may want certain things, they generally arent willing to pay the money for that.

                      As a company, they need to look at R&D costs, paying a factory to make said product at a low enough cost, and carrying the product line. Regardless of how many units are out there, maybe 1 or 2% would be interested in buying a product. Selling a couple of hundred units a year simply doesnt make sense from a business standpoint.

                      Comment


                        #12
                        Originally posted by lilyoyo1 View Post

                        A large market of something doesnt guarantee a market for a specific device. Despite there being millions of homes and billions of wall switches/outlets in those homes, automation is still very much a niche market. While people may want certain things, they generally arent willing to pay the money for that.

                        As a company, they need to look at R&D costs, paying a factory to make said product at a low enough cost, and carrying the product line. Regardless of how many units are out there, maybe 1 or 2% would be interested in buying a product. Selling a couple of hundred units a year simply doesnt make sense from a business standpoint.
                        I dunno....if Amazon can successfully market an Alexa-compatible microwave..... The point is that they DID have such a product in the X-10 line, and X10 is still selling it. (Apparently they're all defective, but still....) So there must have been suitable demand for it at one time.
                        Jim Speiser
                        Payson, Arizona

                        Insteon/X-10 since 1985 | 200+ Insteon devices (and one Zigbee!) | USB PLM | HomeSeer 3 | Current WAF Level: -12

                        Comment


                          #13
                          Originally posted by JimSpy View Post

                          I dunno....if Amazon can successfully market an Alexa-compatible microwave..... The point is that they DID have such a product in the X-10 line, and X10 is still selling it. (Apparently they're all defective, but still....) So there must have been suitable demand for it at one time.
                          Insteon isn't x10. Insteon licensed x10 in hopes x10 users would use insteon to replace their devices over time not use it to keep their systems going. Because x10 has been out since the 70s having a product like that doesn't surprise me. Fast forward to modern times which is the field insteon and zwave play in, old school ways of controlling certain products just don't fit

                          Comment


                            #14
                            X10 Wireless Technologies went bankrupt a few years ago. The new owners are still trying to sell the X10 modules.
                            Their X10 HUB is a poorly designed module with a buggy APP and not updated in awhile.
                            Most automation sites say don't use the antiquated X10 protocol.
                            Even Insteon officially dropped X10 support as it is a very close to death protocol.

                            Comment


                              #15
                              Originally posted by BLH View Post
                              X10 Wireless Technologies went bankrupt a few years ago. The new owners are still trying to sell the X10 modules.
                              Their X10 HUB is a poorly designed module with a buggy APP and not updated in awhile.
                              Most automation sites say don't use the antiquated X10 protocol.
                              Even Insteon officially dropped X10 support as it is a very close to death protocol.
                              I was faintly aware of this background, but since Insteon doesn't make a 220, was forced to try the X10 (which I migrated from years ago).

                              So I'm back to asking, basically, how do I control my air conditioner? Yeah, yeah, I know, with the native remote. But I had 4 or 5 HomeSeer events designed to turn it on and off with motion, temperature, timer, season, etc. Took me a year to perfect. It was all working great....and then.....
                              Jim Speiser
                              Payson, Arizona

                              Insteon/X-10 since 1985 | 200+ Insteon devices (and one Zigbee!) | USB PLM | HomeSeer 3 | Current WAF Level: -12

                              Comment

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