Latest Updates see all details at end of this page- IP camera support
- Ability to add X10 devices
- Ability to set X10 (House + Unit) code in INSTEON device
- Custom INSTEON commands
- Change device properties (e.g. LED brightness) in an event
- Free FilterLinc (for kits with plug-in PLMs, to ensure your PC related devices do not weaken powerline signaling near your PLM)
"What's great about this software is that i can reprogram 4 keypadlincs, 2 remotelincs, an insteon thermostat and a handful of lamp modules, all without having to run around the house pressing set buttons AND I have a record of all the links stored on my computer..." Dave - Orange, CA
HouseLinc gives you the power to setup, automate and manage your entire INSTEON network, create scenes and timed events for your
INSTEON-compatible or
X10-compatible lights and appliances all from an easy-to-use PC interface.
Key features of HouseLinc include- Setup and manage your whole house INSTEON network (supports 100's of devices)
- Create powerful scenes to create just the right ambiance at the touch of a button
- Create timer events based on time of day, sunrise or sunset
- Add randomness to your time of day timers to create a lived-in look to your home
- Add +/- offsets to your sunrise/sunset timers to save energy
- Create INSTEON triggered events (to send email alerts to you or to trigger countdown timers to turn devices off after a desired amount of time)
- Setup and manage virtually all of a device's properties from one screen
- Up to 1,000 scenes can be stored in the PLM - which can be used in timer and INSTEON triggered events
- Background scene/link management: All the database management/communications required to create/edit/delete scenes and devices are done in the background saving you time
- Remote control (live) from the PC
- For update/upgrade information see HouseLinc Release Notes
Requirements:- HouseLinc requires the included HouseLinc-enabled Modem and is not compatible with other INSTEON PowerLinc interfaces
- HouseLinc Enabled PowerLinc Modem, included
- Windows 2000/XP/Vista/7 (32-bit or 64-bit)
- 15 MB of disc space and 128 MB of RAM
- Important Note: PC needs to remain on to run timers and INSTEON triggered events
DevicesAdding Devices to HouseLincThere are 3 ways to add devices to your home's setup:
- Manually enter their INSTEON IDs
- Press & hold each devices' set button until it beeps
- Automatic device discovery
Simply choose option 1 or 2, then HouseLinc will automatically "crawl" your home to find all your other devices that share scene/link memberships.
Managing Device PropertiesWith HouseLinc, you'll have the ability to customize each device on your network. Set ramp rates, preset on levels, and more for your scenes. After you've added your devices you can define one or more of the following properties.
- Room Name
- Device Name
- LED Brightness (New)
- Local On Level (New)
- Local Ramp Rate (New)
- LED Brightness (New)
- Programming Lock
- Physical Location
- Connected to Load (y/n)
- Watts of load
- Disable (keeps HouseLinc from managing a device)
- Notes
Direct ControlFrom within the Properties tab you can easily
- turn them on, off or adjust to other applicable settings/levels
- get their current status
ScenesAfter you've added your INSTEON-compatible devices into HouseLinc, you can easily create scenes, which are then automatically and completely managed by HouseLinc "behind the scenes". You simply select the desired states for scene members and then choose which members are controllers only (e.g. a motion sensor which is not capable of being a responder), which members are responders only (e.g. you might want your dining table light to be a member of dinnertime, but not to launch dinnertime when you manually turn it on at the switch) and which members are both (e.g. both switches in a 3-way circuit are both controllers and responders).
All link creation and management is done for you by HouseLinc. Furthermore, unlike many of the competitors, HouseLinc will do all the scene (links) and device (properties) management in the background, so you can continue setting up your network.
Create whole-house lighting scenes in a fraction of the time it would take to do manually.
As you expand your INSTEON installation, new devices can easily be added to your pre-existing scenes and events.
The scenes list reports to you the total number of members of each scene as well as the last time the scene was triggered and whether the scene was sent an On command or an Off command.
Events (Timer and INSTEON Triggered)Events are a series of actions triggered by either a timer or an INSTEON (or X10) signal.
Timer EventsYou can easily set up events to run at a specific time of day (e.g. 3:00 PM), sunrise or sunset. Time of day events can be randomized (+/- 15 minutes) to give your home a lived-in look. Sunrise and sunset events can be run +/- 23 hours for powerful, energy saving events. Sunrise and sunset times are based on a built-in celestial clock based on your location and time zone (based on either your nearest major city or manually entered latitude and longitude).
Triggered EventsYou can also trigger events by sending an On, an Off, a double-tap On or a double-tap OFF (plus other other X10 commands).
ConditionalsIt is easy to set up events such that they only run on specified days of the week or only when specified devices are on (or off, or in other specified states - e.g. temperature < 70 degrees).
ActionsEvents can trigger Scenes, turn devices on or off, set thermostats to specified levels or send virtually any other INSTEON/X10 commands. You control the sequence with which these actions are carried out. You can also add timed delays.
Example EventsWater Lawn:
Time: 7:00AM
Conditional: Monday, Wednesday or Friday
Actions:
Turn Zone1 ON
Wait 5 minutes
Turn Zone1 OFF
Turn Zone2 ON
Wait 7 minutes
Turn Zone2 OFF
Turn Off Bath Fan Automatically
INSTEON Trigger: Bath Fan Turned On
Conditionals: None
Actions:
Wait 30 minutes
Turn Bath Fan off
Activity Log (new)This new tab displays, in chronological order, all the scenes that have been triggered in your home. Each entry contains a time-stamp as well as all the other identifying information to make maintenance and trouble-shooting of your home a breeze. (note: the ID column has been partially obscured in the example below)
Other Features- Automatic Updates
- You will be automatically informed when a new version of HouseLinc is available (requires web connection)
- Synchronize House
- Crawl house and synch Software with any manual updates you've made on your devices and/or any new INSTEON products added to your home.
- Sync Report: See all the details of the synch of your home at a glance
- Signaling Diagnostics
- Perhaps the most powerful INSTEON network diagnostic tool available
- Advanced Log
- Log of all the communications between HouseLinc software and the PLM
- Half-Link Report and Repair
- Find and easily correct any imperfect scenes links in your setup
PLM/Hardware Options- (2413UH) Dual-Band USB PLM (recommended)
- Dual-band for highest reliability, USB for most popular connectivity
- (2413SH) Dual-Band Serial PLM
- (2448A7H) Single-Band USB PLM
- For portable/laptop applications
Latest Updates
- Scene Management - A whole new concept in HouseLinc
- User can select all the controllers and responder desired in a scene, set all their scene attributes and HouseLinc will now manage all the controller and responder links necessary for the scene making setup and management of the house much simpler.
- The new scene editor allows users to adjust all the devices in a scene to "just the right settings" (e.g. light levels, temperature, etc.) and HouseLinc will read those settings into the scene
- The list of scenes created can be viewed in the left-hand pane (as an option to the device list)
- For each scene, the time it was last turned on or off is listed
- Add X10 Devices
- You can now add, configure, edit X10 devices into HouseLinc
- Trigger INSTEON scene based on X10 command
- Activate X10 devices based on INSTEON or any other trigger
- Set X10 address on compatible INSTEON devices
- Send Custom INSTEON Commands as an Event Action
- IP Camera Support
- View IP Cameras directly within HouseLinc
- Setup Events that can email snapshots of the camera based on any trigger
- Supports Pan, Tilt, Zoom and multiple resolutions (if supported in camera)
- Great for personal, commercial or publicly available IP cameras
Note: IP camera must support IP Addressing.
- Control of LED Brightness (as well as local on levels and ramp rates)
- One of the most requested features, you can now directly choose the brightness of your devices' LEDS as well as manage all your dimmers local on levels and ramp rates.
- Manage keypad buttons as controllers / responders of other buttons on same keypad
- Another popular request - you now can manage intra-keypad scene links utilizing the new scene properties tab. Each button is simply treated as its own load bearing member and/or control button of each scene.
- Activity Log - A new, user-friendly activity log shows, in simple english, when a light or appliance is turned on or off, when motion is detected or a door opens. These actions are stored in monthly log file, in csv format for easy opening, editing and analysis in excel
- Improved Device Management
- Default sort is now Room 1st and Device name 2nd
- Multi-column sorting
- Re-ordered columns for easier use
- Existing field "Location" renamed "Room", requested by customers and consistent with TouchLinc setup
- New property "Physical Location" (to help keep track of where the INSTEON devices are actually located)
- New property "Has connected load" (again to help user track their setup)
- New device property "Wattage" (future energy tracking and reporting)
- New device property "Date Added"
- Combined the Properties and Control/Status Tab to make navigation simpler
- Added Ability to Change Device Properties in an Event
- dim LEDs at night
- increase ramp rates during the day, etc.
- Support for TouchLinc 1.1
- significant management improvements
- Improved User Interface
- Easier to use, read and control
- All columns can now be used to sort lists (devices, scenes, scene membership, activity log, etc.)
- Free FilterLinc (for kits with plug-in PLMs: 2413UH, 2413SH)